Next TV rights deal part 2

[herbert henry1908]

Is it feasible to believe that the NRL will allow Wilson, Rothfield et al continue to slander the game from pillar to post or do you guys think that this would of been part of the new conditions....to actually, you know, promote the game they just paid over a billion dollars for. I'm tired of the way our great game gets portrayed.

I'm a bit old school on this.

If you're constantly on the front page , even for bad reasons , there's demand for your product.

Any publicity is good publicity type thing.


What's most important for me is how the NRL spend the money. There's no doubt huge amount of work is needed on juniors & bush footy. We've got to spend on the future ,mots where the AFL have been beating us. I actually think people are starting to see through their phony media managed bullsh*t at the AFL. Just too plastic.

 

[Palms]

I'm a bit old school on this.

If you're constantly on the front page , even for bad reasons , there's demand for your product.

Any publicity is good publicity type thing.


What's most important for me is how the NRL spend the money. There's no doubt huge amount of work is needed on juniors & bush footy. We've got to spend on the future ,mots where the AFL have been beating us. I actually think people are starting to see through their phony media managed bullsh*t at the AFL. Just too plastic.

Nonetheless imagine how many more people we could be reaching if it wasn't for the publicity that NEWS puts out. A lot see through the BS but unfortunately a lot take it hook, line and sinker.

I believe what Smith has said. He was here to make the code some money and he has done that tenfold. Now Grant is in place to take the game back to its roots and grow it from the bottom up again. We have our chest, and as you said HH1908, we really need to start embedding the NRL into the youth once again. They have to make Rugby League attractive for the average Joe to want to attend.

 

[Chief_Chujo]

What's most important for me is how the NRL spend the money. There's no doubt huge amount of work is needed on juniors & bush footy. We've got to spend on the future ,mots where the AFL have been beating us.

1000% agree. This windfall cannot be eaten up by the clubs and the elite players. The first billion should cover them and the rest needs to go into development, and that includes the pacific nations and NZ.

 

[herbert henry1908]

I think it's best to counter their negative message , not pay them to stop being negative.

Make them look like the fools they are.

I notice the NRL have started up an @ NRLMedia Twitter account doing just that. Hopefully they expand their message to other areas.

 

[Chief_Chujo]

I think it's best to counter their negative message , not pay them to stop being negative.

Make them look like the fools they are.

The best way to do that is to let them ties the noose themselves. The second you argue back you give them credibility.

 

[Phil McGrawhan]

If the 300 mill for the last 2 yrs of the current contract is true ,then that means the NRL outdid the afl in the current contract .
Would take us up yo 1.3+

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Has their been any announcements or statements from the ARLC???

Im not convinced their is any more substance to this than there was when we first heard about the "Friday 6pm" proposal and the alleged rush to get a deal done then...

 

[Last Week]

Has their been any announcements or statements from the ARLC???

Im not convinced their is any more substance to this than there was when we first heard about the "Friday 6pm" proposal and the alleged rush to get a deal done then...

No. But a press conference has apparently been called for tomorrow morning.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

No. But a press conference has apparently been called for tomorrow morning.

So, for all the wrist slashing going on, this could just be another News beat up...

- we know a meeting was held today.
- we can assume Fox put a proposal forward
- this would naturally be put to the Commission regardless of how good/shit the terms are.

For all that we KNOW, the negotiations could go on for months still. News really know how to hit a nerve in this place....

 

[insert.pause]

So, for all the wrist slashing going on, this could just be another News beat up...

- we know a meeting was held today.
- we can assume Fox put a proposal forward
- this would naturally be put to the Commission regardless of how good/shit the terms are.

For all that we KNOW, the negotiations could go on for months still. News really know how to hit a nerve in this place....

Nah, a deal has been done mate, we just have to wait for the announcement to confirm the terms.

 

[El Diablo]

9 said what the deal would be in their news

 

[Last Week]

9 said what the deal would be in their news

I missed it and haven't seen it posted. What are the terms according to them?

 

[Last Week]

So, for all the wrist slashing going on, this could just be another News beat up...

- we know a meeting was held today.
- we can assume Fox put a proposal forward
- this would naturally be put to the Commission regardless of how good/shit the terms are.

