NRL TV rights deal: Global streaming services like Netflix to help deliver record $3b broadcast bonanza
Armed with data that shows the NRL has usurped the AFL as the most-watched code in Australian sport, Peter V’landys will tap into global streaming services to help deliver a historic $3 billion broadcast deal.
ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys has revealed the NRL is set to broker the richest TV rights deal in rugby league’s 117-year history as the code eyes a historic $3 billion broadcast bonanza.
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masthead can reveal V’landys will kick off TV rights negotiations in the next fortnight armed with data that shows the NRL has usurped the AFL as the most-watched code in Australian sport.
V’landys and NRL boss Andrew Abdo will head to the negotiating table with more bargaining power than ever before, with the ARLC to explore the structure of the NFL’s ground-breaking broadcasting deal.
The NFL’s current TV rights deal is worth a staggering $113 billion over 11 years (2023-34), a fiscal coup achieved via a fragmentation strategy where key assets, such as Monday Night Football, are sold off to individual broadcasters.
Now V’landys is poised to deliver a TV rights goldmine, with the ARLC to maximise value by tapping into a global audience via streaming services, such as Netflix, DAZN and Amazon, for the first time in the sport’s history.
The NRL’s current TV rights deal, brokered in December 2021 at a time when the Covid crisis almost sent the code bankrupt, is worth around $2 billion.
That deal expires at the end of 2027, but V’landys is ready to strike while the NRL is red-hot and open talks from April on the code’s broadcasting cycle for the five-year period between 2028-32.
V’landys says the NRL’s record ratings, audiences and revenue is the bedrock for rugby league’s most lucrative TV rights deal, tipped to exceed the value of the current broadcast arrangement by more than $1 billion.
“It will be a record deal,” V’landys said.
“I won’t discuss specific figures but it will be our biggest ever broadcast deal.
“We have worked very hard to get the game to be the most watched sport in Australia. It’s a strategy. Now, naturally, we want to be rewarded for that.
“Our players have delivered. Our coaches have delivered. The clubs have delivered and as a unit, rugby league has never been stronger.
“The strategy of the greatest game of all has paid dividends and the biggest dividend now will be a massive broadcast deal.”
The AFL’s current deal is worth $4.5 billion, an average of around $642 million annually, with the seven-year arrangement to expire at the end of 2031.
But since the AFL brokered its landmark deal in September 2022, the NRL has surged in popularity.
Data shows the NRL has superseded the AFL as a television product, attracting 153.7 million viewers last year compared to their rival’s 140.3m - a 10 per cent spike despite rugby league having three fewer games.
Across all competitions, including State of Origin and women’s leagues, the NRL boasts 186.8 million viewers compared to the AFL’s 148.8m.
Aiding the NRL’s TV rights negotiations, the code will expand to an 18 or 19-team competition by 2028, giving V’landys and Abdo an extra match per round to sell to broadcasters.
The NRL has expanded its market by adding a Pacific franchise, Papua New Guinea, to the league in 2028 and V’landys will decide within the next fortnight whether the Perth Bears will also be admitted in 2027.
Broadcast industry experts estimate the NRL will match, if not exceed, the AFL’s existing deal per annum.
That puts the NRL on track for a new TV rights deal in the vicinity of $3-3.2 billion - and possibly more if streaming services ignite competitive tension.
“We have made this the most attractive sporting medium,” V’landys said.
“Because we are now the most watched sport, we have built the game to be sold at a bigger price.
“For us, we have the premium product, that’s all that matters. We have got the game that is the most watched in Australia.
“We are No.1 in Australia and having more games will make us even bigger.”
Asked if an 18 or 19-team league will affect the broadcast value, V’landys said: “The more teams you have, the more valuable your product is, no doubt about that.
“But in saying all that, it doesn’t matter. We now have the most watched game and when you add the Pacific region, via Papua New Guinea coming up, we have more reach, we are growing and we have the most valuable real estate in sport in Australia on an ongoing basis.
“As soon as we know the exact number of teams, we will start broadcast negotiations.
“I would say it will be in the next few weeks.”
While current broadcast partners Channel 9 and Foxtel will be in the mix, the NRL is expected to attract interest from Channel 7 and global involvement from streaming services Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Paramount.
The NRL has privately discussed a ‘fragmentation’ strategy where rugby league’s products can be split and sold off to a coterie of interested parties.
A fortnight ago, V’landys revealed State of Origin - the code’s showpiece which is currently exclusive to Channel 9 - could be sold separately to maximise value.
There is also the potential to sell off the NRL finals series as an individual TV rights product, as well as concepts such as Thursday and Friday Night Football.
V’landys said the ARL Commission will look into the NFL’s broadcasting structure and added the NRL’s venture to Las Vegas was a critical weapon in attracting possible streaming audiences in the United States.
“The streaming services would want some exclusivity. We will look at the NFL’s model and see how games could be distributed,” he said.
“To give you an example, Netflix telecast the Mike Tyson-(Jake) Paul fight and they got 60 million viewers.
“The beauty of those streaming services is they have a worldwide audience.
“Disney has come out and said they are interested (in the NRL).
“The NFL have broken up their products between free-to-air, cable and streaming. They have given a little bit to everybody.
“So, for five bucks a month, you might be able to watch NRL on Amazon or Netflix.
“I’m not saying that’s necessarily what we are going to do, but it’s an option.
“The streaming services are looking at the potential of the NRL and that’s why having a presence in the United States is vital.”
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