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New Zealand 2 will deal a massive blow to NZ rugby

Perth Red

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“If Sky’s drastic cutback in pricing is confirmed, as expected, there are heavy implications for the likes of player salaries and other costs.

NZR would need to bridge the gap as much as possible with other broadcasters, here and internationally, for matches not covered by the Sky deal.”


Wonder how many more tests they need to play to make up that lost revenue

Sky deal cut from 111 mill nz to 85 million

Full article is on tv rights thread



“Sky certainly believes that rugby has no other option,” said one source.
Another said: “While rugby is very, very important to you and I as New Zealanders, it doesn’t even work in Australia. Rugby is the third sport in winter [behind AFL and league], and the fourth when you count cricket during the summer.”

Lilley the sky deal also included the new global competition being introduced

Article speculates that losing the union rights would improve cash flow for the company
why didnt DAZN make a rival bid I wonder? Given their move into Australia you'd have thought NZ would be an obvious target and All blacks games wou'd fit into their event preference.
 

Wb1234

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why didnt DAZN make a rival bid I wonder? Given their move into Australia you'd have thought NZ would be an obvious target and All blacks games wou'd fit into their event preference.
Nz is a small market and they don’t have the rights to union in Australia stan do

Maybe if they had the Aussie rights then it would flow on for them getting nz
 

Perth Red

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Nz is a small market and they don’t have the rights to union in Australia stan do

Maybe if they had the Aussie rights then it would flow on for them getting nz
But if you want to get a strong foothold in a country surely you'd aim for the most popular sport, in NZ case that's Union. Especially when you factor in the International appeal of the All-Blacks and that DAZN could include their games across its international platforms.
 

Wb1234

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But if you want to get a strong foothold in a country surely you'd aim for the most popular sport, in NZ case that's Union. Especially when you factor in the International appeal of the All-Blacks and that DAZN could include their games across its international platforms.

The report said if they lost the union rights their cash flow would improve (at the current contract amount). The contract covers the rugby championship games plus super rugby and 3 npc games
 

Canard

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If the urc and English union merge they won’t have a comp to play in they are getting kicked out
Thats a bit beyond my Union knowledge, so Ill leave it to a Union fan like you to speculate on.

But that opinion piece is just the Kiwis pining for the return of the Saffers, as it strengthens their TV rights, and increases their competiviness.

The fact that NZ Union is getting less money, and Aus Union more in TV rights suggests that NZ just isn't a very competitive market.

Especially when you consider ratings wise, they are polar opposites.
 

Wb1234

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Thats a bit beyond my Union knowledge, so Ill leave it to a Union fan like you to speculate on.

But that opinion piece is just the Kiwis pining for the return of the Saffers, as it strengthens their TV rights, and increases their competiviness.

The fact that NZ Union is getting less money, and Aus Union more in TV rights suggests that NZ just isn't a very competitive market.

Especially when you consider ratings wise, they are polar opposites.
Being accused of being a Union fan is better than being accused of being an afl fan tbf

I did actually play Union and not league growing up (not very well)

There will be a shakeup of super rugby down the track. The current format isn’t sustainable

Japan and sa are the obvious partners for nz and a reduced Aussie conference
 

Canard

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Being accused of being a Union fan is better than being accused of being an afl fan tbf

I did actually play Union and not league growing up (not very well)

There will be a shakeup of super rugby down the track. The current format isn’t sustainable

Japan and sa are the obvious partners for nz and a reduced Aussie conference
It's fairly obvious you're a Rah Rah.

You post tweets of some fat 3rd grader that played two games for the Dolphin playing Z grade Union and pine for him to return to League

And you strongly prefer recruitment of Union juniors over developing League players
 

Canard

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Being accused of being a Union fan is better than being accused of being an afl fan tbf

I did actually play Union and not league growing up (not very well)

There will be a shakeup of super rugby down the track. The current format isn’t sustainable

Japan and sa are the obvious partners for nz and a reduced Aussie conference
It's fairly obvious you're a Rah Rah.

