Next TV rights deal

[Desert Qlder]

Imagine not only the private home churn but the business churn.

Doc, who holds the most advantageous bargaining position on this? My suspicion is Fox because they have the infrastructure to sell to business subscribers.

Would the NRL be able to develop methods of delivery to pubs and clubs for any other service besides Fox?

 

[insert.pause]

Apparently the internet will fix it somehow. :roll:



It has been confirmed that the 9 deal has no exclusivity on F2A or Streaming. Not that I think it will happen but every game technically can be aired on F2A (not that 9 would be happy with that). They'd be willing to partner for 1 or 2 which leaves the 10 on-sell open.

Failing that to avoid the other 4 or 5 going to Channel 7 or 10, yes they'd likely scoop them up.

There's still too many permutations left open for anyone to convincingly say "it will X amount of cash for Y amount of coverage". The most likely option is Fox Sports retains but with simulcasting and maybe an on-sold F2A match.

Apparently Australian law doesn't rate this globalisation fade and we live in a bubbles made up of no more than 75% of the population. We already know the 2/3 rule means nothing anymore with News Corp effectively now having control over Nova, Ten, most of print & foxtel.

I haven't seen it confirmed.

 

[docbrown]

Doc, who holds the most advantageous bargaining position on this? My suspicion is Fox because they have the infrastructure to sell to business subscribers.

Would the NRL be able to develop methods of delivery to pubs and clubs for any other service besides Fox?

It's a valid point. Infrastructure & content kind of go hand in hand. Foxtel would still have other premium sports but in NSW & QLD a lot of people would rightly say rugby league is a major factor in service patronage.

If there were more than 4 matches - 5 to 6 on F2A (I think every match is a long shot) - some of these places may consider just going to F2A. It all depends what the F2A platform offers as an alternative with its affiliated coverage.

Plus realistically the former subscription infrastructure is being replaced by the internet so that change is coming regardless of any decision by the NRL. Eventually they're going to the NBN anyway.

Foxtel will eventually migrate to a mixture of internet/F2A service hence the 10 and Presto set up.

 

[docbrown]

Apparently Australian law doesn't rate this globalisation fade and we live in a bubbles made up of no more than 75% of the population. We already know the 2/3 rule means nothing anymore with News Corp effectively now having control over Nova, Ten, most of print & foxtel.

I haven't seen it confirmed.

It's in the trades.

You have to wonder what 9's reaction to this will be. Effectively you have your former subscription partner & advertising block getting into bed with your F2A rival & potentially partnering with yet another F2A rival in a 3 way competing streaming service. You'd have to feel like you were getting surrounded.

Ultimately though success will be dictated by 10's scheduling.

 

[Desert Qlder]

It's a valid point. Infrastructure & content kind of go hand in hand. Foxtel would still have other premium sports but in NSW & QLD a lot of people would rightly say rugby league is a major factor in service patronage.

If there were more than 4 matches - 5 to 6 on F2A (I think every match is a long shot) - some of these places may consider just going to F2A. It all depends what the F2A platform offers as an alternative with its affiliated coverage.

Plus realistically the former subscription infrastructure is being replaced by the internet so that change is coming regardless of any decision by the NRL. Eventually they're going to the NBN anyway.

Foxtel will eventually migrate to a mixture of internet/F2A service hence the 10 and Presto set up.

Everyone is very quick to remark upon how the uptake of new viewing methods IPTV etc., is very swift.

But I doubt it will be so much for clubs because it will require them to substantially upgrade their technology infrastucture.

Also, a crowd of drinking patrons would get pretty rowdy if their is a buffering swish on the big screens.

It just gives the impression that Fox have a distinct advantage because so many people connect with the game through these venues.

 

[docbrown]

Everyone is very quick to remark upon how the uptake of new viewing methods IPTV etc., is very swift.

But I doubt it will be so much for clubs because it will require them to substantially upgrade their technology infrastucture.

Also, a crowd of drinking patrons would get pretty rowdy if their is a buffering swish on the big screens.

It just gives the impression that Fox have a distinct advantage because so many people connect with the game through these venues.

Well when I say eventually I mean eventually. ;-) But there are plenty of clubs that could already make the transition and this deal doesn't kick in for a while.