For all that we KNOW, the negotiations could go on for months still. News really know how to hit a nerve in this place....

Tomorrow morning it looks like it'll be announced.

I harp on about this, but not one news broadcaster knew the details of our current deal on the day it was announced. Nothing was known until John Grant said the details of the deal himself at the press conference.

Now this time, it's possible that Nine know and have announced details, but I'd say that that's very unprofessional of them. But that's all. Same situation as last time. Let's wait until it's announced before judging.

 

[applesauce]

If the 300 mill for the last 2 yrs of the current contract is true ,then that means the NRL outdid the afl in the current contract .
Would take us up yo 1.3+

In addition the money is worth more now than in 7 years of inflation.

 

[gallagher]

Just on simulcasting. Will fox use their own commentators? I'll be happy if i never have to listen to rabs gus and bolts again.

 

[Perth Red]

I dunno.

The length of their games & the extra ads are a huge factor.

Not for pay tv and digital they aren't. Length of ad breaks is really only relevant for the fta aspect of the deal. The ninth game makes a big difference and the NRL continues to fuddle around expansion and then bemoan not having a ninth game to sell.

Telstra save $50mill on naming rights in their deal. For the most watched sport on tv we continue to accept mediocrity. Ho hum such is the lot of a RL fan.

 

[Perth Red]

They could beam the game directly to your retinas in unheard of 5D and you still wouldnt be happy.

I should be happy, I've been pretty much predicting this since day one. I was really hoping to be proved wrong and to hear the announcement of expansion, a shift to more family friendly kick off times and a $ value more than the AFL got. Sadly looks like I was going to be right, so yes I am unhappy. Excuse me for not accepting mediocrity for our game like most on here.

 

[Perth Red]

Just on simulcasting. Will fox use their own commentators? I'll be happy if i never have to listen to rabs gus and bolts again.

It would be worth a few hundred milion less for this!

 

[Lynoman]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...illion-tv-rights-jackpot-20151126-gl8zod.html

Just three months after declaring he preferred AFL and would commit resources to promote the code in NSW and Queensland, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has doubled its commitment to the NRL in a record $2billion broadcast rights deal.
Under the terms of the deal, which were being finalised by lawyers on Thursday night, News Corp and Foxtel partner Telstra have agreed to pay $1.175b over five years for the NRL's pay-TV and digital rights.
Costly business: News executives Mike Fitzpatrick, Rupert Murdoch and Robert Thompson. News will pay $900m for the NRL pay TV rights from 2018-2022.
Costly business: News executives Mike Fitzpatrick, Rupert Murdoch and Robert Thompson. News will pay $900m for the NRL pay TV rights from 2018-2022. Photo: Simon O'Dwyer
With Nine selling back the Saturday night match it bought in August as part of a $925million free-to-air contract, the deal effectively retains the status quo for viewers as there will still be three free-to-air matches and five games on pay TV each week.
However, Nine will broadcast 18 Thursday night matches next season in a move that means NRL will be played five nights per week in 2016 before the scrapping of Monday night football the following year.
All matches will be broadcast live as there will only be one Friday night match on Nine next season before the introduction of a 6pm game on Fox Sports in 2017.
Fox Sports will also simulcast the three free-to-air matches after taking up an option to pay Nine $25million per year for the rights, while News Corp paid $175million to buy back the Saturday night match and ensure the continuation of its Super Saturday franchise.
The Nine deal so infuriated Murdoch that he overspent by an estimated $300million for the AFL rights and personally attended a press conference in Melbourne a week later to announce the $2.508billion, six-year deal.
"We have always preferred Aussie rules," Murdoch declared, while News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson said the company would use its media outlets to help the AFL's expansion into NSW and Queensland.
Murdoch also said News Corp's investment in AFL would be "much bigger", while News Corp reports claimed the company would not match the $550million it paid under the current five-year broadcast deal, which began in 2013.
However, News Corp has paid $900million for the NRL pay-TV rights from 2018 to 2022 in a deal that compares favourably with that secured by the AFL.
While News paid $1.3billion over six years for the pay-TV broadcast rights for 5.5 AFL matches per season and simulcast rights to the remaining 3.5 games, a breakdown of the deals reveals that each weekly AFL game costs the company $39million per season compared to $36million for the NRL games.
The $35million per season that News Corp has paid to regain the Saturday night match, plus the $125million for the simulcast rights, has reduced the cost of Nine's free-to-air deal to $625million over five years, which includes the State of Origin series and streaming rights.
Telstra is understood to have paid $200million for the digital rights and is also expected to retain the naming rights for the NRL premiership, while the New Zealand broadcast rights could yield up to $150million more to take the overall deal to $2billion.
The deal was negotiated at a marathon round of talks on Wednesday night between representatives of the NRL, headed by ARL Commission chairman John Grant and fellow commissioners Graeme Samuel and Jeremy Sutcliffe, News Corp, Nine and Telstra at the offices of Sydney lawyers Clayton Utz.
Thomson flew in to Sydney to finalise the deal, while News Corp's Australian chief executive, Peter Tonagh, former CEO Julian Clarke, Fox Sports chief executive Patrick Delaney and commercial director Scott Briggs were also involved.
The ARL Commission met on Thursday to approve the deal, which has been the cause of delays to the NRL's planned announcement of the 2016 draw due to the introduction of regular Thursday night matches.
The Viewer's View
2016
Thursday: 7.30pm (Nine)
Friday: 7.30pm (Nine)
Saturday: 3pm, 5.30pm, 7.30pm (Fox Sports)
Sunday: 2pm (Fox Sports), 4pm (Nine)
Monday: 7pm (Fox Sports)
2017
Thursday: 7.30pm (Nine)*
Friday: 6pm (Fox Sports), 8pm (Nine)*
Saturday: 3pm, 5.30pm, 7.30pm (Fox Sports)
Sunday: 2pm (Fox Sports), 4pm (Nine)*
* Fox Sports to simulcast Nine matches