You post tweets of some fat 3rd grader that played two games for the Dolphin playing Z grade Union and pine for him to return to League

And you strongly prefer recruitment of Union juniors over developing League players
 

Wb1234

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It's fairly obvious you're a Rah Rah.

You post tweets of some fat 3rd grader that played two games for the Dolphin playing Z grade Union and pine for him to return to League

And you strongly prefer recruitment of Union juniors over developing League players
So good you had to say it twice.




That Warbarick guy goes good for the storm too
 
Last edited:

Matua

First Grade
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5,224
Thats a bit beyond my Union knowledge, so Ill leave it to a Union fan like you to speculate on.

But that opinion piece is just the Kiwis pining for the return of the Saffers, as it strengthens their TV rights, and increases their competiviness.

The fact that NZ Union is getting less money, and Aus Union more in TV rights suggests that NZ just isn't a very competitive market.

Especially when you consider ratings wise, they are polar opposites.
NZ rugby wants the Saffas back for the money but more for the competitiveness and different style of play. TBH I don't think it's that far out of the realms of possibility, the Saffa teams aren't doing that well up north, not dominating as expected, they've been sending lower strength teams up there for matches. A couple of their teams have made noises about wanting to join Super.

And yep, there's no competition in the NZ market as it's just not big enough and the other homegrown broadcasting companies can't compete financially.

You post tweets of some fat 3rd grader that played two games for the Dolphin playing Z grade Union and pine for him to return to League
That fatso used league pretty well to earn some coin in Japan, he was a washed up rugby player nowhere near Super Rugby and not even good enough for NPC when he left, he managed to get double figure first grade games in the NRL which set him up for Japanese rugby contract.

In all honesty it might be the making of him, the game is high paced up there so he might actually have to lose some weight with regular game time. But if Bennett can't get him into shape maybe nothing and no one can.

why didnt DAZN make a rival bid I wonder? Given their move into Australia you'd have thought NZ would be an obvious target and All blacks games wou'd fit into their event preference.
From the sounds of it NZR are only just now looking at other potential bids. I assume as part of their Sky contract they have to field their offer first? If I was them I'd go to Amazon Prime, in NZ they lag behind Netflix and even Disney (and of course Sky). It could be a chance to increase their market share in NZ and if they lock up AB tests then they'll get some coverage in the NH where AB tests still rate highly.

On DAZN do they have any infrastructure to actually broadcast in NZ? There's no Foxtel for them to buy up, unless they partnered with one of the broadcast networks?
 

Matua

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5,224
“If Sky’s drastic cutback in pricing is confirmed, as expected, there are heavy implications for the likes of player salaries and other costs.

NZR would need to bridge the gap as much as possible with other broadcasters, here and internationally, for matches not covered by the Sky deal.”


Wonder how many more tests they need to play to make up that lost revenue

Sky deal cut from 111 mill nz to 85 million

Full article is on tv rights thread



“Sky certainly believes that rugby has no other option,” said one source.
Another said: “While rugby is very, very important to you and I as New Zealanders, it doesn’t even work in Australia. Rugby is the third sport in winter [behind AFL and league], and the fourth when you count cricket during the summer.”

Lilley the sky deal also included the new global competition being introduced

Article speculates that losing the union rights would improve cash flow for the company
Cheers for posting the full article on the other thread.

It actually reads like it isn't a done deal and NZR are being proactive about finding other bidders.

TBH, the FTA broadcasters might actually step in for the NPC matches depending on timeslots. Not sure if Sky should really be leaving that option open. If those matches take off they might then be in danger of losing the NPC and thats 13 weeks of content lost to them.

You must have winced at the rugby rights being referred to as the Golden Goose. ;)

Where did it say that losing rugby would improve their cash flow? Not saying it didn't, but it was quite hard to read so I didn't notice that. I wonder how many subscribers they can lose and still have it improving their cash flow?
 

Wb1234

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Cheers for posting the full article on the other thread.