Plus like I said the other thing to consider is the greater F2A coverage. Once clubs start flicking to 9 to meet their patrons' requirements they'll quickly start to notice how much their Foxtel use falls. Most are pretty shrewd and will scale back.

Realistically the buffering swish on the NBN is in the same ball park as a digital transmission flicker.

 

[elbusto]

Cancelled my foxtel last night. A small protest but i enjoyed it

 

[Last Week]

The competition watchdog has given the green light for Foxtel to purchase up to 15 per cent of Network Ten Holdings, stating the metropolitan broadcaster and pay television provider will continue to face competition from the free-to-air networks and streaming services.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims also used the ruling to highlight that "existing regulations may no longer be effective" in the media industry as advances in technology make some rules redundant.
"For example, the 'reach rule' continues to limit a person from controlling television broadcasting licences that reach over 75 per cent of the population even while commercial free-to-air television networks are now able to stream their services nationally," Mr Sims said.
On the deal, Mr Sims said it will lead to a greater alignment of Foxtel's and Ten's interest and the pay TV provider will have more influence over the metropolitan broadcaster, but the proposed transactions would not result in "a substantial lessening of competition".
The ruling will see Foxtel purchase up to 15 per cent of Ten, the home of Masterchef and The Bachelor, and the free-to-air broadcaster take a 24.99 per cent stake in the Foxtel and Fox Sports advertising joint-venture Multi-Channel Network.
The watchdog had been examining a separate 8.5 per cent stake in Ten held by News Corp co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch through his private investment vehicle Illyria, along with sports rights and impact on the advertising market with the merger of Ten's ad sales division with Foxtel's joint-venture MCN.
MCN began selling advertising for Ten from September 1, with the teams already working together.
"The ACCC has not found sufficient evidence to establish a link between these minority acquisitions and the competition concerns raised by market participants. We will, however, closely examine any future increases in these shareholdings, including where this is made possible through changes to the existing media diversity and control rules," Mr Sims said.
While approving the deal, the ACCC said that because the transaction does not result in Ten being a subsidiary of Foxtel, any arrangements between the two will still be subject to the Competition Act.
Mr Sims said that the remaining free-to-air broadcasters, pay TV platforms and online services would have "sufficient alternatives" to allow them to get content to attract viewers.
Streaming services will also likely play an important part in the sale of sports rights in the future, Mr Sims said.
"The ACCC took into account the anti-siphoning regime and considered that it reduced competition concerns with this transaction. With a near monopoly pay TV provider in Foxtel, the anti-siphoning regime could well currently have a positive effect on competition in the market for television viewing," Mr Sims said.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority also confirmed that it would not stand in the way on the deal, stating "at this time" it will not breach media diversity and control rules, as foreshadowed by Fairfax Media.
"The principal issue considered by the ACMA was whether the arrangements would put Mr Lachlan Murdoch in a position to exercise control of commercial television broadcasting licences held by Ten," ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman said.
"If so, an "unacceptable 3-way control situation" would result in the four licence areas where Mr Murdoch is already in a position to control the Nova commercial radio broadcasting licences and the News Corporation associated newspapers.
"However, the ACMA considered that, while Mr Murdoch was in a position to exert influence on Ten, that level of influence fell short of "control" as prescribed by the BSA."
Foxtel chief executive Richard Freudenstein welcomed the ruling that will see Foxtel purchase its up to 15 per cent stake for $77 million.
"These transactions will provide much needed capital for Ten and help it to grow revenues by building scale and enhancing services to clients by working with MCN," Mr Freudenstein said.
"A stronger Ten will further enhance competition in an increasingly competitive local and international media industry."
Ten will raise an additional $77 million through a entitlement offer to shareholders. It will use the money to reduce debt and invest to content to continue its ratings improvement.
"By entering into the transaction with Foxtel and completing our proposed entitlement offer to all TEN shareholders, TEN will receive the capital it needs to continue its turnaround. Through the arrangements with MCN, our advertising clients will receive the benefit of new efficiencies, improved data capability and broader integration opportunities," Ten non-executive chairman David Gordon said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/medi...xtel-tieup-20151021-gkf3xd.html#ixzz3pG5NWyPz
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook

 

[Last Week]

Foxtel (50% owned by News Corp) now owns up to 15% of Channel Ten.
Channel Ten now has a 24.99% stake in Multi Channel Network (Jointly owned by Foxtel and Fox Sports).
Lachlan Murdoch, the co chairman of News Corp, (through Illyria) owns another 8.5% of Channel Ten.
The Multo Channel Network sell Channel Tens adds.

