The TV rights thread part II

[NRLMad]

If we get Perth in (which will drive Perth ratings), then show Melbourne games live in Melbourne, we'll well and truly eclipse the AFL.. we are already ahead..

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.adnews.com.au/adnews/nine-expects-bumper-nrl-grand-final

Nine expects bumper NRL grand final

28 Sep 2011

By David Blight

EXCLUSIVE: The Nine Network is predicting strong results from the NRL grand final this weekend, with a 9% increase in finals ratings garnering increased interest from advertisers for the showpiece event.

According to GTV9 managing director Ian Paterson, the NRL finals series is up 9% on 2010 numbers in terms of total people.

Paterson said that advertising spots for the grand final this weekend are “full”. Advertisers for the game include NRL broadcast sponsors Fosters, TAB, Fonterra, Toyota, KFC, Keno, NRMA Queensland and Samsung.

Other advertisers confirmed for the grand final come from a range of categories, including insurance, banking and finance, bicsuits, motor vehicles, dairy products, beer and spirits, supermarkets, soft drinks, wagering, QSRs, mining, white goods and brown goods, telcos and film distributors.

Paterson told AdNews: “Overall, the interest has been high. Advertisers are clamouring for high rating, high reaching, big event programs. We’ve had a huge amount of success with sales, with most spots being pre-sold during the finals season.”

The 2010 NRL grand final was watched by 2.09 million viewers, while the 2009 version received 2.523 million viewers.

 

[gUt]

I think the 2m mark is realistic.

 

[carlosthedwarf]

According to GTV9 managing director Ian Paterson, the NRL finals series is up 9% on 2010 numbers in terms of total people.

Wonder how much of that is from going live into Melbourne?

 

[flippikat]

Wonder how much of that is from going live into Melbourne?

Surely it's got to be a factor.

It strikes me as crazy that Nine don't use their HD channel to cover all their sports shows to all markets as live as possible... but that's been discussed here before.

If any major New Zealand free-to-air network had sports rights, they'd HD everything possible - case in point, the Rugby World Cup. (looks great on TV1 & TV3 in 1080i

 

[Perth Red]

Wonder how much of that is from going live into Melbourne?

Well the last two live games drew over 650k combined in Melbourne so on a 5mill combined total audience for those w/ends finals games I would suggest quite a bit of it

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...m-in-competition/story-e6frg7mf-1226154443331

Sporting codes fully appreciate the market value of a Kiwi team in competition

by: Ray Gatt
From: The Australian
October 01, 2011 12:00AM

WHEN the Warriors take the field against Manly in tomorrow's grand final, they'll do it in front of a sell-out crowd of about 82,000 and watched by an estimated combined television audience in Australia and New Zealand approaching four million.

And this from a game some predicted would be the NRL's worst nightmare.

But while the match and television statistics make impressive reading, they pale in comparison to the amount of money generated just by having the New Zealanders in the National Rugby League.

According to experts in the field of television rights, marketing, sponsorship and advertising, having a club from New Zealand in a national competition in Australia, be it the NRL, soccer's A-League or the National Basketball League, can add between 10-20 per cent to that code's bottom line.

How much money does that translate to? Working only on the basis of broadcast rights, if the NRL clinches a $1 billion, five-year deal then the New Zealand component would be estimated at a minimum $20 million a year.

Little wonder there has been a rush by sports administrators in the past 15 years to embrace our neighbours across the ditch.

Leading media buyer Harold Mitchell has no doubts as to the importance of New Zealand to the Australian sporting landscape.

"The world is shrinking," Mitchell said. "Television revenues from provincial rugby has increased enormously and will only grow with the introduction of Argentina in a new Four Nations competition. You only have to look at how the television revenues for the AFL have skyrocketed since it moved from being an insular southern states dominated sport to one that is now played in every state.

"As a rule of thumb, having the likes of the Warriors in the NRL, a soccer team and a basketball franchise playing out of New Zealand adds 20 per cent at least to a code's bottom line."

Colin Smith, who is helping the NRL with negotiations on its next broadcast deal, said it is "vitally important" for all sports to embrace New Zealand.

"You have got two important factors," Smith said. "You have two economies that are very close together and a wonderful sporting rivalry.

"New Zealand has a population the size of Victoria (about 4 million). If you add in the 23 million here then that adds another 10 per cent, that's really important."

Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley, NBL chief executive Larry Sengstock and John Brady, director media and communications for the NRL, all agreed New Zealand plays a huge part in their respective competitions.

The A-League has had a Kiwi presence since it kicked off in 2005. While the Auckland Kingz eventually went belly up after two seasons, Wellington Phoenix has risen from the ashes and has made the finals for the past two seasons while the NBL's NZ Breakers won a historic first championship last season.

"A New Zealand team adds a whole new landscape to the A-League and brings a freshness and level of diversity to the competition," Buckley said. "It also brings an extra level of international flavour."

The flow-on effect for NZ soccer has been huge, especially on the field. The national team, the All Whites, qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa and, although eliminated, drew all three group matches.

Sengstock said the Breakers' championship success is a win-win for the sport.

