Stand-in bullish on NRL TV deal
by: Simon Canning
From: The Australian
June 11, 2012 12:00AM
INTERIM National Rugby League chief executive Shane Mattiske says that despite a "difficult" week, he is on track to deliver an "absolute best" media rights deal for the code.
The NRL strategy and special projects executive, thrust from obscurity into the limelight after the shock resignation of chief executive David Gallop last week, admitted that the sudden departure of Mr Gallop as broadcast negotiations entered a critical phase was not ideal. But he said it would not stop him from signing off on what the code hoped would be a $1 billion-plus deal.
In an exclusive interview with Media, Mr Mattiske signalled his role as interim chief executive meant it was likely he would sign the next broadcast rights deal, decide whether to split the State of Origin games between broadcasters and would take an active role in deciding the future of digital media access to the game.
"The two critical things right now are to deliver the game's best-ever media rights deal and to finalise the strategic plan that will guide the game over the next five years. And I have been really leading both those projects alongside David," Mr Mattiske said.
"There is a large responsibility on our shoulders to deliver the absolute best deal for the game. We are comfortable that we are very, very prepared -- (we have) the right people sitting around us and we have got a range of consultants, including the recent appointment of (corporate advisers) Greenhill Caliburn to support the negotiations.
"Certainly, under David's leadership, we've pushed the game into a position where it's never been stronger, with record crowds and record ratings, both on free-to-air and pay-TV, and record membership levels."
The 10-year veteran of the National Rugby League, originally hired by Mr Gallop to deal with emerging business projects not traditionally part of the sport, denied his was a caretaker role, but ruled out seeking the role permanently.
With the Nine Network battling to retain the rights against an aggressive pitch by the Ten Network, Mr Mattiske has been charged with heightening competitive tensions between the bidders in an attempt to drive the value of the NRL's free-to-air, subscription TV and digital broadcast rights above $1bn.
"I don't see it as a caretaker role, I think caretaker is the wrong description." he said."It is an interim role but there is a very clear focus on continuing to drive the business."
The NRL's current five-year broadcast rights deal with Nine and Foxtel expires in October. Analysts believe the TV rights are worth about $950 million, but bids could top $1bn if the competition between Nine, Ten and Seven becomes heated.
Mr Mattiske will weigh up the potential impact of splitting the rights across two stations - offering one network regular season and play-off games while giving the other State of Origin, or a combination of both. Analysts have criticised splitting the AFL rights between Ten and Seven, pointing out that under Seven, AFL ratings have risen due to more cross promotion of matches.
Mr Mattiske has been one of the architects of the NRL's digital strategy, positioning it as the code that claims to have the largest social media reach, beyond even the AFL. As one of the driving forces behind the Coalition of Major Professional Sports, he has been active in Canberra trying to give sports more control over how their sports are broadcast and reported.
COMPS ran a campaign in 2009 in a bid to restrict the access to online video of sports. Mr Mattiske makes his first public appearance as interim chief executive at a COMPS function in Melbourne tomorrow.
"I was part of the formation of the Coalition of Major Professional Sports, I have been involved in all our new media negotiations and I have been working for the past two years on preparing for these broadcast negotiations. I have been part of forming our game's first whole-of-game strategic plan."
Mr Mattiske's strong background in digital and ongoing support in COMPS could signal a push by NRL to gain greater control over digital of NRL games. Tough digital restrictions at last year's Rugby World Cup led to Fairfax and News Limited covering without accreditation.
He said that the circumstances surrounding his appointment had been controversial. "Clearly it's a difficult circumstance. I was asked to step forward to lead, but the quality of the team around me comforts me and the commission has given us their support in terms of taking the game forward," he said.
"I'm not looking for a legacy. My focus is that we are not only running business as usual, but we are actually making decisions as a group."