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...ts-jackpot-20151126-gl8zod.html#ixzz3sbjtX4j3
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook

 

[applesauce]

New NRL TV rights deal reignites calls for expansion in Queensland

THE Brisbane Bombers can field a team in time for the 2018 season with expansion set to be thrust back on to the table after the NRL secured a record $2 billion broadcast rights deal.

The NRL will on Friday announce a bumper television deal, ending months of tense negotiations with Channel Nine and Fox Sports.

The deal will provide a huge cash injection to the game and reignite calls for the competition to expand from 16 teams.

The Brisbane Bombers, Western Corridor and Central Queensland bid teams head the list of candidates for new clubs seeking entry into the NRL.

The Broncos currently hold a monopoly in the Brisbane market and Bombers chairman Craig Davison said the new entity was ready to be given the green light.

“If they call a tender process we’ll put our hand up along with a number of other people. We’re ready for that,” he said.

“It’s obvious Brisbane needs another team. How that pans out and who that team’s going to be, we’ll see.

“There’s no guarantee the Bombers will get it. We’re just one bidding team of many and we respect that.”

The last team to join the NRL was the Gold Coast Titans in 2007.

Concerns over the stability of the code’s 16 clubs has held back expansion and former CEO Dave Smith was against the idea given only two clubs — the Broncos and Rabbitohs — are profitable.

Western Corridor bid chief Steven Johnson said an NRL team in Ipswich would develop the game.

“It’s always been a question about the allocation of funds,” he said.

“The existing clubs have to be given the chance to succeed in the future but we believe our bid will grow the game.

“Our bid is community based and we’ll bring so much to the table. We’ll benefit the entire game.”

Broncos chairman Dennis Watt warned that the financial viability of the existing clubs needed to be the NRL’s priority before expansion could be considered.

Some clubs have been urging ARL Commission chairman John Grant to expedite increased funding to them from the television rights bounty.

“It’s a challenge for the game to recalibrate its priorities and make sure the breadwinners are looked after,” Watt said.

“The clubs who provide the competition and the talent for the extraordinary success of State of Origin. You have two clubs (Broncos and Rabbitohs) who make a profit.

“Then we can look after our grassroots and all the game’s other demands.’’

A party for league winners, with only one person not invited

Former NRL chief Dave Smith was the only man in the room at Sydney’s League Central when he fronted a press conference to trumpet his free-to-air broadcasting rights deal with the Nine Network in August.

With not one representative from Nine beside him, the Welsh-born former banker cut a lone figure as he talked up a deal that has now been confirmed as a total bust.