But, even though News Corp and the Murdochs have their finger in almost every other pie in the country;

"The ACCC has not found sufficient evidence to establish a link between these minority acquisitions and the competition concerns raised by market participants. We will, however, closely examine any future increases in these shareholdings, including where this is made possible through changes to the existing media diversity and control rules," Mr Sims said.

There's nothing to worry about, see;

"However, the ACMA considered that, while Mr Murdoch was in a position to exert influence on Ten, that level of influence fell short of "control" as prescribed by the BSA."

News Corp and the Murdochs don't really have any control...

 

[Last Week]

I think it's very possible now that the Saturday night game that Nine have will go to Ten, and it will just be the Fox Sports broadcast.

 

[insert.pause]

I think it's very possible now that the Saturday night game that Nine have will go to Ten, and it will just be the Fox Sports broadcast.

I think that would be only marginally more appealing than Nine keeping it. Fox want Super Saturday exclusive, as it stands they will in all likelihood get it. Not sure what that means for 4 games on FTA, unless expansion is green-lighted.

 

[Last Week]

I think that would be only marginally more appealing than Nine keeping it. Fox want Super Saturday exclusive, as it stands they will in all likelihood get it. Not sure what that means for 4 games on FTA, unless expansion is green-lighted.

Regardless of what happens, I can't see in any way that the NRL will give up a FTA game. It's the biggest positive to come out of the deal with Nine along with controlling of all the scheduling.

 

[applesauce]

I think it's very possible now that the Saturday night game that Nine have will go to Ten, and it will just be the Fox Sports broadcast.

Nope. What it now means is Ten get the extra AFL game (part of their contract). Now the AFL have 4.5 games/week of the season on FTA.

 

[LeagueXIII]

http://social-media-news.com/link/8...ng-as-cartel-in-broadcast-rights-negotiations

How Murdoch adopted cyber bullying to get rid of NRL chief negotiator

(Op-ed) Big News Network.com Tuesday 20th October, 2015

SYDNEY, Australia - If Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is correct in its pronouncements that NRL chief Dave Smith has been forced out of his job over the 'failed' TV rights deal, then it is possibly the worst case of cyber bullying Australia has seen.
Hailed as a masterstroke, when Smith unveiled the $925 million free-to-air TV rights deal in August, Smith within days came under an extraordinary attack by News Corp newspapers, its associated websites and social media networks, an attack which coincided with the arrival in Australia of Murdoch, his CEO Robert Thomson and other board members.
Within days Murdoch and Thomson hastily put together a broadcast rights deal with the AFL worth an estimated $2.508 billion. There was no doubt the publicity around that deal was aimed to embarrass the NRL and diminish Smith's standing. News Corp at that point began an unrelenting campaign for Smith to be removed as the NRL CEO. Every conceivable problem the NRL incurred from that point was highlighted and Smith was blamed.
And on Tuesday Smith, according to several News Corp articles "fell on his sword."
Smith said the decision to go was his, in other words he wasn't pushed. There is little likelihood however that given a fair go Smith would have stayed at the helm. But with the overpowering might of the most dominant media group in Australia baying for your blood, there is only so much a person can take.
The Murdoch family directly and through News Corp own two thirds of daily newspapers sold in Australia. It has part shares in Australian Associated Press, Sky News Australia, Foxtel, Fox Sports, Fox Sports News, countless suburban newspapers in most states, the most successful FM radio network in the country, 14.9% of the Ten Network etc., etc.,
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants to relax media laws which will allow the Murdoch family to buy up more, explaining the Internet has changed the landscape and traditional players such as Murdoch and Fairfax now face more competition, from websites like Crikey and The Guardian.
Crikey has 15,000 subscribers, The Guardian has none, as it is a free product. Mr Turnbull overlooks the most dominant online media sites in the country are owned by News Corp: www.news.com.au, www.theaustralian, www.dailytelegraph.com.au, www.perthnow.com.au, www.couriermail.com.au. All of these sites, backed by the group's newspapers and Fox Sports, and an extensive network of social media sites affiliated with these outlets have been used to orchestrate a cyber bullying campaign to remove the NRL CEO, its chief negotiator of broadcast rights.
Regulators in Australia are about to, probably this week, allow Foxtel, 50% owned by Murdoch interests, to take a 14.9% interest in the Ten Network, notwithstanding Lachlan Murdoch's 8%-plus holding and his association with other major shareholders including close mate James Packer.
The regulator is likely to rule competition will not be affected, even after taking into consideration the power of the Murdoch family when it comes to negotiating broadcast rights, never more publicly put on show than this week.
It has just removed, it claims, the chief negotiator of the broadcast rights of the NRL, weakening the NRL's bargaining position.
How this can be deemed in Australia's interest is beyond comprehension.
The Federal government has made no secret of the fact that it wants to change media laws in line with what the majority of the current players want. Other industries are not afforded this luxury, to determine their own legislation.
It is about time the government forewent pandering to powerful media interests, and started enacting media legislation that is in the interests of all Australians.
(Source: Big News Network)