It actually reads like it isn't a done deal and NZR are being proactive about finding other bidders.

TBH, the FTA broadcasters might actually step in for the NPC matches depending on timeslots. Not sure if Sky should really be leaving that option open. If those matches take off they might then be in danger of losing the NPC and thats 13 weeks of content lost to them.

You must have winced at the rugby rights being referred to as the Golden Goose. ;)

Where did it say that losing rugby would improve their cash flow? Not saying it didn't, but it was quite hard to read so I didn't notice that. I wonder how many subscribers they can lose and still have it improving their cash flow?
“If it loses the rights, investor uncertainty about the size of subscriber losses will be significant and likely weigh on the share price in the near term.
“We see a very possible path here where SKT would lose less in revenue than the cost of rights and production for NZ Rugby, but it would likely take time for the market to gain confidence that the loss of rights is positive for free cashflow.”

More like a silver goose

The article didn’t discount someone else paying 111 million nz pa just said a deal with sky was likely for 85 million leaving the nzru to make up shortfall with Npc games not included, having its own digital streaming for games like super league does or playing more ab tests outside of the rugby champ
 

Matua

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5,224
“If it loses the rights, investor uncertainty about the size of subscriber losses will be significant and likely weigh on the share price in the near term.
“We see a very possible path here where SKT would lose less in revenue than the cost of rights and production for NZ Rugby, but it would likely take time for the market to gain confidence that the loss of rights is positive for free cashflow.”

More like a silver goose

The article didn’t discount someone else paying 111 million nz pa just said a deal with sky was likely for 85 million leaving the nzru to make up shortfall with Npc games not included, having its own digital streaming for games like super league does or playing more ab tests outside of the rugby champ
Cheers my page kept jumping with the ads in this place so I missed some of the article. Anyway, so "possible path" - so just speculation on one possible outcome. TBH, I wouldn't mind seeing someone else get the rights just to see it play out ... but highly unlikely considering NZR's ownership stake in Sky.
 

Wb1234

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Cheers my page kept jumping with the ads in this place so I missed some of the article. Anyway, so "possible path" - so just speculation on one possible outcome. TBH, I wouldn't mind seeing someone else get the rights just to see it play out ... but highly unlikely considering NZR's ownership stake in Sky.
Still reckon sr pacific will be restructured within five years

Something like the original 12 team model with Japan and maybe Argentina (maybe 14 teams)

Australia back to 3 teams tops

All blacks tests are valuable currency obviously playing more will bridge some of the gap

And the nzru will claw back some of that loss by giving the aru less since the aru tv deal will go up by maybe ten million

Ironically the article was written by a stockbroker type talking about the value of investing in sky shares lol
 

flippikat

First Grade
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5,301
If the urc and English union merge they won’t have a comp to play in they are getting kicked out
You hit the nail on the head.

Europe - and especially the "home nations" (Scotland, Ireland, Wales & PARTICULARLY England) will make the call here.

Either they'll keep South African teams in their restructured/unified competitions, or cut them loose - and that's a major domino to fall in a huge chain reaction of competition re-jigs.

I hope South Africa stays part of European rugby competitions forever, as that would continue to weaken NZ Rugby Union & make them more vulnerable to pillaging by the NRL.
 

Dark Corner

Juniors
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1,627
You hit the nail on the head.

Europe - and especially the "home nations" (Scotland, Ireland, Wales & PARTICULARLY England) will make the call here.

Either they'll keep South African teams in their restructured/unified competitions, or cut them loose - and that's a major domino to fall in a huge chain reaction of competition re-jigs.

I hope South Africa stays part of European rugby competitions forever, as that would continue to weaken NZ Rugby Union & make them more vulnerable to pillaging by the NRL.
Must be very messy and tiring for the South African teams playing one minute in Australia and New Zealand and getting blamed that no Kiwi/Aussie Super fan want's to watch their team on tv in the middle of night in South Africa.
And now the misplaced Dutch teams are playing in Europe and the homelands of Netherlands.
 

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