Newscorp and International League expansion

[miguel de cervantes]

So for those not following the NRL deal thing, a Newscorp lacky has spouted the following:

NRL can go global, says Robert Thomson of News Corp

Mr Thomson has laid down a blueprint for an ambitious rugby league global expansion during a closed-door meeting at the offices of Sydney law firm Clayton Utz this week.
While negotiating the NRL’s record $1.8 billion TV deal, the *native Victorian and Essendon tragic who recently helped clinch the AFL’s historic $2.598bn rights agreement, said he would take the code to a new level by leveraging the pulling power of Mr Murdoch’s newspapers and television networks.
Mr Thomson, who flew into Sydney this week from his New York base to play a key role in the late night talks, issued the clarion call in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday evening at Clayton Utz. Mr Thomson will help the NRL partner with other News Corp companies around the globe to broadcast highlights packages and possibly live matches.
There is a belief the NRL could even stage matches overseas or perhaps move to connect different clubs’ pre-season tours and competitions around the world.
While the staggering size of the new TV deal, which could surpass $2bn once international rights are sold, means there is no economic need to play matches overseas, there is a great deal of enthusiasm for the idea among commissioners and the broadcast partners.
Speaking to The Weekend Australian after a press conference to unveil the deal, commission chairman John Grant confirmed the strategy was high on his agenda under the 2018-2022 deal, as it represented a “big opportunity”.
“We will go back to Europe where we have a rugby league base to play off. News is very keen on Asia and we’re very keen on the US, which is the 21st Century Fox platform,” Mr Grant said.
“News Corp will use its worldwide resources to take NRL on to the global stage where we believe over time it has incredible appeal and can attract an army of new fans.”
Dubbing the deal a “transformative” moment for Fox Sports, giving fans live coverage of every game in each round and a dedicated NRL channel, Fox Sports chief executive Patrick Delany put his stamp of approval on the plan for global expansion.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...son-of-news-corp/story-e6frg6n6-1227626165641

Whilst Newscorp are a bunch of evil people, you cannot deny they have the resources to give international league a serious shot in the arm if they chose to do so, speficially in the US. Will we see any substance to this, or just hot air?

It's already worrying that they talk of NRL on the global stage rather than rugby league in general, but that may just be because it is a Victorian and he doesn't know any better.

 

[DlEHARD]

We heard this from them 20 years ago...

 

[Evil Homer]

The NRL don't care about international rugby league. Any benefits will be incidental.

 

[Foreign Legion]

We heard this from them 20 years ago...

I remeber when John Ribot and super league where thinking about a super league club in fiji with the support of the fijian army

 

[roughyedspud]

The worrying thing is...its not newscorps job to think about international development of RL...Nor is it the NRLs job..

Its the job of the national (arlc,rfl etc) & international bodies (rlif,rlef,aprlc)


Leave them to it and stop muddying the waters

 

[Heritage XIII]

An AFL tragic said this? Yeah believe it when I see it. Just another insight into how AFL, like union, prospers. Friends in high places.

 

[deal.with.it]

The worrying thing is...its not newscorps job to think about international development of RL...Nor is it the NRLs job..

Its the job of the national (arlc,rfl etc) & international bodies (rlif,rlef,aprlc)


Leave them to it and stop muddying the waters

You may have missed it early last year spud, but the NRL is the old ARL. The ARLC is simply the board that the ceo reports to. The ARLC isn't an organisation. They decided to put everything ARL related under the NRL banner because it is the most recognised name in Aus and around the world and is easier to leverage from.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Nothing will happen.

 

[taipan]

Maybe this is a contra for the Friday 6 pm starter.
Grant (and I'm not a huge fan) at least was a Kangaroo,and openly wants the game to be stronger Internationally.
Plus I also believe the last 3 match test series between the Poms and the Sheepchasers,show there is interest to be built upon.
My only point is,when does this so called News promoting rl overseas begin?.Fans will be watching and testing their promised "commitment".

 

[PacificCoastRL]

I think the NRL is trying to accomplish just what the EPL, NFL etc. have been doing for a while now. The world is a smaller place than it was even 25 years ago, thanks to technology. Australia is a small country population-wise, the NRL is prospecting for more fans. And if they package it properly things will go well for them, because rugby league is a great sport. Perhaps the greatest sport that "nobody knows about." And you internationalists are right - it will not help the international game. That is not the NRL's job. The NRL does not need international rugby league. They are doing fine considering that international league is a basically a joke when compared to other sports on a global platform.

In fact, the NRL is doing a decent job now. I live in Canada and watch every NRL game on a Canadian sports channel's online entity. Live in the early morning hours, or archived at my convenience. Which is more than I can say for Super League - there used to be two games a week on the same channel, but not anymore. Or international league - I had to wait three days to watch the New Zealand-England tests on Youtube.

 

[Evil Homer]

I think the NRL is trying to accomplish just what the EPL, NFL etc. have been doing for a while now. The world is a smaller place than it was even 25 years ago, thanks to technology. Australia is a small country population-wise, the NRL is prospecting for more fans. And if they package it properly things will go well for them, because rugby league is a great sport. Perhaps the greatest sport that "nobody knows about." And you internationalists are right - it will not help the international game. That is not the NRL's job. The NRL does not need international rugby league. They are doing fine considering that international league is a basically a joke when compared to other sports on a global platform.