 

[insert.pause]

Doc, who holds the most advantageous bargaining position on this? My suspicion is Fox because they have the infrastructure to sell to business subscribers.

Would the NRL be able to develop methods of delivery to pubs and clubs for any other service besides Fox?

The NBN is really the only thing holding it up from being a reality, all TV's these days are 'smart' & internet ready, it's just a matter of creating an App for pubs & clubs.

The future of all TV is digital, programming will be interactive & linked into your social media accounts. All advertising will be interactive, unique & tailored to viewing history and social media preferences. It's already happening on a smaller scale, once the NBN rollout is advanced the switch will be as fast, if not faster, then the progression from analogue to digital signal.

I'm not pessimistic about FTA or STV, they will just adjust and continue on the new platform. The only real difference will be the proliferation of competition due to easier market entry, but there's still going to be dominant players who pay premiums to hold onto sports rights for the same reason they do now, drive paid subscriptions &/or advertising or phone & internet plans. It will be consumed the same way in that there will be premium services and free services and the business models will be largely the same as they are now. The content is already at this point, FTA focus is now on news & current affairs, reality tv, local drama, & sport, the rest is considered premium content and is consumed through STV or SVOD. Content is king and always will be and there will always be someone willing to pay a premium for premium content.

 

[docbrown]

The NBN is really the only thing holding it up from being a reality, all TV's these days are 'smart' & internet ready, it's just a matter of creating an App for pubs & clubs.

The future of all TV is digital, programming will be interactive & linked into your social media accounts. All advertising will be interactive, unique & tailored to viewing history and social media preferences. It's already happening on a smaller scale, once the NBN rollout is advanced the switch will be as fast, if not faster, then the progression from analogue to digital signal.

I'm not pessimistic about FTA or STV, they will just adjust and continue on the new platform. The only real difference will be the proliferation of competition due to easier market entry, but there's still going to be dominant players who pay premiums to hold onto sports rights for the same reason they do now, drive paid subscriptions &/or advertising or phone & internet plans. It will be consumed the same way in that there will be premium services and free services and the business models will be largely the same as they are now. The content is already at this point, FTA focus is now on news & current affairs, reality tv, local drama, & sport, the rest is considered premium content and is consumed through STV or SVOD. Content is king and always will be and there will always be someone willing to pay a premium for premium content.

Yes and the other thing to consider from an Australian perspective is geo-blocking. We've recently seen a string of government decisions that favour the local media oligarchy over the audience (IP logging, Metadata, ACCC ruling on 10 etc).

Geo-blocking is deliberately overlooked by governments because (for now only) it underpins the local financial model and everyone knows it. Homegrown material is the minority. In a totally internet dominated media landscape, if users could freely source their content from overseas those models fall apart.

What they forget though is that yes geo-blocking restricts you some major brand content but the smaller stuff while lower in quality is massive in quantity. Audiences are fracturing. Geo-blocking is an inducement to simply maintain the status quo rather the reinvent for the new marketplace and most analysts with a long term view think it will fail.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.afr.com/business/sport/w...a-rupert-murdoch-crash-tackle-20151022-gkfh36

Was Dave Smith the victim of a Rupert Murdoch crash tackle?

by John Stensholt

It could be compared to the shoulder-charge tackles the NRL has been trying to stamp out on the field, labelling the move foul play capable of badly injuring a player on the receiving end.

