Ad nauseam: NRL, with an eye on the clock, looks at commercial potential
Rugby league fans will soon be sitting on the horns of a TV dilemma: if they want to see their stars in action, they must watch more commercials during games.
The NRL has been working for months on a strategy to build more stoppages into games in order to create more advertising opportunities for telecasters and potentially more revenue from media rights.
Players would then be paid more, meaning stars would be less likely to defect to other codes, as have State of Origin stars Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau to the AFL.
The NRL strategy follows an observation last year by the Nine network boss, David Gyngell, when he told the Herald that if rugby league was to win the same money as the AFL achieved with its record $1.25 billion TV deal, it must offer networks similar advertising opportunities. AFL's free-to-air coverage traditionally allows for a commercial immediately after each goal and with its four-quarter action an AFL match usually lasts about an hour longer than a NRL game.
If introduced, the advertisements could stretch the time of an NRL game by 10 per cent.
One consultant estimates the additional broadcasting revenue from extra advertisements in NRL games at $70 million a year, after factoring in a further 20 breaks per game and basing the figures on a 30-second Friday night commercial costing a minimum $30,000.
However, this assumes two 50-minute halves, with drink breaks at the 25-minute marks and 15-second commercials at penalties, 20-metre taps and scrums. The chief executive of the ARL Commission, David Gallop, has confirmed key staffers are working on the strategy, which would be expected to protect the flow of the game and not undermine the role of player attrition in close contests.
He has charged his director of football operations, Nathan McGuirk, with the responsibility. McGuirk said: ''I've had a close look at it all, with potential for breaks to be utilised for commercial purposes without disrupting play.''
He said broadcasters insisted on guaranteed breaks for commercials during the course of a match, rather than ad hoc inserts that might follow an unexpected stoppage, such as an injury.
''Broadcasters are looking at guarantees of 30 seconds for commercial breaks,'' he said. ''Sideline kicks, drop-outs and the gap between the conversion attempt and the kick-off offer the best opportunities.
''For example, there is an average 35-37 seconds from the touch judge's flag going up following a sideline kick to the end of the scrum. We would have to guarantee a 30-second break in play to the telecaster.''
Some 1140 kicks found touch in 2011, an average of 8.3 per game, meaning more than four minutes of additional commercial breaks could have been accommodated. Scrums averaged 13.1 per NRL game last year but some followed knock-ons. Some viewers might even prefer to watch a 15-second advertisement following a fumble to the restart which masquerades as today's scrum.
McGuirk says line drop-outs offer another opportunity.
''The NRL insists line drop-outs can't take longer than 40 seconds, otherwise it is a penalty,'' he said. ''To satisfy the broadcaster, we would have to insist that a line drop-out does not take less than 30 seconds.''
There were, on average, three drop-outs per NRL game last season - an additional 90 seconds of potential advertising.
McGuirk said a conversion attempt would offer another opportunity. One or two commercials are now shown between the replay of a try and a kick attempt.
''The average time between the flags going up or down to signal a goal [or a miss] and the kick-off to restart play is 23 seconds,'' he said. ''We might have to hold the kick off up by an average seven seconds but it would result in another 30-second opportunity. If there are seven or eight tries per game, it offers another seven or eight commercials.''
NRL games averaged 6.6 tries per match last year.
Asked how the team behind on the scoreboard would react in the closing minutes of a match to a mandatory half-minute break, McGuirk said: ''If a team showed it was in a position to receive, or kick-off quickly before the commercial time had elapsed, the referee could call a time out.''
In other words, the TV commercial would run its course but the difference in time would be added to the game clock.
''Our concern is that it could add a huge amount of time to the game, as much as 10 per cent,'' McGuirk said.
He admitted the commercial possibilities were enticing. ''The extra time which could be allocated to commercials is quite significant. All these scenarios will be put to prospective broadcasters.''
