Next TV rights deal part 2

[Last Week]

nothing is an exaggeration, control of schedule, simulcasting, nrl channel, 4 fta games in final 5rds, 2bn. Friday 6pm is the cost, I don't like it but I can live with it.

No, Friday 6pm is the salt in the wound.

Simulcasting is an advantage for Fox Sports, not the NRL. We should (and have) received a premium for that. We are Foxtels most watched product. They now have 37.5% more of the regular season in prime time spots. They also have the Sunday afternoon game and 8 finals games. Thats a guarantee of another 8 games in their top

An NRL channel is great exposure for our current fans. But unless the ARLC have a controlling interest in the channel, what advantage is there?!

4 FTA games in the final 5 rounds is good. 4 FTA games every week like we were told were better. This is just moronic PR failure.

It's not $2billion. It's about $200million off.

The fans have missed out with this stupid 6pm game.

Monday night is like for like as a Thursday game. Only difference is Thursday is on FTA. Fans still won't be able to make it, clubs will still want compensation for not being able to draw a crowd on the night still. Friday 6pm is obvious why fans that missed out.

I seriously cannot see how John Grant can sit there and say that this is a great deal for the fans. Our current deal is better except for the dollar value.

 

[DiegoNT]

Conspiracy theorist in me says 6pm Friday exists to avoid clashing with AFL games

I think that's one of the strengths of the friday 6pm game
Its purely a tv thing.
It makes it a double header on Friday night for fox. They suddenly go from having no nrl live on Friday nights to having 2 live. It makes up for losing mnf.
Sunday night wouldn't be desirable. Not only would fatigue set in after 3 sat games and 2 Sunday arvo games, but Sunday night has strong opposition on opposing channels, usually big rating shows on fta tv or strong premiers on other foxtel channels (premier movies, showcase usually put their strongest show on at this time as do other channels).
Friday arvo has little competition, and leads into what is usually the blockbuster game of the round

 

[Jeffmister]

One thing I don't understand is why weren't the NRL more 'forceful' in the negotiations about certain aspects. For example if I was the NRL, I would have tried to make Fox Sports give up the Sunday 2pm game in exchange for regaining the Saturday night game. That way Fox would retain their 'Super Saturday' triple-header while Nine still gets the four games a week which they originally brought. In fact it would give them a Sunday doubleheader and an opportunity to have a 'Super Sunday' of sorts:

11am: Sunday Footy Show
1pm: Game #1 Pre-Game
1:30pm: Game #1
3:30pm: Game #1 Post-Game/Game #2 Pre-Game
4pm: Game #2 leading straight into the 6pm news

The point I'm trying to make is that the NRL could have gotten so much more out of this deal (eg; no Friday 6pm game) if they 'stuck to their guns' on certain aspects.

 

[DiegoNT]

Ok alot of negativity here, so I'll try put a positive spin on things.

We gey $1.8b for 5 years.
Add the last year off the current deal and that's just over $2b for 6 years
Add in the nz/international rights that makes it $2.1-2.2b over 6 years.
Thats $2.1-2.2b vs $2.5b the afl will get over the same time.

We will have 3 live fta games compared to 2 this year and 1 the yeat before.
We will have all games live on Fox.
It's not all doom and gloom

The friday arvo game is stupid, and Thursday isn't the best time either but overall it's not as bad as everyone is making out

 

[insert.pause]

No, Friday 6pm is the salt in the wound.

Simulcasting is an advantage for Fox Sports, not the NRL. We should (and have) received a premium for that. We are Foxtels most watched product. They now have 37.5% more of the regular season in prime time spots. They also have the Sunday afternoon game and 8 finals games. Thats a guarantee of another 8 games in their top

An NRL channel is great exposure for our current fans. But unless the ARLC have a controlling interest in the channel, what advantage is there?!

4 FTA games in the final 5 rounds is good. 4 FTA games every week like we were told were better. This is just moronic PR failure.

It's not $2billion. It's about $200million off.

