Foxtel slams TV rip-off claim

[El Diablo]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/nrl/story/0,27074,24042437-14823,00.html

Foxtel slams TV rip-off claim

By James Phelps | July 19, 2008 12:00am

FOXTEL chief executive Kim Williams has taken aim at suggestions the NRL was "ripped off" during negotiations for television rights.

Williams yesterday responded to an article by Fairfax journalist Roy Masters that claimed the NRL had seriously undersold its broadcaster rights to part-owner News Limited, publisher of The Daily Telegraph.

Masters claimed in The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday that Foxtel, Fox Sports and News Limited had underpaid the NRL for its television rights, but Williams said yesterday: "This is simply factually wrong.

"Roy Masters argued that because NRL games out-rate AFL, their TV rights are worth more.

"Wrong. The value of the rights is based on how many new subscribers will be attracted by the coverage.

"When rugby league first appeared on pay-TV, a huge sum was paid for the rights but there were no subscribers."

Williams said the market penetration of pay-TV in NSW and Queensland has been as much as 25 to 40 per cent higher than in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

"This is because our coverage of league began eight years before our coverage of the AFL, and even today we still have more games of NRL than AFL each week," he said.

"The value of the latest AFL rights reflects the growth potential for new subscribers in the southern states as well as the growth still available in NSW and Queensland, given the support for the Swans and Lions.

"The total national audience for AFL is bigger than it is for NRL. That's a fact.

"But for the time being there are more league fans that subscribe to Foxtel than AFL fans.

"Nevertheless, the value of the pay TV rights for AFL and NRL are roughly the same - the big difference in the total value is because free-to-air television pays a lot more for AFL than it pays for NRL."

piss off

what else would we expect from someone who is getting it for bugger all

this wanker is an arrogant tosser who takes League fans for granted. if they all cancelled tomorrow then this plonker would be taking a pay cut

 

[dallymessenger]

I love roy masters.

the pressure is working.

we need to keep this firing along.

why are they paying more for a product which rates less the merkins.

well done roy

 

[dallymessenger]

quoting the article :

The total national audience for AFL is bigger than it is for NRL. That's a fact.

"But for the time being there are more league fans that subscribe to Foxtel than AFL fans.


to sum up the merkin, AFL has a bigger national audience despite RL getting loads more viewers at the moment.

where are all those extra viewers that arent watching, on mars for f**ks sake.

at least he didnt say its because AFL gets bigger crowds.

again, despite RL getting around 40% more viewers each week than AFL, excuses are made.

 

[flamin]

I'm happy with the explanation that Foxtel would pay so much for AFL to increase potential subscriptions, but it doesn't explain why the NRL accepted a deal which was so unsubstantial in comparison, especially since by by Williams own admission RL is worth much more in terms of real customers.

 

[dallymessenger]

another dopey quote :

"Nevertheless, the value of the pay TV rights for AFL and NRL are roughly the same

1. RL has more games on Fox than AFL.
2. RL games are live and exclusive, AFL games are also on FTA.
3. RL gets around 500,000 more viewers each week than AFL on Pay TV.

 

[Ridders]

what a load of garbage, he basically contradicts himself every argument

 

[dallymessenger]

if another broadcaster got interested in those rights, Fox would be forced to up their pay dramatically.

RL makes the network. without us the network would fail, with 65% of their most watched programming being RL.

kerry stokes has always been interested in RL so perhaps 7 could take the games that Fox currently cover.

MNF would be very valuable to a FTA network.

with games on Fox getting around 250,000 - 300,000, on FTA they would get considerably more.

the second someone else bids for those rights, watch Fox double how much it pays

 

[El Diablo]

what a load of garbage, he basically contradicts himself every argument

and he's taking league fans for granted

he figures now we've got em signed up we don't have to fork out the big bickies to keep them

should've been drowned at birth

 

[Tommy Smith]

I don't buy into this national audience bullsh*t.

11.5 million of Australia's 21 million people live in NSW, QLD and the ACT. All League dominated states. Don't listen to that propoganda about northern states wanting to watch the Swans and Lions.

The fact that Iron Chef outrated the Swans proves that to be bullsh*t. AFL is just as popular in the northern states as NRL is in Victoria.

As for his new subscribers theory, again thats ridiculous. How many subscribers did Foxtel stand to lose had they not retained the rights to Rugby League at the last deal? That figure would be enormous, proven by he figures in Masters previous article whch showed that some 64 of the top 100 sports shows are rugby league.

