Crowe deal to show Origin live in US + NRL GF

[Ziggy the God]

Hollywood actor Russell Crowe has brokered a television deal to beam Australia's State of Origin Series live to 40 million viewers in the United States.

American sports giant FOX Sports will televise all three clashes between New South Wales and Queensland, starting with Wednesday's opener in Brisbane, as well as the NRL Grand Final.

The announcement follows a broadcast deal struck with the assistance of Crowe, the co-owner of South Sydney, between the NRL and head of FOX Sports David Hill.

The deals sees the United States join the UK, Pacific Islands, Canada, north Africa and the Middle East, central and southern Africa and parts of Asia in broadcasting the Origin Series live.

"This new United States agreement significantly adds to the mainstream exposure of two of our biggest events," NRL chief executive David Gallop said.

"It sees more than 40 million homes across the United States now able to experience live the passion and rivalry of the 2011 Harvey Norman State of Origin Series and the Telstra Premiership Grand Final."

http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyle...E=rleague/11/05/24/RUGBYL_Origin.html&BID=480


Well done Rusty.

 

[HowHigh]

Lets hope Gus and Rabs don't embarrass League with their stupid bickering.

Good news though, I guess Rus does have his uses sometimes

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Credit where it's due - well done Mr Crowe.

 

[besthalfbackPEARCE]

Always good to increase exposure the game. Good work Russell.

 

[muzby]

good work from crowe - will be keen to see if it gets traction with the folks of the USA..

just out of curiosity, can the whole of australia see these games live?

it was as short as two years ago that if you were in victoria you couldn't get a live feed (and they still cut off the grand final at the final whistle - no trophy presentation seen)..

whilst the USA has a huge potential target market, we still haven't got the australian market right yet...

 

[whall15]

State of Origin

Live to Eastern Australia
Live to USA
Live to New Zealand
Live to Fiji
Live to the UK
Live to Canada
Live to South East Asia
Live to Africa and the Middle East

Delayed to South and Western Australia

http://nrl.com/live-origin-broadcast-by-americas-fox-sports/tabid/10874/newsid/62957/default.aspx

 

[whall15]

USA get coverage from 5:30am to 11am http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/tvschedule

 

[redvscotty]

I know the NFL over there has MOUNTAINS of support, but imagine watching that your whole life then tuning into Origin with biffs galore and massive hits everywhere right from the first minute!

Would be epic.

 

[TheDalek079]

big hits and no padding!!! they'll love the toughness of the NSW side

 

[redvscotty]

They'll wonder why QLD even got close to 5 straight!

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Sadly, they'll probably see Ben Creagh ponce around for a minute or two, have a giggle, and switch off.

 

[adamkungl]

Good work Rusty. Hopefully it gains some new fans

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.nswrl.com.au/default.asp...sports-in-usa-to-show-2011-origin-series-live

Fox Sports in USA to show 2011 Origin series LIVE
ARL MEDIA
25/05/2011 8:23:11 AM

American sports giant FOX Sports will televise all three Harvey Norman State of Origin games live in a broadcast deal struck with the assistance of Rabbitohs co-owner Russell Crowe.

A meeting between NRL Chief Executive, Mr David Gallop, and Crowe was the catalyst for an approach to former Channel Nine sports chief and now head of FOX Sports David Hill.

The new agreement will see all three of this year’s Origin matches as well as the 2011 Telstra Premiership Grand Final available live to more than 40 million homes across the United States on the FOX Sports Soccer channel, as well as replays of the matches shown on the FOX Sports Soccer Plus channel.

The deals sees the U.S.A. join the Pacific Islands, United Kingdom, Canada, North Africa and the Middle East, Central and Southern Africa and parts of Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand in broadcasting the 2011 Harvey Norman State of Origin Series live on television.

“This new United States agreement significantly adds to the mainstream exposure of two of our biggest events,” NRL Chief Executive, Mr David Gallop, said.

“It sees more than 40 million homes across the United States now able to experience live the passion and rivalry of the 2011 Harvey Norman State of Origin Series and the Telstra Premiership Grand Final.