This week, rugby league's chief executive, Dave Smith, suddenly stepped down from his role after only three years. The question is, why did Smith – just weeks after denying to several journalists that he was intending to leave the sport – suddenly announce his resignation? Is he walking out under his own steam or was he pushed out, and did Murdoch and News help shove him out the door?

Smith and his chairman, John Grant, were adamant that the CEO, who described himself as a "change agent", was walking out because it was time to pass the baton to a successor. Under his reign Smith reset the sport's strategic direction after it became fully independent from its former half-owner, News Corp, at the start of 2012.

The NRL now has more money in the bank than ever before, rates extremely well on television and is about to benefit from $1.6 billion worth of new stadiums and upgrades in Sydney.

Yet there is no doubt the NRL angered News Corp and its chairman, Rupert Murdoch, in August when it moved to sign a five-year $925 million free-to-air broadcast deal with Nine Entertainment Co, which blindsided News and its wholly-owned subsidiary Fox Sports.

The Nine deal, beginning in 2018 and a record for free-to-air TV and sport, left the pay-television operator Fox Sports without its high-rating Monday night game and would see it lose its exclusive rights to games on Saturday, as Nine would have a live match on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon.

In the weeks that followed, Smith was the target of an at times vitriolic campaign in the News Corp press. Talks between Fox Sports and the NRL were broken off completely and Murdoch rushed to engineer a huge broadcast deal with the rival AFL and label that sport the one News has always preferred.

So did Murdoch claim Smith's scalp? "It certainly would have come from Rupert," one source told AFR Weekend. "It was delivered via Julian Clarke [the CEO of News Corp Australia] and the message was 'There will be no deal on the rights if we have to deal with Dave Smith.'"

Clarke led the News side of talks with the NRL. On the NRL side it was Grant and his fellow Australian Rugby League commissioner Graeme Samuel. Both Grant and Samuel are known to not be big fans of News – suggesting the Nine deal was not all Smith's doing.

Effectively a fall guy

Another source said Smith was effectively a "fall guy" and fell on his sword for the good of negotiations, even if Grant, Samuel and other commissioners would have been an integral part of the strategy to sign a free-to-air TV deal before a pay-TV one.

Smith himself would not be drawn when approached by AFR Weekend.

Whatever is the case, his resignation has instantly brought about changes regarding rugby league's broadcast rights. Talks have accelerated and the way is now paved for the NRL, News and Nine to do a deal which will see Nine give up its Saturday night game in a move that will at least allow Fox Sports to keep its exclusive Saturday night matches.

It is understood Nine's annual payment to the NRL will drop from about $185 million in the new deal to closer to $120 million, while all eight NRL weekly matches will be shown live on Fox Sports. Five of those would be be exclusive to the pay-TV operator and another three simulcast with Nine.

The only matches Nine would not allow Fox Sports to simulcast would be the NRL grand final (Fox could, for the first time, show finals series matches leading up to the season decider) and the three high-rating State of Origin games between NSW and Queensland.

A deal could be signed by Christmas, even if Grant and Samuel are now leading rugby league's side of the discussion. Both are known to not be huge fans of News. Whether a deal with News and its Fox Sports will be worth $700 million or more, as the NRL wants, remains to be seen.

Smith, a former banker recruited from his previous role at Lloyds International, is staying at the NRL until November 30. Search firm Signium International now looking for a successor though Grant will assume some of Smith's duties from December.

Potential successors include internal candidates in interim commercial head Michael Brown and head of football Todd Greenberg. Others that could be considered include V8Supercars CEO James Warburton, Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan, and Racing Victoria director Andrew Twaits. News Corp will be watching the closely.

 

[Nerd]

Don't know where they got the $700 million figure from in the above article for the pay TV rights. Probably just wishful thinking from a News Corp source. You would think Fox will have to pony a bit more than that if they want the NRL rights.

 

[Cletus]

$700 million from Fox and $600 from nine would be appalling. Especially with one less game on fta.

 

[insert.pause]

simulcasting and a saturday night game is not worth $65m a year.

simulcasting is supposed to reduce Nine's deal by at most $25m a year.

There's no way in hell a sat night game is worth $40m a year to Nine.