Fox and Nine win NRL rights in five-year deal
Nine Network and Fox Sports are to continue to share the rights to broadcast NRL games in a new deal with the ARL Commission believed to be worth $1billion overall.
Nine has rights to all FTA broadcast and Fox Sports will provide the subscription TV broadcast along with gaining digital rights.
In what the subscription TV network is describing as a “major coup” Fox Sports will have the digital rights to stream five matches per round via IPTV and tablets.
The deal comprises a cash component of $925m, $90m of which will be paid prior to the start of the first season as well as advertising packages to the value of $100m.
“In what the subscription TV network is describing as a “major coup” Fox Sports will have the digital rights to stream five matches per season via IPTV and tablets.”
A major coup, streaming five games a season?
Eyeroll,
Five matches per week – apologies for the typo.
Cheers,
Cathie – Mumbrella
Oh no, more Phil Gould and some other annoying commentators. Rarely watch any 9
9 sport with sound turned on.
So that means one live game on FTA each week and no Saturday games on FTA?
A missed opportunity for Nine not to attempt to secure broadcast AND digital rights. This would allow them to offer greater choice for the viewer across Nine and ninemsn.
The Olympics has proven this is what people want.
Another five years of antiquated broadcasting.
@ NL – ‘Another five years of antiquated broadcasting’
Yes, because the real broadcaster is FOX. Seevral games a week, in HD, uninterrupted, plus digital rights. Foxtel wins again.
“Fox Sports will have the digital rights to stream five matches per week”? But doesn’t Fox Sports currently show *every* NRL game each week? I can’t see how this is “a major coup”.
Hoin, I think that is five live per week and replays of the other matches. I could be wrong though.
I wonder if this will give the NRL enough money to get some decent music to run in its ads and get rid of that awful bogan Bon Jovi track
Hopefully some of that billion dollars will filter down to the Parramatta Eels, who will buy some decent players and win the premiership and end my 26 year agony.
If you do the maths. Nine pays 85 million a season. Take into account Three State of Origins and Finals. So that equates roughly to 2 millionish a week of regular season spread across their three Games. 700k a game. Let’s say 30×30 second ads a Game. Sydney and Brisbane thats 23k a 30second ad. This is a big loss leader at those rates. Sunday afternoon Gold Coast vs Penrith is not going to get you those rates and the second game on Friday night at 1030pm is not going to get those rates.
The deal is a win for the clubs, players and a win for the “game” in general, purely for the fat cheque that they got and for News to cede the “first and last rights” clause in the contract that was due to run to 2027.
As a fan of a game the deal stinks. Only one live Free to Air match a week? Stinks No High Def? Stinks. Ray Warren, Phil Gould, Ray Hadley? Stinks. The clubs and supporters have been crying out for more daytime games and this results in less of those in favour of more night games and a move back to the night grand final. Stinks.
What really stinks is that it blows the ideal of a level playing field for clubs out of the water. Under this arrangement the Brisbane Broncos are all but guaranteed the vast majority of FTA live slots due to their dominance of the second biggest t.v market (brisbane). This results in them having the best gate takings and corporate sponsorships that blow every other club out of the water. The ARLC has just turned the Broncos into the Man U of Rugby League and are unapolagetic about it. Stinks bad.
Go Sharkies!