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NRL blocks Telstra from streaming in bid to secure extension with Nine
The NRL will block Telstra from streaming rugby league matches from 2023 as the governing body attempts to strike a five-year broadcast extension with Nine Entertainment Co.
The decision has upset Telstra, the naming-rights partner until 2022, but the code argues protecting the streaming rights will mark up its value when it returns to the negotiating table with Nine as early as next month.
Foxtel, in which Telstra has a 35 per cent stake, currently sells the streaming rights to the telco provider as part of a five-year $100 million deal. But under the NRL's extended Foxtel contract, secured last week, the pay-TV operator is prohibited from on-selling in the 2023-2027 cycle
The Foxtel extension, said by sources to be worth about $1 billion, allows subscription service Kayo to stream all eight matches. Should Nine, owner of this masthead, also agree to an extension until 2027, all games will be available through the television channel and 9Now streaming app. Telstra customers can currently access games for free through the NRL app and Telstra Live Pass.
Telstra Live Pass competes directly with Nine's broadcast video on-demand product, 9Now. Sources said removing Telstra's capacity to stream matches will add value to future free-to-air broadcast deals.
It is similar thinking to the NRL's decision to retain exclusive rights to State of Origin and the NRL grand final - maximising revenue when rugby league's free-to-air broadcast rights come up for renewal.
Nine, which reduced the price of its existing contract last Thursday, has been agitated with the NRL in recent weeks due to its belief Telstra should be forced to charge an additional fee as stipulated.
A Telstra spokesman referred the Herald and the Age back to its statement issued on Monday, when it confirmed it would not hold the mobile digital rights beyond 2022.
"We are ... disappointed to learn the NRL, through their agreement with Foxtel, has decided not to make those digital rights on mobile available beyond 2022," the spokesman said. "We have not been a party to those discussions and will obviously need to engage with the NRL to understand what the implications are for our partnership in the long term."
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Telstra secured the digital rights in 2015 as part of the deal signed by the NRL with Foxtel and Nine. It also secured the NRL naming rights, a partnership sources said the code is eager to extend. To that end, it is treading carefully regarding broadcast details. The NRL is not requiring Telstra to charge its customers for the access as part of its current deal.
The telco provider is also in broadcast discussions with the AFL, with which it has a seat at the negotiating table. Asked about the future of AFL content on Telstra Live Pass past 2022, a spokesman declined to comment, arguing the discussions were commercially sensitive.
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan is expected to drive a harder bargain with the code's commercial broadcasters Seven West Media and Foxtel after its rival the NRL accepted a discount last week. Sources said that the AFL believes NRL executive chairman Peter V'landys could have extracted more money from Nine and Foxtel.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/nr...cure-extension-with-nine-20200602-p54ysm.html
The NRL will block Telstra from streaming rugby league matches from 2023 as the governing body attempts to strike a five-year broadcast extension with Nine Entertainment Co.
The decision has upset Telstra, the naming-rights partner until 2022, but the code argues protecting the streaming rights will mark up its value when it returns to the negotiating table with Nine as early as next month.
Foxtel, in which Telstra has a 35 per cent stake, currently sells the streaming rights to the telco provider as part of a five-year $100 million deal. But under the NRL's extended Foxtel contract, secured last week, the pay-TV operator is prohibited from on-selling in the 2023-2027 cycle
The Foxtel extension, said by sources to be worth about $1 billion, allows subscription service Kayo to stream all eight matches. Should Nine, owner of this masthead, also agree to an extension until 2027, all games will be available through the television channel and 9Now streaming app. Telstra customers can currently access games for free through the NRL app and Telstra Live Pass.
Telstra Live Pass competes directly with Nine's broadcast video on-demand product, 9Now. Sources said removing Telstra's capacity to stream matches will add value to future free-to-air broadcast deals.
It is similar thinking to the NRL's decision to retain exclusive rights to State of Origin and the NRL grand final - maximising revenue when rugby league's free-to-air broadcast rights come up for renewal.
Nine, which reduced the price of its existing contract last Thursday, has been agitated with the NRL in recent weeks due to its belief Telstra should be forced to charge an additional fee as stipulated.
A Telstra spokesman referred the Herald and the Age back to its statement issued on Monday, when it confirmed it would not hold the mobile digital rights beyond 2022.
"We are ... disappointed to learn the NRL, through their agreement with Foxtel, has decided not to make those digital rights on mobile available beyond 2022," the spokesman said. "We have not been a party to those discussions and will obviously need to engage with the NRL to understand what the implications are for our partnership in the long term."
Advertisement
Telstra secured the digital rights in 2015 as part of the deal signed by the NRL with Foxtel and Nine. It also secured the NRL naming rights, a partnership sources said the code is eager to extend. To that end, it is treading carefully regarding broadcast details. The NRL is not requiring Telstra to charge its customers for the access as part of its current deal.
The telco provider is also in broadcast discussions with the AFL, with which it has a seat at the negotiating table. Asked about the future of AFL content on Telstra Live Pass past 2022, a spokesman declined to comment, arguing the discussions were commercially sensitive.
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan is expected to drive a harder bargain with the code's commercial broadcasters Seven West Media and Foxtel after its rival the NRL accepted a discount last week. Sources said that the AFL believes NRL executive chairman Peter V'landys could have extracted more money from Nine and Foxtel.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/nr...cure-extension-with-nine-20200602-p54ysm.html