“Already, fans in the U.S. can watch regular NRL Telstra Premiership matches through www.livenrl.tv and this new deal is a key part of increasing their access to Rugby League and our presence in the region.

The new agreement covering the United States follows the recent conclusion of a European deal that will see television broadcaster, Eurosport 2, make Games Two and Three of the Origin Series available live to 48 million homes across 48 territories. Eurosport 2 will also show Game One of the Series on delay.

In Australia, the Nine Network will broadcast Game One of the 2011 Harvey Norman State of Origin Series live in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, with South Australia and Western Australia receiving delayed coverage.

Live coverage for fans in New Zealand is available through the Sky Sport 2 channel on the SkyNZ network.

Fans in all regions not covered by television broadcast agreements can watch the Harvey Norman State of Origin Series via the www.livenrl.tv online subscription service.

A complete list of broadcast times by country/region is below.

*** Please note, all times are local and correct at time of distribution. Fans should check their local guide for confirmation. ***

AUSTRALIA:
ACT – Live on WIN TV from 7:30pm
NSW – Live on Channel Nine, WIN TV, NBN TV and Imparja, all from 7:30pm
NT – Live on Channel Nine and Imparja, both from 7:00pm
Queensland – Live on Channel Nine, WIN TV, NBN TV and Imparja, all from 7:30pm
SA – Delayed on Channel Nine from 10:30pm, Live on Imparja from 7:00pm
Tasmania – Live on WIN TV from 7:30pm
Victoria – Live on Channel Nine, WIN TV and Imparja, all from 7:30pm
Western Australia – Delayed on Channel Nine from 10.30pm and WIN TV from 9:00pm

NEW ZEALAND
Live on SkyNZ (Sky Sport 2) at 2130

PACIFIC ISLANDS
Live on Fiji TV (Fiji One) at 2200

UNITED KINGDOM
Live on Sky Sports at 1030 (GMT)

EUROPE
Delayed on Eurosport 2 – check www.eurosport.com for details

USA
Live on FOX Sports Soccer Channel – check http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/tvschedule for details

CANADA
Live on Setanta Sports at 0500 (ET)

ASIA
Live in Hong Kong (1730) and Sri Lanka (1530) on Setanta Asia (www.setanta.com/asia)
Live in Singapore at 1725 on Star Hub (SuperSports) (www.starhub.com)
Live in Malaysia and Brunei at 1730 on Astro (AstroSuperSport)

NORTH AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST
Live on Orbit Showtime – check www.osnetwork.com for details

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA
Live on Setanta Africa – check www.setanta.com/africa for details

REST OF THE WORLD
LiveNRL.TV will provide online coverage to all other countries. Find out more at www.livenrl.tv

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Great work by Crowe, but why did Gallop need the assistance/prompting of a movie star to get this deal done? Gallop's pathetic - couldn't organise a good deal at Clint's Crazy Bargains.

 

[El Diablo]

Great work by Crowe, but why did Gallop need the assistance/prompting of a movie star to get this deal done? Gallop's pathetic - couldn't organise a good deal at Clint's Crazy Bargains.

 

[Izz]

USA get coverage from 5:30am to 11am http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/tvschedule

On the soccer channel?

 

[Phil McGrawhan]

I dont care if people think Rusty is the biggest tool in the world...He has done more for RL's international exposure than anyone else...
& he does it for the love of the game.....
We need more high profile PASSIONATE people like him to spread the word.

 

[Lego_Man]

People bag Crowe, yet at least he has passion and big ideas for the game.

Meanwhile domestically we cant even get Origin live in Melbourne or the Western States...

 

[bobmar28]

Good work Crowe and Gallop.

 

[smithie]

NORTH AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST
Live on Orbit Showtime – check www.osnetwork.com for details

Just had a look at their website. They will be broadcasting Origin in HD. That's right, people in the Middle East and North Africa can watch Origin in HD and we cannot.

n.b. 7:30pm tonight on GEM is Antiques Roadshow.