Rugby League's TV deal

[DIEHARD]

AFL facing a fight for the big TV bucks

To television executives and their sports directors, filming the National Rugby League as a sport is akin to "shooting fish in a bucket??.

Where the wide expanses of an AFL field and its nuances and tactics are almost impossible to capture fully on film, that?s not the case in rugby league.

??It?s like shooting fish in a bucket from a television perspective,?? said one Sydney-based television executive.

??It?s a square ground, all players running in the one direction, easy to capture on camera, very few shots required.

??The crowds may not be as great but it's a great TV sport.??

This is one reason why the AFL, perhaps to the surprise of its army of followers in southern Australia, could find itself in a major fight when discussions over the new broadcasting rights deal intensify when the Federal Government releases its revised anti-siphoning list.

The AFL hopes to reap $1 billion in its next five-year deal, beginning 2012.

Media experts such as Harold Mitchell believe that figure could even be surpassed, for the previous deal was already $780 million.

Network insiders, however, aren?t so sure.

The NRL rights will soon also be up for grabs, with league boss David Gallop hopeful of doubling the current $100 million-a-year contract split between Fox Sports, Nine and New Zealand?s Sky TV.

Gallop plans to do this by perhaps selling off the high-rating State-of-Origin series from Channel Nine, or following the AFL system and having the club competition shown on different free-to-air networks.

In the meantime, Nine?s Melbourne boss Jeff Browne has signalled the station?s intent to reclaim a piece of the AFL pie, despite the likelihood of the network needing to splash out even more to retain the NRL rights.

According to television insiders, if push came to shove, Nine would take the NRL over the AFL.

And here?s one reason why that keeps resurfacing.

Seven?s decision to go live last Friday night with the AFL grand-final rematch between Geelong and St Kilda attracted 638,000 viewers nationally.

According to tvtonight.com.au, this consisted of: Melbourne (410,000), Adelaide (110,000), Perth (92,000), Brisbane (18,000) and Sydney (8,000).

As reported in Melbourne's The Sunday Age, Seven's Melbourne boss Lewis Martin said there were "raised eyebrows" at the network at the modest figures from the AFL's heartland. The suggestion from this was there may have to be a pull-back in a public push for live Friday-night matches.

By contrast, the Friday-night NRL clash on Nine between West Tigers and the Dragons attracted 611,000 combined prime-time viewers alone in Sydney (363,000) and Brisbane (248,000).

At least the AFL this week could take some heart from defeating rugby league.

A close look at recent figures reinforce the challenge awaiting the AFL as it seeks to convert the Gold Coast and western Sydney into strongholds with its two expansion clubs.

A little over a week ago 690,000 Friday-night viewers tuned in from Sydney and Brisbane alone to watch the Penrith Panthers demolish the Brisbane Broncos 22-12 and the Gold Coast Titans hang on for a 25-24 win over the Canterbury Bulldogs in an experimental double-header at Queensland?s Suncorp Stadium.

Meanwhile, the clash between Hawthorn and Essendon, one of the best this season featuring three spectacular Lance Franklin goals, attracted a national audience on Seven of just 580,000.

This consisted of Melbourne (370,000), Adelaide (105,000), Perth (90,000), Sydney (10,000) and Brisbane (6,000).

It?s a theme that has been replayed throughout the season.

A week earlier, North Melbourne?s much-hyped clash against Carlton attracted 529,000 viewers, while the NRL had 661,000 in Sydney and Brisbane alone tune in to witness the Titans thump the Manly Sea Eagles from Skilled Park.

A week earlier, Richmond?s clash against St Kilda attracted 581,000 nationally, while the NRL drew 684,000 viewers.

??We look at those numbers. We love the AFL but we have to say, the numbers are what the numbers are,?? said one network executive rather pointedly.

Mitchell, who has advised the AFL in several broadcast rights negotiations, says the figures show why the AFL's bid to conquer the northern states must be a long-term project.

"It continues to be the challenge but one they are up to," he said.

"Eventually the very successful sports will be totally national and the AFL is leaving no stone unturned to get there.

"No sport has an even number around the country so they have to keep working on their weaknesses.

''It's the same with rugby union and league in the southern states."

So enticing have the NRL rights become in Sydney that Network Ten, through its free-to-air network and One HD, and Seven will also make a pitch in the next round of bidding.

Ten?s sports boss David White has refused to comment on his network?s bid, although NRL boss David Gallop confirmed in March a preliminary meeting had taken place.

Mitchell said he wasn't surprised Ten was now in the running.

"They can't risk not being involved which is why they will bid aggressively," he said.

