How Rupert Murdoch helped NRL hit $2 billion TV rights jackpot
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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.
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
