NRL v AFL Business Side

[Drew-Sta]

But has the business of rugby league been the main priority for the NRL over the past decade?

No, it hasn't. There's been too much turmoil for that to be happen as Rugby League has had too many people trying to make cash out of it.

I'm simply suggesting that for the NRL to grow to the capacity it has the potential to reach, then it needs to be run as a business from the top and clubs need to be in line with that.

The saying 'In the interest of the game' needs to become a mantra for clubs, players, administrators and even fans.

Frankly, I am worried that in 50 years we won't have a game because some douchbag of a game in AFL has overrun us with an inferior product simply because they had better business sense. That would be a stab to the heart I don't think any Rugby League fan will get over the pain of.

 

[Drew-Sta]

Further to that point, if Rugby League IS run well at the top, then initiatives that improve the game and retain the flavour and colour of the sport that was birthed in 1908 are possible, as the sport can move as a combined unit, not as entities each looking to make a buck.

 

[BranVan3000]

NRL is a healthy sport, and I'd say (though I have no stats) that we've made bigger progress with Melbourne Storm than the AFL has with the Swans or Lions. That was until they went and buggered it all up by being cheaters. We need better business aptitude though, cause the game is mostly surviving off it's quality rather than an aggressive business model

I expect the TV rights will be split come 2012. Channel 10 will put in fair money, maybe end up with Saturday and Monday and Nine at the very least will put in huge dollars to keep their friday and representative games. Hopefully that injects a lot of money for the game, AND we get more free-to-air footy out of it

 

[Drew-Sta]

Frankly, the best thing that could happen is Channel 7 or Channel 10 put in a bid in the $1 - $1.5 billion mark, and we go with them. A complete shift of loyalty, stakeholders, interest and frankly I think the breath of fresh air Rugby League needs.

If FTA Rugby League on Friday, Saturday nights and Sunday arvo's was granted, it would be a f**king brilliant change of direction. Get that News scum out of our game, and watch the game grow in leaps and bounds.

 

[abc]

Drew-Sta you certainly get where I am coming from and in the end a true business person has to take the emotion out of situation and has to take rational decisions with a long term view for whatever code they represent.

Clearly the FFA are doing it, the AFL are doing it, Cricket Australia do evermore things with the BCCI in India and even Union are trying things with their expansions to Victoria and Argentina and they are probably starting from the furthest back position in the Australian market.
I am not sure what major initiative you can say the NRL is doing that is designed to grow the marketbase beyond where it is currently strong. Like I said a neutral (i.e. non NSW-Qld person) can watch SOO and they certainly do both around Aus and Globally but there is no translation of aspiration to be a part of it, as by definition they can't...or they can but will be representing a state like a mercenary soldier represents an army (i.e. not the same as if they were a native).

If you read the bravado on both the forums here and AFL ones as well as to who has the better spectacle or rumors about TV revenue, you know people are missing the point. Some people prefer Opera and others Heavy Metal and you aren't going to convince one to like the other b/c neither are wrong it is just preference and availability.

If the NRL truly wants RL to be a relevant mainstream sport in 2 or 3 generations time, then it has to make decisions that may cause short term pain but be designed such that it captures a new audience and not just caters to its current loyal market. There is very little the NRL could do turn most of the people on this site from not being a fan of the sport but what could it do such that you have people coming to sites like this who were never fans before. That is the business challenge.

 

[Perth Red]

Trouble is whilst RL continues to worry about paying the bills and whose pi55ing in its back yard teh AFL conitnue to tie up the rest of the country. NT was looking promising for RL but total inaction from the NRL basically has given AFL a green light and they have now sewn the place up with the Govt tie in: http://newsroom.nt.gov.au/index.cfm?fuseaction=printRelease&ID=6156

Tassie is now paying big $'s to become home for AFL:
http://www.examiner.com.au/news/local/sport/general/call-for-more-afl-games/1805341.aspx

SA,WA and Vic traditionally belong to AFL and RL has never really tried to chip away at the dominance in those states. ACT is being tied in with the GWS team to give more of an AFL presence there.

Reality is AFL only needs to concentrate on Q'land and NSW now. It has the $'s to give it a real go over the next few decades.

RL needs to get on the front foot and soon. An IC, an aggressive expansion plan, a $billion media deal and a much improved Int focus will all help imo.

 

[m0nty]

If you read the bravado on both the forums here and AFL ones as well as to who has the better spectacle or rumors about TV revenue, you know people are missing the point. Some people prefer Opera and others Heavy Metal and you aren't going to convince one to like the other b/c neither are wrong it is just preference and availability.

Well said. The chest-beating from both sides gets very tiresome very quickly.

 

[kurt faulk]

Australia is only a country of 22 million people and because sport is becoming more not less global, it is not just a matter of one Australian sporting code vs. another. They all could be potentially extinct or demoted to marginal status in 50 years time b/c the competition is from everywhere.

