Footy deal scores well for viewers and codes
Roy Masters
April 29, 2011
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FOOTBALL fans in NSW and Queensland are big winners in the record $1.25 billion AFL broadcasting deal, with all free-to-air games shown live or almost live - a big plus for the home team Swans, Giants, Lions and Suns - on the Seven Network, while rugby league supporters can expect a richer, more diverse coverage when the NRL's media rights contract is negotiated.
The big increase in the AFL's bonanza of $1.118 billion in cash and $135 million in contra deals comes from pay TV and online/mobile phone rights.
While Channel Seven has paid about the same as it did for four games under the last $780 million deal, Foxtel has more than doubled its payment of $53 million a year, while Telstra has increased its commitment of $60 million over five years to more than $140 million.
Subscription TV will dedicate a new stand-alone AFL channel in high definition as part of its Fox Sports package. The chief executive of Foxtel, Kim Williams, refused to rule out a price increase but said there would be ''no major uplift'' in subscription charges.
Foxtel will show all nine games live, including four simulcast with free-to-air TV, on its new channel.
This is a relaunch of an AFL channel that was discontinued a decade ago through lack of support at a time when free-to-air TV telecast the best games.
But now, with the AFL insisting that it, rather than the broadcasters, should control the scheduling of its fixtures, and the federal government yet to determine how the AFL's top two games will be selected for free-to-air TV, it could be expected some high-quality, exclusive contests will migrate to Foxtel in exchange for the riches it has delivered.
Telstra, which had the online and mobile phone rights to replays of AFL on delay, will now show all games live, presumably as a subscription model.
The chief executive of Channel Seven, David Leckie, has negotiated a top deal for his network, which could not afford to surrender the rights after suffering an audience share drop from 35 points to 23 when it lost the rights to a Nine-Ten consortium a decade ago.
Seven lost not only the ratings points of AFL prime-time games but the ''halo effect'' of an audience that stayed with the channel after the football was over.
Mr Leckie has clearly reserved funds for the NRL rights, which expire at the end of next year.
He has not paid significantly more than Channel Nine forced him to equal five years ago, while placating the AFL by allowing games to be shown in NSW and Queensland on Channel Seven's digital channel, 7Mate.
Asked if Seven would pursue rugby league, a Seven executive said: ''We want as much NRL as we can possibly get.''
Seven, which lost the rights to the London Olympics to Channel Nine, believes it has the extra funds needed to secure rugby league games, mainly the State of Origin.
Mr Leckie did not rule out on-selling two of its four AFL games to either Ten or Nine.
Asked if Seven would on-sell games to Ten, after the channel withdrew from its five-year sharing deal with Seven, a highranking executive of the Kerry Stokes-owned network said: ''I doubt it.''
This sets up the possibility of Seven trying to do a sharing deal with the NRL rights holder, Nine, for AFL and rugby league.
But Ten's owners, James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch, are rusted on rugby league fans and will bid.
Assuming the NRL receives from free-to-air TV the same as the AFL - or more than - the key question is whether Foxtel and Telstra will outlay more for the 13-a-side code. Given that 77 of the top 100 pay TV programs are NRL, this should be so.
A leading media buyer and a potential commissioner under the promised independent governance of the game, Barry O'Brien of the PHD company, said: ''The huge increase in the payment by Foxtel is a positive sign for the NRL, given the great ratings it generates. The fallout of Ten and Nine not bidding for AFL rights also augurs well for the NRL as they will have to go hard with their offer to secure the rights. Seven have clearly kept something in their pocket for rugby league.''
The chief executive of the NRL, David Gallop, said: ''Everyone in rugby league should be excited about this outcome. It's like having food for hungry mouths. We can see from this deal that the number of platforms has opened up and once our game's restructure is in place, we can move quickly to the negotiating phase.''