Bottom line is Rugby league attracts far far far more subscriptions that the AFL. Hence the rights should be more expensive.

 

[dallymessenger]

between gallop and this f**kwit, is it any wonder we get dud TV deals.

at the rate its going, well be lucky to get paid anything by 2013.

williams will just say we are after more AFL subscribers so we cant afford to pay for the NRL.

gallop will still give them the rights as well.

 

[Nullajet]

what?? so because there is supposedly a bigger market of 'potential' AFL fans who might subscribe to fox but do not as yet....as opposed to the ALREADY large number of subscribers to fox for NRL....the AFL is worth more???


So if I am selling apples and bananas at my fruit shop and i have a huge number of apple eaters already coming to my shop for apples....but i 'know' there are a lot of banana eaters out there that arent actually buying my bananas at the moment...i tell the apple growers that i am going to pay less for their produce????

RIDICULOUS REASONING!!...its time the apple growers threatened to take their apples elsewhere....see how the store goes with just stocking bananas for the 'potential' consumers!!!


PS..sorry about the apples and banana analogy!! wtf??

 

[LeagueXIII]

Mark my words we will be dudded in the 2012 contract, they are setting it up.

 

[miguel de cervantes]

If I understand correctly, he is claiming AFL get more because by showing AFL they stand to sign up more pay tv consumers in:

1) the 'untapped' markets in QLD and NSW as they supposedly don't yet have AFL fans but will, and

2) the 'untapped' markets elsewhere because AFL fans there haven't yet taken up pay TV but will.

In saying this he is assuming 3 things:

1) That all present customers will stay subscribed ie league fans in NSW and QLD. Unfortunately he is probably correct unless someone can convince them all to ditch Foxtel, demand a better deal for the NRL and then retakeup Foxtel,

2) That AFL will become popular in NSW and QLD and people will subscribe to Foxtel to watch it, and

3) People in WA, Vic, SA and Tas will sign up to Foxtel to watch AFL, even though they probably already haven't because it is on FTA pretty often.


Ie. The present deal the AFL receive and Foxtel/Newslimited pay is an investment in the future popularity of the game in eastern states. This can be helped along by substantial Newslimited backing of the game in the media and denigration of any opposition, eg. moving league from Fox 1 to Fox 3, AFL to Fox 1???, negative press articles. In the west, if Newslimited ever aquire the rights to AFL on FTA via Ch 9 they can slowly tighten the screws and force more games off FTA onto pay TV to encourage more subscribers in these states - like they have done with league.

In the meantime, there is little the NRL can do despite holding the majority of the trump cards. News know very well that NRL fans aren't going to boycott Foxtel and they are probably right. Even if league fans ever did News/Foxtel would probably threaten to take away funding from the game.

I think it is becoming clearer and clearer that Newscorp are squeezing what they can from league. The game must shed this dead skin, it is imperative - but how?

 

[banzai]

3) People in WA, Vic, SA and Tas will sign up to Foxtel to watch AFL, even though they probably already haven't because it is on FTA pretty often.

Exactly, outside of Victoria every single game involving any team from the home state is shown on FTA regardless of whether its on Foxtel or not. So there is no reason for any AFL fan to get Foxtel outside of Victoria as they can watch all 22 games of their own teams live anyway, so the growth in these states would be nothing.

 

[Redback71]

after the world cup we should all disconect our sports channel until the season starts in march. thats what I normaly do anyway and switch it 1 of the movie channels.

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

I wish ESPN or setanta would try and get the NRL rights out here just to make fox pay more if they don't get them.

surely these two stations know what rates, they could really be a pain in the arse for newscorp.

 

[vlad]

I wish ESPN or setanta would try and get the NRL rights out here just to make fox pay more if they don't get them.

surely these two stations know what rates, they could really be a pain in the arse for newscorp.

Get a map of the world ... and highlight the places where RL is the main sport watched .

That's why ESPN & Setanta don't give a rats .

 

[T to the T]

This is all Foxtel are going to say. They pay for it. They are not going to say they got it on the cheap. That's how it is.

So why does Gallop knock the sport for them I do not know? He needs a horses head in his bed sooner rather than later

 

[Paley]

Get a map of the world ... and highlight the places where RL is the main sport watched .

That's why ESPN & Setanta don't give a rats .

Setanta outbid SKy for the NRL rights in the UK.

 

[Ziggy the God]

So Kim, how about we all dump your set top boxes on our median strips.

What will you do then you stupid merkin?