Except the chances of anyone from another country becoming interested or invested in any way in an obscure Australian sports league are slim, certainly on any sort of meaningful scale. It works for the NFL because of the sheer size and magnitude of the league, and because people are culturally obsessed with America. But that isn't the case with Australia, nobody cares, nobody is going to care no matter how good the product is because it isn't something that is relevant to anyone outside of Australia, it isn't something that anyone has ever heard of.

If the NRL want to expand their brand overseas then international development is absolutely the ONLY way to go, it's too bad the majority of idiots at the ARLC/News won't ever see this.

 

[Western_Eel]

I think you are all missing the point, They don't want to grow the international game they want to grow the NRL internationally.

 

[PacificCoastRL]

And that is what the NRL are hoping to change Homer. They want to make their brand, their game relevant on a worldwide basis. I may be the exception. I never saw a game of league until 1986 (on a Canadian sports channel) I have lived my whole life in the same small town in Canada and have never been to Australia, but the first time I saw league I was hooked. I consider myself an avid sports fan. My wife would probably say I am obsessed when it comes to sports. In my opinion there is not a more pure sport than rugby league. I think it is the perfect sport. Others will take notice of rugby league as I have, perhaps not to the same extent, but they will take notice and become fans.

 

[Evil Homer]

And that is what the NRL are hoping to change Homer. They want to make their brand, their game relevant on a worldwide basis. I may be the exception. I never saw a game of league until 1986 (on a Canadian sports channel) I have lived my whole life in the same small town in Canada and have never been to Australia, but the first time I saw league I was hooked. I consider myself an avid sports fan. My wife would probably say I am obsessed when it comes to sports. In my opinion there is not a more pure sport than rugby league. I think it is the perfect sport. Others will take notice of rugby league as I have, perhaps not to the same extent, but they will take notice and become fans.

A few surely would, although I'm not sure how many given that there is virtually zero market penetration, they would likely have to stumble across the sport by accident as you did. Either way, it's totally futile effort because en masse people will only ever become interested in what is perceived to be relevant, and an Australian sports league will never be relevant in Canada or anywhere else.

Again, the NRL brand cannot and will not ever be relevant without international RL. This is the reason that nobody overseas watches the AFL or CFL or GAA. RL has a huge, potentially game-changing advantage over those sports and the NRL want to ignore it in favor of a development model that simply won't ever work. These people are clueless.

 

[miguel de cervantes]

They don't want to grow the international game they want to grow the NRL internationally.

definitely this, but the two are not mutually exclusive, the growth of the NRL internationally would certainly have positive effects for international rugby league. It is just a question of how to lever that growth into bettering international rugby league.

Others will take notice of rugby league as I have, perhaps not to the same extent, but they will take notice and become fans.

And this. You would be surprised, with the internet, how people can become interested in league by seeing NRL games, Origin etc. I have read it on the french forum and experienced it in real life in France., although moreso along the lines of "wow, ok so this is rugby league, it's actually not so bad as one would have us believe, at least it is much better than what I have seen, experienced in France", that sort of thing.

 

[Pommy]

There is 100% scope for the NRL to have massive growth in England. Particularly the north in the ancestral homeland of League.
People talk about trying to grow the NRL in NZ which has 4.4 million people the north of England has nearly 15 million this doesn't even take in to consideration you would also have access to the entire 60 million plus inhabitants of the UK. The outlay involved would be much smaller than potentially having to prop up a failing team on the Southern Island.
Comparing the ESL to the NRL is like comparing the A League to the Premier League. Yet rugby league fans back home don't have mainstream access to watch it.
The NRLs number one priority in selling itself abroad and expanding should be making sure the NRL is televised on Sky Sports in some shape or form.
Even if they have to take slightly less money in the short term than they are from Premier sports right now it should be viewed as a worthwhile investment in the future of the NRL brand and every team in the competition.

 

[roughyedspud]

You may have missed it early last year spud, but the NRL is the old ARL. The ARLC is simply the board that the ceo reports to. The ARLC isn't an organisation. They decided to put everything ARL related under the NRL banner because it is the most recognised name in Aus and around the world and is easier to leverage from.

Can you give me a source for thst?

 

[Bronco Rob]

definitely this, but the two are not mutually exclusive, the growth of the NRL internationally would certainly have positive effects for international rugby league. It is just a question of how to lever that growth into bettering international rugby league.

Absolutely Miguel, the NRL need to grow the pie but if they are successful in growing the game beyond the current reach then it's up to the RLIF to take advantage of this and put in the processes to leverage of the interest.

I think we all know that if the sport of Rugby League gets some exposure then there will be interest but we need to be smart about the direction we take. There's no use in having people in new markets getting interested in Rugby League but then have no ability for them or their kids to play the game and maybe taking up Union instead.

It's also a shame that so many get negative when anything positive is said about RL, yes we have heard the rhetoric before but we still have to be upbeat and not be defeatists even though it is difficult at times.

 

[deal.with.it]

Can you give me a source for thst?

John Grant

 

[Lockyer4President!]

Can you give me a source for thst?

When the commission was formed there was a ceremonial handing over of the baton and everything.


It's why the Kangaroos no longer wear the classic ARL badge and wear that NRL style badge instead.