Old news 29th Aug: Posted before? If they get $115m from Nine and $32 from SKY- It will be huge- more streaming to sell also.
Nine Entertainment chief executive Mike Sneesby said the NRL will think about the value a broadcaster can provide, not just money.
www.smh.com.au
Nine Entertainment Co boss Mike Sneesby has said he is confident the NRL isn’t solely focused on large amounts of money from a future broadcast partner, despite the code progressing talks with rival networks in an effort to shore up at least $115 million a year from a new deal.
Industry sources, who spoke anonymously because the talks are confidential, said the NRL is in talks with the three commercial free-to-air television networks about the potential to run games across multiple networks and ideally wants more than $115 million a year over five years. The sources said no bids have been submitted, but there is interest from Seven for one game a week and the State of Origin matches.
Brisbane may have a second team in the NRL alongside the Broncos. Credit:Getty
Some inside US-owned Network Ten are also interested in acquiring the rights for the NRL premiership and the State of Origin series, but a bid will depend on whether it has the money following the acquisition of the rights to soccer’s A-League, W-League, key international fixtures involving Australia’s men’s and women’s teams as well as the FFA Cup and other Asian tournaments.
“I’d hope we get to the right commercial outcome with the NRL on a longer-term deal, but obviously these deals aren’t all about purely what the dollars involved are,” Mr Sneesby told
The Sydney Morning Herald and
The Age following the company’s annual results last week. “They’re also about what is right for the game, long term. I’m really confident in both [NRL chief executive] Andrew Abdo and [ARLC chairman] Peter V’landys’ focus and ability to develop and grow their game.
“There isn’t a better media company suited to helping them on that journey and helping to develop the NRL. I know that their view around the game won’t simply be commercial, it’ll be what’s best for the game.”
Nine executives
made a formal presentation to Mr V’landys and Mr Abdo earlier this month, proposing a renewal of their existing rights deal with the code and outlining their plans for the future. But Mr V’landys was vocal in the meeting about a lack of promotion for rugby league by Nine, which owns
The Sydney Morning Herald and
The Age, radio, streaming and digital assets.
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Sources involved in the talks said the NRL is expecting a minimum of $115 million annually for a five-year rights deal, which would allow the free-to-air network deal to coincide with the expiry of a deal in place with pay-TV and streaming company, Foxtel
. The sources indicated Nine currently does not want to pay this price but equally does not want the matches to be split across multiple networks. Other networks can bid once Nine submits an offer, and it is rejected by the NRL.
The NRL broadcast rights are the biggest in sport to go to market this year. While sports are typically loss-making events for a television broadcaster, they can be used to promote other key programs for a channel and boost audiences and advertising revenue.
As the rights come up for grabs, the NRL is weighing up a series
of changes that could add value to the game. Among them is the prospect of a 17th team in the NRL competition. League bosses are meeting with three Queensland teams - the Redcliffe Dolphins, Brisbane Firehawks and Brisbane Jets - that are hoping to win the bid for the 17th team.
A report by the NRL from June said that based on the current broadcast deal and the value per viewer, adding a new team could increase broadcast market value to $362 million (up $13 million) if all 12 new matches ran on Foxtel and $374 million (up $25 million) if all 12 ran on both Foxtel and Nine.
Mr Sneesby declined to comment on whether the prospect of a 17th team in the NRL competition would increase the value for the rights, but he is likely to be wary of costs.
Nine’s share price fell 10 per cent when it released its results, due to concerns about a spike in costs for Stan Sport and the television network.
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Nine and the NRL renegotiated their existing contract last May in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nine secured a discount on its current deal due to a lack of crowds and temporary suspension of games but did not against the deal beyond 2023. Failure of Nine and the NRL to secure an extension was despite
a decision by the NRL to block Telstra from broadcasting games for free to its customers, which was considered a way to increase the value of the rights for a potential free-to-air partner.
Foxtel, which provides 66 per cent of the NRL’s broadcast revenue, decided to extend its pay-TV deal with the code to 2027 during last May’s negotiations.
Interest from all broadcasters is not unusual in the early stages of rights negotiations. Networks and sporting negotiations typically fight over a range of terms, but it is rare that relationships between major sports and broadcasters are not renewed. Nine has held rugby league rights for more than three decades.
