Friday night games live permanently, Grand final live into Melbourne

[nqboy]

And there's no easing of the burden on the elite players...

 

[nqboy]

Try and keep up.

 

[Prodigiousman]

tip: at some stage next season the purists come out and complain about the lack of sunday arvo games in sydney and some big outcry will go up about draining the lifeblood out of the sydney fan market. ideally you should have 2 games in the greater sydney area (incl gong and newc) each sunday, with the new setup i can see sundays withoiut any games in sydney at all.

if there had to be a compromise id have 2 games on saturday - one at 6 and one at 8 (still a super sat as it runs for 4 hours and you cut the traditional 3rd wheel game which is usually is cut to the minimum 80mins and always lacks watchability in the 9:30pm delayed slot - i could be on my own here but even when my team is involved it feels very low on atmosphere), the 2 friday games both 7:30pm (ensure no two fri games are in sydney on same night = stupid) 3 on sunday your 2:30, and x2 3pm and your mon night game at 7pm (an earlier start to encourage parents to take little kids on a weeknight any later and they ont be going.).

so
FRI: 7:30PM X2 (one in Sydney and the other out of Sydney)
SAT: 6PM & 8PM
SUN: 2:30PM, 3PM X2 (ideally 2 Sydney games in those 3)
MON: 7PM (anywhere you want just no later).

as for the bye the fairest option would be to put 4 games on a week over 2 weeks to make up a round so everyone gets the bye at almost the same time and we eliminate origin heavy sides from either getting favourable or unfavourable draws (depends on your side of the fence). i would sched this 2 week round before either Origin II or III or the week after Origin III. That way every team gets a chance to recoup after Origin.

 

[The_Coach]

The NRL are morons.

Why sign a contract 2 years in advance? In 2 years the game could be at an even higher point then now and worth a whole lot more. But the NRL go and lock themselves into a 7 year contract, 2 years earlier then the old one expires. DUMB!

The NRL should have waited till Nine lost the AFL completely and said they wanted national coverage for what NSW and QLD get every week. This contract doesn't even garuntee live Origin nationally.

The NRL has jumped the gun and it will cost them in the long run.

 

[Lantana]

Beat it. tool

 

[c_eagle]

The NRL are morons.

Why sign a contract 2 years in advance? In 2 years the game could be at an even higher point then now and worth a whole lot more. But the NRL go and lock themselves into a 7 year contract, 2 years earlier then the old one expires. DUMB!

The NRL should have waited till Nine lost the AFL completely and said they wanted national coverage for what NSW and QLD get every week. This contract doesn't even garuntee live Origin nationally.

The NRL has jumped the gun and it will cost them in the long run.

I think you're the moron. If Nine lost the AFL rights, i.e. Channel 7 and 10 had the rights and had no interest in league, Nine would offer the NRL peanuts once again and we'd have no choice but to accept it. After all, where else would we go to get FTA coverage?

Think about it.

 

[Joe's Milk Bar]

If the combined rights to the NRL asre currently 48 million does a 65% increase mean they are now 70 million? Not as much as originally thought.
Also no mention of improved television coverage in SA or WA.

48 * 1.65 = 79.2

 

[lemon rabbit]

I think some are knocking what is generally a pretty good idea.

Lets not forget we are 18 months away from this happening and a lot could happen between now and then.

On the major issues:

* Would have to be a 7:30pm timeslot for the live game and 9:30pm for the second. Nine won't dump whatever is on at 7pm because its too important to them and seven draw too much of the audience away with home & away.

* Who said the GF was live into Melbourne? I was sure it wasn't.

* At least they are saying they will talk about the possibility of screening Origin live into Melbourne etc. Lets not dis them for something they haven't done yet. Nine have showed great commitment to league here by saying they will devote 5 hours of prime time Friday nights to it. For all we know, Melbourne could be out of the comp in 18 months (unlikely but you never know) and Nine would see little point in putting the Origin on down there. They need time on this decision and should be commended for at least deciding to look at it.

* Monday night football worries me. Yes, it works in other countries, but so does soccer. I doubt many Aussies will head out on a Monday night to the grounds, especially if it is telstra stadium or aussie stadium. People will want to stay at home and watch it on tv - but the crowds will suffer in my view.

LR

 

[Game_Breaker]

Key components of the deal include:
- A 50% increase in free to air matches with the introduction of a Friday night double header on the Nine Network.
- At least one live Friday night broadcast each week.
- Live Monday Night Football nationally on subscription television.
- Commitment to maintain FOX SPORTS ‘Super Saturday’ format.
- Advance scheduling of matches for up to 11 weeks during the year with 17 rounds scheduled at 6 weeks or more.
- A 25 Round Telstra Premiership with each club receiving one ‘bye’.
- A 65% increase in the game’s direct television income
- Revenue to begin increasing from 2007 (before the termination of existing contracts).
- An increased commitment to the promotion of Test Football.
- A guarantee of live Grand Final coverage in Melbourne with a commitment to work with the NRL to improve scheduling of major events in Victoria and other states.

 

[Kurt Angle]

No, the NRL did the right thing to ensure they got in before the AFL was sold.