"Live sport is such a valuable commodity."

Ten has not broadcast league since the early 1990s.

That it now wants to re-enter the fray, having endured, for the most part, years of terrible AFL ratings in Sydney with live Swans matches, suggests it?s ??game on?? between the country?s two leading winter codes.

Of the 602,000 viewers who tuned in to Saturday's night live stand-alone showcase clash between the Swans and Collingwood at ANZ Stadium, just 59,000 viewers were from the harbour city.

"As I said, it has to be a long-term plan for the AFL,'' Mitchell said.

Just how long is anyone's guess.

http://www.backpagelead.com.au/afl/1...or-the-big-tv-

[Coaster]

IMO there is a serious issue regarding the NRL, and Nine in Victoria, when considering the Anti siphoning laws, and the recent vote regarding Keep Sport Free campaign.

The ?Keep it Free? Website states:

What is the antisiphoning list?
The anti-siphoning list is a list of major sporting events that the Parliament of Australia has decided must be available for all Australians to see free of charge and cannot be ?siphoned? off to pay TV where people are forced to pay to see them.

What is the ?use it or lose it? scheme?
The previous Federal Government introduced the concept of ?use it or lose it? rules for sports on the anti-siphoning list in 2007 to ensure that broadcasters are showing the events they acquire and that listed sports are not being ?hoarded?.

http://www.keepsportfree.com.au/Cont...mon/pg-FAQ.seo


Is channel Nine ?Hording? the NRL in Victoria? The question may not be so simple,
I mean why would channel nine that has paid the rights for the NRL hamstring the growth of the sport in Victoria, you would think that it would be in the best interests for the Channel to promote something like State of Origin a clear rating winner, against something like ?Hey Hey its Saturday? which is clearly in the wrong timeslot on a Wednesday.

The answer IMO is Nine losing the AFL rights to seven and Ten, in the year 2000 channel Seven denied access to footage of the AFL in Melbourne to Nine, this was not a good result for either the AFL or Nine. So between the years 2002 and 2006 both parties reshuffled there executives using the in between business called Austereo, the CEO of Nine at the time Eddie McGuire made sure of his results.

?Austereo Group Ltd is one of Australia's most progressive and exciting entertainment based media companies. Reaching over 4.5 million Australian's weekly, Austereo delivers a combination of traditional and new media platforms on which to communicate with our audience.

The company operates three national radio networks; Today and Triple M, with stations in all mainland Australian state capital cities along with two leading joint venture stations in Newcastle and Canberra?

http://www.austereo.com.au/index.php...d=12&Itemid=33

The main change in staff was Ben Amarfio at the time he was the second in charge at the AFL, he joined the Austereo firm in 2006, from the Austereo website his Bio reads:

Ben joined Austereo as General Manager Melbourne in February 2007.He has over 20 years experience in Media/Advertising, Marketing and the Sports & Entertainment industries.
Previously Ben was Broadcasting, Publishing & Digital Media Manager of the Australian Football League (AFL), heading up their Broadcasting operations, Commercial Media Assets and Relationships.

http://www.austereo.com.au/index.php...d=14&Itemid=36


Fox sports wrote in 2006 :

?THE AFL has lost a second key employee, with Ben Amarfio leaving to head up Austereo.

Amarfio, crucial in the AFL's record TV, radio and internet deals, will begin in February as general manager of Austereo Melbourne.

The role, which places him in charge of FM stations Triple M and Fox, was held by Gary Pert, who vacated it for the head position at Channel 9 Melbourne.?

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...-23211,00.html

Of course Gary Pert the bloke he took the spot of, went on to take a position at Nine, an article on him wrote :


?IN THE corridor outside Gary Pert's office, there are large photos of Dermott Brereton oiled up and stripped to his shorts, Jason Dunstall dressed as a native American Indian (complete with feather headdress), and Brian Taylor wielding a chainsaw. All good boys-own fun, and despite the presence in other photos of Jo Stanley, Fifi Box and Robyn Butler (all clothed), it's an affirmation of the testosterone-fuelled and occasionally brutal world of FM radio that Pert is leaving.

He's an ex-footballer, but more evolved than a Brendan Fevola type. Pert's headlocks, were they put on you, would be verbal, and would rise out of his boyish, clean-cut charm. Pert is the very model of a well-spoken, fresh-faced young tyro, a sharp-eyed business type comfortable with phrases such as "key driver" and "targeting the right communities".