The fans have missed out with this stupid 6pm game.

Monday night is like for like as a Thursday game. Only difference is Thursday is on FTA. Fans still won't be able to make it, clubs will still want compensation for not being able to draw a crowd on the night still. Friday 6pm is obvious why fans that missed out.

I seriously cannot see how John Grant can sit there and say that this is a great deal for the fans. Our current deal is better except for the dollar value.

Of course simulcasting is an advantage for the NRL, it's exposure across more platforms, just by example those in Adelaide didn't get games even on GEM until after midnight and they didn't even have the option of paying for the privilege, now they do, that helps grow the game.

It will end up just shy of 2bn with NZ.

The current deal is not better, delayed games, Monday's, no NRL channel, no simulcasting, no control over draw, less money.

 

[Desert Qlder]

No, Friday 6pm is the salt in the wound.

Simulcasting is an advantage for Fox Sports, not the NRL. We should (and have) received a premium for that. We are Foxtels most watched product. They now have 37.5% more of the regular season in prime time spots. They also have the Sunday afternoon game and 8 finals games. Thats a guarantee of another 8 games in their top

An NRL channel is great exposure for our current fans. But unless the ARLC have a controlling interest in the channel, what advantage is there?!

4 FTA games in the final 5 rounds is good. 4 FTA games every week like we were told were better. This is just moronic PR failure.

It's not $2billion. It's about $200million off.

The fans have missed out with this stupid 6pm game.

Monday night is like for like as a Thursday game. Only difference is Thursday is on FTA. Fans still won't be able to make it, clubs will still want compensation for not being able to draw a crowd on the night still. Friday 6pm is obvious why fans that missed out.

I seriously cannot see how John Grant can sit there and say that this is a great deal for the fans. Our current deal is better except for the dollar value.

Is it ever!

Great summation of what is a very poor outcome for the NRL and football fans.

Nine, Newscorp, AFL can all go back to their stakeholders at the conclusion of negotiations with substantial wins to show for themselves. The NRL not so much.

And all when it didn't actually have to be negotiated.

As to the pub game, well I don't know about anyone else, but I am sitting with my family having dinner together at 6pm. With the TV firmly off.

Call me old fashioned, but there are times when it is simply not appropriate to be watching football.

 

[Cumberland Throw]

4 FTA games in the final 5 rounds is good. 4 FTA games every week like we were told were better. This is just moronic PR failure.

.

Um no, Channel 9 will just be not showing Thursday night during the last 5 weeks,

so you will still only net 3 FTA games

 

[El Diablo]

Call me old fashioned, but there are times when it is simply not appropriate to be watching football.

you're old fashioned

 

[El Diablo]

Um no, Channel 9 will just be not showing Thursday night during the last 5 weeks,

so you will still only net 3 FTA games

they'll be showing Saturday night games

dickhead

 

[DiegoNT]

Ok i see that big footy they are repeating Wilson lines of a renegotiation taking place making the deal 2.1b over 7 years. This means 1 of 2 things of true

1. $1.8b for the 5 years, with $300m added to the currently existing tv deal for 16/17. That means that the $300m is added onto the $224m the game was already recieving

2. $1.8b for the 5 years with the last 2 years of the current deal wiped clean( -$224 per year) and renegotiated at $300m over the 2 years- a huge f**k up if that's occurred.

Can anyone comfirm if either is true

 

[cleary89]

I do get why everyone hates the 6pm friday game but as a teacher i love it and the kids at school will too.

 

[beave]

I do get why everyone hates the 6pm friday game but as a teacher i love it and the kids at school will too.

Not everyone knocks off at 3:30pm mate.

 

[Dragonwest]

Ok i see that big footy they are repeating Wilson lines of a renegotiation taking place making the deal 2.1b over 7 years. This means 1 of 2 things of true

1. $1.8b for the 5 years, with $300m added to the currently existing tv deal for 16/17. That means that the $300m is added onto the $224m the game was already recieving

2. $1.8b for the 5 years with the last 2 years of the current deal wiped clean( -$224 per year) and renegotiated at $300m over the 2 years- a huge f**k up if that's occurred.