There whoever buys one comp, leaves no one bidding for the other.

7/10 now now 9 will bid pennies for the AFL, and will get the AFL at a discount.

The shortfall of AFL funds will translate to less promotion in NSW and QLD and/or a natural attrition of some Melbourne AFL sides.

Monday night, if it works could see massive corporate sponsorship.

RL will have coverage 4 days a week out of 7.

25 rounds, all you will see is teams having a bye during SOO.

19 normal 8 game rounds.
3 rounds with x teams, x/2 games
3 rounds with 16-x teams, (16-x) /2games plus SOO.
--
25 rounds.

They'll be called seperate rounds instead of split rounds.

 

[Kurt Angle]

The problem with 2 friday night games however is the non RL states will have to stay up until 6:30 am to catch the end of the 2nd game.

 

[LESStar58]

Monday NRL on Fox only doesnt make any sense but....bring back Wacka the Emu! :lol:

 

[Kurt Angle]

It does for Foxtel.

RL is the number one show they have. They have get some gun programming out to compete with Supernanny and BB.

RL on at 7:30 Monday nights, it'll probably win the time slot over the FTA channels.

 

[Big Bunny]

I quite like the spin the ABC gives the news. Maybe the NRL can damage the AFL in the process..


NRL secures $500m rights deal

By Rob Cross

A new television rights deal struck by the National Rugby League (NRL) may reduce Channel Nine's ability to make a competitive bid for the AFL rights.

The NRL's deal with Nine and Fox Sports is worth $500 million over six years and represents a 60 per cent annual increase on the exisiting arrangements.

The agreement, which includes two games on free-to-air television on Friday nights and the return of Monday night football, runs until the end of 2012.

NRL chief executive David Gallop says the deal is a big vote of confidence in rugby league.

"Obviously [we're] very excited about being able to secure such a fantastic deal for the game's future," he said.

Channel Nine's Lynton Taylor says it considered possible AFL time-spots when it was negotiating the NRL deal.

"We believe that our relationship with the NRL and the slots we've agreed is such that we'll be able to meet any requirements of the AFL if we were fortunate to end up with those rights," he said.

 

[t-ba]

It does for Foxtel.

RL is the number one show they have. They have get some gun programming out to compete with Supernanny and BB.

RL on at 7:30 Monday nights, it'll probably win the time slot over the FTA channels.

A distinct possibility towards the end of the deal if subscription continues to grow at the current rate. If I remember correctly, the last time PTV won a slot during a weeknight was for the Ashes?

 

[LESStar58]

It does for Foxtel.

RL is the number one show they have. They have get some gun programming out to compete with Supernanny and BB.

RL on at 7:30 Monday nights, it'll probably win the time slot over the FTA channels.

I haer ya Kurt...all I'm saying is that it might be a better fixture on Nine....right after Temptation (if its still around in 2007 of course!).

 

[t-ba]

I ....right after Temptation (if its still around in 2007 of course!).

:lol: :lol: . I give it until October...

 

[LESStar58]

I
"We believe that our relationship with the NRL and the slots we've agreed is such that we'll be able to meet any requirements of the AFL if we were fortunate to end up with those rights," he said.

If 9 also get the AFL rights then that damages the likelehood (sp?) of any major event being shown live into Melbourne.

I'd love to see the specific clause pertaining to FTA games in Melbourne...9 have a habit of showing poor arse specials about closeted AFL players when big RL games are on!

If 9 get the AFL (and i dont think they will after such a huge outlay on NRL- smart choice ) then it seriosuly debilitates NRL being shown live in Melbourne.

 

[LESStar58]

I think some are knocking what is generally a pretty good idea.

Lets not forget we are 18 months away from this happening and a lot could happen between now and then.

On the major issues:

* Would have to be a 7:30pm timeslot for the live game and 9:30pm for the second. Nine won't dump whatever is on at 7pm because its too important to them and seven draw too much of the audience away with home & away.

* Who said the GF was live into Melbourne? I was sure it wasn't.

* At least they are saying they will talk about the possibility of screening Origin live into Melbourne etc. Lets not dis them for something they haven't done yet. Nine have showed great commitment to league here by saying they will devote 5 hours of prime time Friday nights to it. For all we know, Melbourne could be out of the comp in 18 months (unlikely but you never know) and Nine would see little point in putting the Origin on down there. They need time on this decision and should be commended for at least deciding to look at it.

* Monday night football worries me. Yes, it works in other countries, but so does soccer. I doubt many Aussies will head out on a Monday night to the grounds, especially if it is telstra stadium or aussie stadium. People will want to stay at home and watch it on tv - but the crowds will suffer in my view.

LR

As long as I've been in Melbourne the GF was ALWAYS live...either Chanel 9 or the ABC showed it.

They tried to put on Steel (starring Shaq) for the 2001 GF and Nein got hit with a tonne of complaints and ended up showing it live. The last 3 have also been live...we just never get the post match celebration stuff!

 

[sunny]

Good news for the NRL.

Typical that a Manly fan wouldn't like a quiz show like Temptation, btw. All those hard questions and hard words over four letters...