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we've heard this all before and it sounds as stupid now as it did then.

soccer will never make it in australia because it is a global sport. any half decent player is snapped up by european clubs because the players can earn so much more money there. thus the australian domestic competetion is left with reserve grade talent, or probably worse. who wants to watch that? the ratings tell the story.

now everyone loves watching the socceroos, why wouldn't we, as it is our best chance to see australia against the world. but that will never translate into a strong domestic competetion for soccer.

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[abc]

we've heard this all before and it sounds as stupid now as it did then.

soccer will never make it in australia because it is a global sport. any half decent player is snapped up by european clubs because the players can earn so much more money there. thus the australian domestic competetion is left with reserve grade talent, or probably worse. who wants to watch that? the ratings tell the story.

now everyone loves watching the socceroos, why wouldn't we, as it is our best chance to see australia against the world. but that will never translate into a strong domestic competetion for soccer.

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It is not just Soccer, it is other forms of entertainment. The world is changing fast as are people preferences. In 1970, Australia was 80-85% Anglo Saxan and in 2040, it will 40+% Asian. These type of shifts transcend any one sport but effect the way society functions from the government to business to then entertainment like sport. In 1970, most people probably had a Sunday Roast for lunch, that would be a minority now not just because people eat other foods, but people don't eat together as much any more as a family. During these times most games were on at the same time...AFL on Saturday afternoons and RL on Sunday afternoons. Now people have "better" things to do in line with their own preferences that may or may not include other sports. People have to take off the prism glasses of today and think forward 10 yrs and more and look at where all aspects of society are heading.

 

[Perth Red]

Please don't shoot me for suggesting this but RL has traditionally been seen as a "working" mans sport. It served us well in the past as helped differentiate us from RU (for the toffs) and as RL clubs were predominantly in working class areas across the world it obviously attracted that demogrpahic.

I wonder if the time has come for a major media offensive to alter that perception in the general publics eye. It seems from living in an AFL mad city that AFL is equally appealing (for some unknown reason!) to all demographics, economic, gender and race and they very much market to all these groups. RL seems to focus alot on the male audience and less on families. You just have to look at the games main sponsors, alcohol and betting, to see an example of this.

Maybe we are short changing ourselves?

 

[little_aza]

The valid point that ABC is trying to raise is the 'business' of sport is where the future of the NRL lies.

If the game is to continue, the business must succeed. No matter how sh*t the AFL is, how crap a game it is, how awful it is - If it is the only sport on TV then people will watch it. If it is the only winter sport in school, it will be played. If it is the only sport being played at a national level, it will be sponsored. This is what they're aiming for.

The NRL needs to recognise this. We have a sport that is better to play than AFL, better to watch and inherently is a better 'product'. The Independent Commission needs to be brought in so the NRL can have a good hard look at what is going on and make some progressive changes. If 100 kids are given the opportunity to play AFL in Parramatta, then some are going to take it. Maybe only 4 or 5, but it's still more than I want playing the game a heartland of Sydney Rugby League.

The NRL needs to start addressing major issues in the sport. Yes, who cares if Israelite and K.Hunt sell their soul from a player point of view - They're pricks and they aren't worth the trouble. But from a marketing and brand point of view - It is essentially brand building and publicity driving. The more articles the AFL have, the more people will read about the AFL and potentially watch a game - Exactly what they want.

Whilst I despise the capitalism in the game today, there needs to be some smart cookies at the top protecting our interests and ensuring we're producing the best Rugby League possible and doing so at a national level.

The sooner we get an independent commission acting in the best interests of the game, the sooner we will see Rugby League really take off.

Excellent post. Sums up pretty much everything I was thinking when reading this thread.

 

[little_aza]

NRL is a healthy sport, and I'd say (though I have no stats) that we've made bigger progress with Melbourne Storm than the AFL has with the Swans or Lions. That was until they went and buggered it all up by being cheaters. We need better business aptitude though, cause the game is mostly surviving off it's quality rather than an aggressive business model

I expect the TV rights will be split come 2012. Channel 10 will put in fair money, maybe end up with Saturday and Monday and Nine at the very least will put in huge dollars to keep their friday and representative games. Hopefully that injects a lot of money for the game, AND we get more free-to-air footy out of it

No, the Storm has NOT made more progress than those two. I've lived in GWS, SEQ and now Victoria, and the AFL clubs have made for progress. An example of this is media coverage: The Courier Mail and The Daily Telegraph have FAR more AFL than what the NRL gets in the Herald Scum - we'd be lucky to get a page, 20 from the back page on a Friday.

 

[m0nty]

Be fair though aza, the Storm are starting 15 years behind.

 

[little_aza]

Be fair though aza, the Storm are starting 15 years behind.

But even years back they were still ahead of where we're at now. At least they got TV coverage at reasonable hours, and plenty of articles in the paper. In no way am I saying this is the Storm's fault, we've been doing everything we can to get more Victorians behind us. The blame is lies with News. But that's a different story altogether..