Can anyone comfirm if either is true

Exactly what I want to confirm?

 

[Cletus]

How stupid the 6pm games are depends on whether they are played here or in NZ. if they're in NZ they're fine. You could have teams travelling to NZ when the Warriors arern't playing and have a game there every week. It won't work in any of the Australian capitals.

 

[whall15]

Essentially to gain about an extra $100m - $200m (approx) and control of scheduling to get towards a $1.8 billion deal John Grant had to:

1. Swap Monday Night Football for Friday 6pm Football
2. Sell the sponsorship for about $50m less than what they could have sold it for later in 2016 or 2017
3. Wind back the F2A coverage from 4 games to 3
4. Give away 5 days of football in 2016 with extra Thursday Night games
5. Give away simulcasting in 2016 & 2017

My guess is the Optus offer for the pay tv & stream rights fell around $1.4 to $1.6 billion.

Killing Fox would've been worth 200mil so I hope you're wrong.

 

[Last Week]

One thing I don't understand is why weren't the NRL more 'forceful' in the negotiations about certain aspects. For example if I was the NRL, I would have tried to make Fox Sports give up the Sunday 2pm game in exchange for regaining the Saturday night game. That way Fox would retain their 'Super Saturday' triple-header while Nine still gets the four games a week which they originally brought. In fact it would give them a Sunday doubleheader and an opportunity to have a 'Super Sunday' of sorts:

11am: Sunday Footy Show
1pm: Game #1 Pre-Game
1:30pm: Game #1
3:30pm: Game #1 Post-Game/Game #2 Pre-Game
4pm: Game #2 leading straight into the 6pm news

The point I'm trying to make is that the NRL could have gotten so much more out of this deal (eg; no Friday 6pm game) if they 'stuck to their guns' on certain aspects.

I agree. And an advantage for Fox in this would have been that they could have had a Super Sunday aswell with the Monday game being moved to Sunday night. They would have had to simulcast 2 Sunday games with Nine but could have three games building up to the Matty Johns show at about 8:30pm on Sunday night.

 

[Captain Apollo]

There are a lot of good parts to the deal.

However a 6pm Friday time slot every week? Nope, it is the problem. Now for Warriors home games it can make some sense, however you give them an advantage by having all their home games on Friday nights. It gives them an unfair advantage over the rest of the comp, ala the Brisbane Broncos. Also that is only what 12 games in a 24 week season.

Also to those saying it will be played in Townsville, Canberra, Newcastle, Melbourne and not Sydney do those cities all have different working hours from everyone else? You seriously want to tell me it won't impact on crowds in those cities?! If so, you are deluding yourselves as it sure as hell will in Townsville. Those people who drive for 2-3 hours to get to home games certainly won't be able to make a 6pm home game on a Friday night if they work.

Crowd reductions hit clubs in the hip pocket. Will the TV money they get make up for that loss? I somehow doubt it.

 

[hineyrulz]

Gee what an underwhelming deal, why the need to rush and get the deal done so quick???
Just so Grant can shut up the club bosses with the extra money they wanted and he could keep his job???


Hardly a win for the game and the fans IMO, the Friday game is stupid you could cop it if Fox stumped up the cash but it looks like they haven't and pay SFA to simulcast the next two years

The only one that really wins on this deal is nine. Looks like they are getting origin dirt cheap again.

Grant should fall on his sword useless bearded merkin.

 

[insert.pause]

How is it an unfair turnaround advantage for the Warriors when most of the time it would be only every second week, and the travel the Warriors do more than negates that.

 

[carlosthedwarf]

Its so those who are watching the 6pm game on fox, leave it on that channel and don't watch the free to air broadcast

Of course, can't believe I didn't think of that

Does the 8pm Friday game then get delayed if the 6pm game goes into Golden Point?