But he's no bloodless executive. Pert's CV is augmented by a huge credit in football-mad Melbourne: he was a loved player for Fitzroy (he followed in the footsteps of his father, Brian), for 10 years a favourite son of a struggling club that the AFL in 1996 chose to kill rather than help. At 41, Pert is young to be part of history. And smart enough to know there is life after football.

While still playing, Pert cannily developed a career in media sales ? starting at Channel Ten and joining the Austereo Radio Network 13 years ago, the parent company of Triple M and Fox FM, in sales. He rose to general manager in 2002.

Now he's winding up his radio career and jumping to television (he starts as head of Melbourne's GTV Nine on December 4?

http://www.knowfirst.info/forums/showthread.php?t=21323

Eddie McGuire of course we all know is the President of the Collingwood Football club, he retired as CEO of Nine, but still holds a position and he is also current host of Channel Nine program Hot Seat. McGuire is also the host of The Hot Breakfast With Eddie McGuire on Triple M Melbourne owned by ?Austereo?.

The show McGuire is most famous for is the Channel Nine AFL Footy Show, which is now run by Garry Lyon and the North Melbourne Football Club Chairman James Brayshaw, both are also employed by ?Austereo? and have there own show called ?Friday Night M Sport?.

So the main question I ask is how did a station that could not get even clips of AFL from there rival stations, turn this around in such a short time, to not only get clips, but be able to get the so called ?Stars? of the game to appear on there rival footy shows, week after week.

Is it a coincidence that Austereo the only FM station in Melbourne with the right to broadcast AFL, employs half of Melbourne Nine employees?

Would it be unreasonable to think that if a deal was done between a station that did not purchase the rights to a sport to have such access to its players, management, and officials, it would in return ?BLOCK? or not show any program that may be against the best interests of the AFL?

If ?Hey Hey its Saturday? rates so highly, why would they not put it on a Saturday, unless of course it was against a program they did not want to diminish the rating of?

And finally if any of these serious issues are exactly as they seem, do they not as a broadcaster break the law of ?Use it or Lose it??

[DIEHARD]

No easy answer to the $1b question
Roy Masters

The NRL and AFL should receive approximately the same rights fees as they generate roughly the same amount of money.

A senior TV executive recently told NRL boss David Gallop of the AFL's expectation of its next broadcasting contract: ''No one at the AFL wants to accept the fact that they got hit on the **** by a rainbow with their last contract.''

The comment was in reference to Channel Nine's then owner, Kerry Packer, making a deathbed offer of $780 million over five years for the rights, a sum that a Channel Seven-Ten consortium was forced to equal under its first-and-last rights deal with the AFL.

The AFL is demanding $1 billion for its 2012-16 contract but negotiations have stalled while the football codes and TV networks await the announcement of changes to the Federal Government's anti-siphoning laws. The NRL is also seeking $1b, based on superior viewer numbers.

Advertisement: Story continues below However, the comment made by the TV executive to Gallop could also be interpreted as a message the NRL should temper its own expectations, insofar as a leap from the existing payment of $90m a year to $200m is a significant jump.

Yet advertising revenue figures obtained by the Herald from Sydney sources indicate both codes generate about the same amount of money from commercials shown during games, which means - assuming broadcasting costs are similar - both codes should receive approximately the same rights fees.

Three Sydney experts calculate the AFL's eight games a week yield $100m from free-to-air TV, with pay TV adding a further $15m.

They estimate NRL matches shown in Sydney and Brisbane write $70m of commercials on Nine and a further $15m in the regional networks but admit these figures could be higher because of uncertainty over advertising revenue written on Nine's second Friday night game.

The second match (Nine typically beams a Queensland club game into Sydney and a NSW club game into Brisbane) is on delay, and therefore allows the network to slot multiple advertisements into its telecast. Nine's Sunday afternoon game is also on one-hour delay, allowing the network to load up with commercials.

According to Sydney media buyers, rugby league also generates $15m in advertising from pay TV, the same as AFL, a surprising figure considering Foxtel shows five NRL games a week, and AFL three.

Barry O'Brien, the chief executive of PHD Network, said of the AFL's total of $115m and NRL's $100m in advertising: ''These figures seem to be a true reflection of what each of the networks write in advertising revenues for both of the nation's major winter sports.''

However, there are agendas being played in this exercise, with a Melbourne media buyer saying the amount of advertising written was heavily skewed to the AFL.

Based on 13 minutes of commercials per hour in every AFL game, the advertising revenue raised on Seven and Ten in the six metropolitan capitals was cited as $220m and $45m in the regional networks. Pay TV wrote $20m, for an AFL total of $285m.