This morning, the NRL will announce* a new deal flanked by a large group of executives from News Corp, Fox Sports, Nine and Telstra. The only person missing will be Smith.

It’s instructive that the NRL’s historic $1.8 billion agreement was only achieved by bringing all the broadcasters to the negotiating table at the same time.

There are two ways to go: the Smith way, or with all parties coming* to a level of understanding on how the deal can work for everyone.

That’s how Australian Football League chief Gillon McLachlan clinched his record $2.508bn TV rights agreement in the same month Smith jeopardised the code’s future.

Smith had awarded Fox Sport’s matches to Nine, betting he could wrest a record deal by selling the remaining four weekly NRL games to them for a fee.

He played the odds and, two months after signing the now redrawn* deal with Nine, he paid the price — with his job.

With Smith gone, a new deal has been struck, with Nine surrendering the Saturday evening live match to Fox Sports for $35 million a year.

The NRL regularly delivers sensational recoveries in the dying moments of a match but none so amazing, perhaps, as the code’s new deal.

Everyone will feel like a winner this morning at a jubilant press conference but the big winners are the fans. From next year, every game will be simulcast in high defin*ition on Fox Sports, and in 2017 a 24-hour dedicated rugby league channel will launch. Fans will be able to watch at least three live matches each week on Nine.

The biggest problem now for relieved clubs is trying to convince fans to attend the matches.

NRL's new $2billion broadcast deal to quell revolt against ARLC chairman John Grant

A $50 million advance payment from News Corp is set to quieten - and possibly quell - a revolt by NRL clubs against ARLC chairman John Grant as the record $2 billion broadcast deal ensures a win for all parties.

The clubs are expected to have their demands met for an annual grant totalling 130 per cent of the salary cap; Grant will avoid a push to remove him from the commission; Nine has recouped $300 million from its initial $925 million free-to-air deal and News Corp has ensured the continued viability of Fox Sports.

Despite stepping down from the job amid claims News Corp would not negotiate with him after the Nine deal, former NRL chief executive Dave Smith is also a winner as his strategy of selling the free-to-air and pay-tv rights separately has delivered the game an amount almost double the current $1.025 billion deal.

The value of the deal is almost identical to the $417 million per year the AFL secured from News Corp, Seven and Telstra in a record $2.508 billion deal that is estimated to have been over-inflated by about $300 million due to Rupert Murdoch's fury at the NRL deal with Nine.

Having previously claimed that News Corp would not match the $550 million they paid for the current broadcast rights after the NRL's deal with Nine, the company has now spent $1.175b to continue broadcasting five matches per week on Fox Sports.

The deal also enables Fox Sports to simulcast the three free-to-air matches to be broadcast on Thursday night, Friday night and Sunday afternoon from next season, while the pay-tv broadcaster has committed to a dedicated NRL station from 2017.

While there has been speculation that Smith's resignation was the key to securing such a good outcome for the NRL, the re-emergence of Optus in the pay-tv market sparked News Corp into action.

Optus stunned most News when they snatched the rights to the English Premier League for three years, starting next August and Fairfax Media revealed last week that the telco had expressed interest in the NRL rights.

It is understood that there were concerns within News that Optus would then attempt to sell the games to Fox Sports at a premium, or worse - partner with an organisation like Fetch TV to become a serious pay-tv rival.

Either way, the presence of Optus and the Dubai-based BeIN Sports have created tension in the market that forced Fox Sports back to the negotiating table, while Telstra has paid $200 million to retain the digital rights.

The timing of the deal could not be much better for Grant, who has been in the sights of club chairman after they left a meeting last month claiming that negotiations over funding had gone backwards since Smith's departure.

To oust Grant would require 14 of 26 votes from the 16 clubs, NSWRL, QRL and eight commissioners but Fairfax Media has been told that there was sufficient opposition to achieve such an outcome.

With only two clubs - Brisbane and South Sydney - recording a profit this season and the other 14 losing up to $40 million between them, they want more than the $3 million each over two years Grant has offered from a $50 million advance on the Nine deal.

Grant wants to invest $100 million into grassroots and could not do that and meet the club's demands of annual grants 30 per cent above the salary cap without the $50 million advance on News Corp's pay-tv money.