All of Australia’s sporting codes - including the AFL and NRL - could be impacted as pay TV provider Foxtel reins in spending on "non-marquee" sports, in a sign the era of record rights deals may be ending.
Foxtel spends $800 million on sports rights each year and media analysts say moves to pull back spending by the pay TV giant could affect the entire sporting landscape.
in an update to the ASX on Monday after revealing the pay TV company lost $417 million in 2018.
Rugby Australia is expected to be the first sporting body to face the austerity drive as it begins negotiations over a new broadcast rights deal, but Football Federation Australia's (FFA) A League is expected to be hardest hit.
This could profoundly change the whole market.
Global Media and Sports analyst Colin Smith
“If I was Rugby (Australia) and the FFA I’d be concerned as they would be looking at savings there, but this could profoundly change the whole market,” said Global Media and Sports boss Colin Smith, who has previously worked with the NRL on its broadcast deals.
The A-League's current deal is worth around $40 million a year with $35 million of this coming from Foxtel, according to industry analysts.
Mr Allen said the A-League is "dead in the water" without Foxtel's support, but the impact is expected to be felt all the way from V8 Supercars to the top tier sports.
Foxtel's blockbuster deals with NRL and AFL, worth a combined $3.5 billion, do not expire until 2022.
The pay TV subscriber numbers, revenue and earnings are going backwards in its core pay TV business despite a massive spend on sports broadcast rights in recent years.
The focus will now have to be on “what are people really interested in, what are they prepared to pay for,” said Mr Allen.
“Now they have to ruthlessly go through their expense base and look at whether particular sports they’ve bid for have netted anything in terms of subscribers.”
Cricket Australia's $1.2 billion rights deal with Foxtel and Seven West Media last year is now being viewed as the high water mark for sports rights in Australia.
provided Foxtel with a $300 million lifeline to cover debts maturing in April. Telstra, which owns the reamining 35 per cent of Foxtel, did not contibute any new funding.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/con...nd-of-sports-rights-boom-20190514-p51n3v.html