NRL games, according to the source, generated only $60m on Nine in metropolitan areas; $20m in the regionals and $20m on pay TV.

The wide gap between an AFL total of $285m and an NRL total of $100m is at odds with an observation the nation's leading media buyer, Harold Mitchell, made in a recent Fairfax column when he said he expected the AFL to win $1b at its next rights deal, and the NRL possibly the same.

It also contradicts the main reason given by AFL chief Andrew Demetriou when explaining why the AFL has been so desperate to set up teams on the Gold Coast and Western Sydney.

Demetriou has regularly justified the northern expansion on the basis that nearly 60 per cent of advertising is written in NSW and Queensland.

Given the fact the NRL, which is essentially a game followed in these two states, has eclipsed AFL with a cumulative national audience of 120m this year, compared with the AFL's approximate 115m, it can be safely assumed NRL games attract a significant share of advertising in NSW and Queensland.

The AFL Gold Coast Suns, which enter the competition next season, and the Western Sydney Giants, which begin the following year, will not attract advertising dollars in the north for some time.

For this reason, the AFL is looking to pay TV to provide most of the increase in its hoped for $1b broadcasting contract beginning in 2012. But Foxtel will want better quality AFL games from the anticipated changes. While pay TV is installed in 30 per cent of homes nationally, it is in only in 26 per cent of Melbourne homes, compared with 34 per cent of Sydney homes.

Whereas the NRL's third-best game each week is allocated to Foxtel on Monday nights - generating the highest ratings on pay TV - Seven and Ten effectively on-sell to Foxtel the AFL's fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-best games.

The Herald revealed this year the AFL and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy were close to agreement on the AFL allocating the third- and fourth-best game to pay TV but this has been denied by the AFL. In any case, who decides what are the best games each round? The AFL? The broadcasters? The government?

The NRL allows Nine and Fox Sports to select their games, where Nine picks one, two and five, with Fox taking picks three, five, six, seven and eight.

Gallop said the choices made by the networks did not necessarily mirror the positions of the competing teams on the premiership ladder.

''It's a very subjective judgment what constitutes the best games when seeking to maximise ratings, as well as showing the best performing teams,'' he said. ''Clearly, there are teams that rate well, irrespective of their position on the ladder. The Broncos [are] a prime example.''

The greatest fear of the football codes and pay TV is the possibility Senator Conroy allows free-to-air TV to buy all games and divert all but the best to the new digital channels.

This is unlikely since it would kill off the Packer-Murdoch-owned Fox Sports but with the anti-siphoning list expiring at the end of the year, and the Greens and independents threatening the new legislation, there might be no list.

No prohibitions of any kind would suit subscription TV. While this would deliver NRL and AFL great riches, the sports are not so short-sighted.

Gallop said: ''Pay TV provides fans with live games, and they pay for it, but free-to-air TV is in every home in Australia, and you need to be there with your high-quality games.''

Source: http://www.smh.com.au

[DIEHARD]

TV consortium could share NRL matches

NRL chief executive David Gallop says he is open to the idea of a consortium handling the next round of TV rights, but admits there could be drawbacks.

With the League's current rights agreement with Channel 9 and Foxtel expiring at the end of 2012, Gallop would consider a similar arrangement to the AFL, which is broadcast by Channel 7, Channel 10 and Foxtel.

"We're open to that but not necessarily committed to that. Exclusivity and having one network being the rugby league network has worked for us in the past," Gallop said on BigPond Sports Weekend.

"During the club competition you can talk about state of origin coming up but if we split it up we are in danger of losing that. So we're going to have to look at the value [and] we are going to have to look at the continuity of promotion of the product."

Gallop refused to put a figure on how much money the League could reap out of the next rights agreement but said it could be substantial.

"You've got to be careful saying we are aiming for X. It's a bit like selling your house. You can't put a whole lot of numbers in a computer and it will spit out a number you are definitely going to get," he said.

"The day you sell your house you go along to the auction and you just hope that you've got people there who bid your price up."

Gallop said the jostling for position by the broadcasters meant that the competition could be well set up for a big windfall.

"I like the level of competition that I feel is out there at the moment. People have recognised rugby league is something they want on their network. I think that is going to set us up for a nice little bidding war," he said.

"If you add in New Zealand, we obviously gain a nice slice of revenue out of New Zealand as well. We don't have a specific target in mind but I really believe we are going to do a great deal. I think the game is set up to do that.

"The interest from the broadcasters already is clear. We are running a quality competition and it is a compelling TV product."

