SUPER 14 rugby will return to free-to-air TV on Channel 9 next year as part of a rich new broadcasting deal to be announced by the Australian Rugby Union this morning.
A new five-year agreement is understood to have landed Australia, South Africa and New Zealand a 30 per cent boost in value for the broadcast rights for Test and Super rugby, ensuring a $450 million windfall for the SANZAR partners.
This represents an increase of more than $100 million from their previous TV deal - $346 million paid for the 2006-2010 period.
The deal is believed to have left all parties content, and reflects the added value provided by the expanded content of the Super 15 competition in 2011.
The new tournament will see five teams from each country in three conferences, ensuring 10 local derbies at favourable timeslots and a guaranteed entrant into the finals each year from each nation.
But while FoxSports will continue to broadcast all Wallabies Tests and Super 14 games live, Nine have taken over from Channel 7 as rugby's free-to-air broadcaster and will not only show Australia's Test matches but also bring Super rugby content back to free-to-air.
For the first time in 10 years, Nine will broadcast a highlights package of games featuring the five Australian teams, including the new Melbourne Rebels franchise.
Super 15 free-to-air content proved to be a contentious issue in Australian TV broadcasting rights negotiations, with Channel 10/One interested in Test rights but only if they could also buy the rights to a weekly live Super match.
The Ten offer was rejected, with Foxsports keen to protect its rights as the exclusive broadcaster for Super rugby. News Limited, publisher of The Daily Telegraph, owns half of Foxsports and also held the broadcasting rights for rugby in Australia and New Zealand.
Nine, who are already the rights holders to the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups, stepped in and reportedly paid $10 million to broadcast Wallabies Tri-Nations Tests, domestic Tests and a weekly package of Super 15 highlights.
The allure of Bledisloe Cups and the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour was a selling point, but not enough for Seven to recommit after several years of poor ratings.
Nine are uncertain whether they will pick up the Seven model and show the FoxSports feed with their own panel, or mount their own production.
Meanwhile, NSW Rugby have reported a $1.88 million loss for a 14-month period in 2008-09 but said it was no cause for concern.
NSW Rugby boss Jim L'Estrange said the change in year-end reporting periods from October to December to marry up with the ARU had seen them take an unavoidable hit.
During November and December last year NSW Rugby continued to have a range of fixed costs but had no revenue coming in.
"There were salaries, rental costs here at the stadium and a few other expenses. These were just costs of business without our regular revenue streams, which start in January," L'Estrange said.
For the 2009 October year-end, NSW reported an operating loss of $459,000. L'Estrange said this was down to a loss of sponsorship and membership revenue in the Global Financial Crisis, despite internal cost-cutting measures.
"It was a bit of a death by 1000 cuts - crowds were down slightly, hospitality was down a bit, sponsorship was down a bit," he said.
L'Estrange said he was expecting a financial turnaround, with the new Super 15 season next year bringing extra revenue.