"The Breakers winning the championship for the first time last season has given the sport a stronger bargaining chip with our New Zealand television partner," Sengstock said. "What our market research shows is the Breakers' run to the championship has suddenly opened up a whole new and valuable market for the NBL across all media platforms."

There is some downside, however. While there is a large New Zealand population in Sydney, it sometimes doesn't translate to attendances when the Warriors are playing.

Clubs such as Canterbury and Wests Tigers regularly take home games to New Zealand. Parramatta and Cronulla have also done so in a bid to maximise financial returns. Those problems, however, are minor when taking in to account the other factors.

"The Kiwi presence has been a really positive thing for the game and it clearly adds an important dimension to the competition," Brady said. "The Warriors give rugby league week in and week out engagement with an important market and their presence generates revenue opportunities through media rights and additional sponsorship markets."

While the AFL has a grass roots development program slowly building across the Tasman, it is a long way from having a New Zealand side in its competition.

The Western Bulldogs hope to play one or two home games a season in New Zealand. The matches would be timed to coincide with Australian wine and trade shows.

 

[Cumberland Throw]

When does the NZ tv contract expire ?? Same as Aussie rights ??

 

[Billythekid]

Yet another reason why there is simply no excuse for us to get less than the AFL. It seems as though a lot of people seem to simply ignore the fact that we have a team in NZ when discussing this.

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

When does the NZ tv contract expire ?? Same as Aussie rights ??

I swear it ended this year.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2011/10/no-hd-for-grand-finals-so-how-did-one-and-gem-rate.html

No HD for Grand Finals, so how did ONE and GEM rate?

By David Knox on October 3, 2011

Last week sports fans were fuming with neither the AFL Grand Final nor the NRL Grand Final being shown in HD during their live broadcasts.

TEN said it had a contractual commitment to show the MotoGP from Japan, a qualifying round no less, which was staged at the same time.

Nine said it wanted to offer its viewers “the most variety of options.”

So how did they stack up numbers wise?

While the AFL Grand Final was on TEN with 2.6m viewers, the MotoGP on ONE had just 32,000 viewers.

While the NRL Grand Final was on Nine with 2.02m viewers, Funny Girl on GEM had just 45,000 viewers (and it wasn’t even filmed in HD in 1968),

ONE did replay the AFL Grand Final later when it was watched by 71,000 people.

This weekend’s Bathurst 1000 will be broadcast on both Seven and in HD on 7mate.

 

[Haffa]

There is a decent write up on Page 53 of today's Financial Review on the TV rights deal for anyone who has access.

 

[El Diablo]

summary?

 

[smithie]

Let the TV rights game begin - Oct 3rd, 2011

http://afr.com/p/national/let_the_tv_rights_game_begin_fFIXdZvJWYEGQjZk1PbeLO

 

[El Diablo]

http://afr.com/p/national/let_the_tv_rights_game_begin_fFIXdZvJWYEGQjZk1PbeLO

Let the TV rights game begin
PUBLISHED : 03 Oct 2011 00:05:00 | UPDATED: 5 hours 56 minutes ago

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[whall15]

That's a jumbled, unreadable mess.

 

[The.X.Factor9]

That's a jumbled, unreadable mess.

This.

Needs more ©afr.com

 

[El Diablo]

That's a jumbled, unreadable mess.

yeah

comes out that way

 

[whall15]

Just read it on the website and have a few comments to make.

Gallop sounds a lot more commanding.

TV networks come up with some bizarre excuses like no pre-season cup (show trial games) and not enough tv shows about it by Nine (how is that NRL's fault?)

Channel Nine will have to big bid if it doesn't want to lose first and last bid rights.

 

[_Johnsy]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/tv-ratings-windfall-for-2011-nrl-grand-final/story-e6frexnr-1226157562636

THE NRL has scored a rare grand final television ratings win over the AFL - with a bumper audience in New Zealand delivering ratings gold.

While the AFL decider between Collingwood and Geelong attracted a higher average audience across the five major capital cities, the NRL's strong figures in regional areas and a whopping 692,000 viewers in New Zealand saw the NRL topple the AFL in the head-to-head ratings.

In recent years the NRL has consistently finished a close runner-up to the AFL but the 2,720,000 league fans across Australia's five major capitals and New Zealand who tuned in to see Manly beat the Warriors 24-10 at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night was slightly higher than the 2,595,000 viewers watching the AFL decider across Australia's five biggest cities on Saturday afternoon.

According to the OzTAM ratings reports, 2,028,000 watched the NRL grand final on Channel 9 across the five capital cities - with the NRL claiming that another 1,150,000 watched in regional markets.

And in New Zealand, 515,000 viewers watched on subscription television live through Sky Television, while another 177,000 fans watched the delayed free-to-air coverage on Prime.

The NRL's grand-final ranking performance is even stronger when you consider the fact that OzTAM reports show the NRL decider attracted more viewers in Melbourne on Channel 9 than the AFL finale attracted in Sydney on Channel 10 - 347,000 compared to 258,000. The figures are another bargaining chip for NRL boss David Gallop as he continues talks with a number of television networks for the broadcast rights beyond the 2012 season.

"Again the results underline the strength of rugby league's connection with television audiences," Gallop said.

In 2011, the NRL's average ratings on free-to-air TV across the five capital cities rose by 1.3 per cent.