Source: NRL.com

[DIEHARD]

New blood for old sports

Stephen Conroy has produced a new ?anti-siphoning? list which makes a few changes to the existing list of sports reserved for free-to-air television. The new list, however, is just a holding device before more significant changes to the networks? privileged position are made next year.

Conroy had to publish a new list because the old one expires on December 31. He described today?s list as "interim", pending the implementation of reforms to the anti-siphoning regime he announced last month. The British Open golf and French Open tennis are off the list, with Twenty20 cricket and the Socceroos? World Cup qualifiers added.

Under the proposed permanent changes the list will be split into two tiers: one containing iconic events that the networks will have to broadcast and in full and the other containing everything else. The networks will be able to broadcast those ?other? events on their digital multi-channels but on a ?use it or lose it? basis.

However, the most significant change is the proposed de-listing of four AFL games and five NRL games from the list, enabling pay TV to bid for the rights to those games. At present ? and until the new restructured list is in place ? free-to-air have the first right to acquire and broadcast all AFL and NRL games.

Conroy confirmed today that he was still working with the codes and broadcasters for a regime that would maintain the two best AFL games (shown on Friday and Saturday evenings and selected by the AFL), along with the Anzac Day and Queen?s Birthday games on free-to-air, with a similar approach for the NRL. South Australian and West Australian viewers would also be guaranteed free-to-air coverage of teams from their state. Overall, four of the eight AFL games each week would remain protected.

Once that regime is in place Foxtel in particular will become a bigger direct player in the negotiations and bidding for rights to the two codes. At present it can only acquire what the free-to-air networks don?t want at prices that they can virtually dictate.

Assuming the two-tiered list is in place sometime early next year, it will be a major financial fillip for the football codes in particular.

Goldman Sachs has produced some timely research on sports rights which says that there are $2 billion of sports broadcast rights (using their current value) due for renewal by the end of 2014.

The AFL is first cab of the rank next year, when its current $780 million deal with the broadcasters expires at the end of the season. The NRL?s $500 million package ends in 2012, cricket?s $320 million deal in 2013 along with soccer?s $120 million contract and the Australian Open?s $100 million deal in 2014.

The big two football codes are the winners, given that there will be more broadly based competition for their rights, although they will be disappointed that new media (which probably means Telstra) aren?t allowed to gain exclusive access to sports rights and therefore won?t be an extra source of bidding tension.

If the value of the key sports rights goes up, so do the costs of the networks who need that programming to drive ratings and revenue and provide flow-on effects to their wider schedules.

Goldman says that sports programming currently represents about 25 per cent of all the network?s programming costs, which in turn represent about 70 per cent of the networks? total operating costs.

That provides some insight into how important the networks think those rights are and probably supports the view that the partial de-regulation of the list is going to see the value of the football rights bid up, along with the networks? costs.

There is going to be a fine line between winning the broadcast rights to AFL or NRL matches on terms that makes sense for the network and paying too much, although Goldman did note the collapse in Seven?s ratings when it lost the rights in 2002. Since regaining a share of the rights Seven has emerged as the dominant network, with a disproportionate revenue share.

The sporting bodies will also face some tricky dilemmas as they try to get their own balances right in maximising revenues, audiences and attending fans by optimising the mix and scheduling of free-to-air and pay TV broadcasts of their games.

Next year won?t quite be a brave new world for the networks, pay TV and sports administrators, but it should be somewhat more interesting and challenging than it has been under the expiring regime.

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/

[DIEHARD]

Networks thrust and feint to repel Demetriou's cash grab
Roy Masters

NRL boss David Gallop fired a shot in the turf war between the football codes mid-week, proclaiming at a Men of League function that round one of the AFL produced its lowest crowd in years, while rugby league set its highest.

But both codes face a joint enemy: the broadcasters believe AFL boss Andrew Demetriou has become too greedy, meaning his expectation of a $1 billion rights deal should not be aped by the NRL. Channel Nine is the outsider, engaged in a side battle designed to drive up the price of the AFL and force down the NRL's value.

The AFL's deal with Foxtel has been concluded and Demetriou is locked in final, furious negotiations with the free-to-air networks to drive up the price past the $780m agreement set five years ago.

Channel Nine boss Jeff Browne, who is a former AFL lawyer, and network star Eddie McGuire, who is also chairman of Collingwood, are showing interest in AFL rights, but mainly to drive up the price rivals Seven and Ten must pay. If Seven/Ten pay ''overs'', it achieves two purposes: the AFL gets more money for the game loved by the Victorians and Seven/Ten have no money left to spend on the NRL.

This would allow Nine to enter the auction for NRL rights - which expire at the end of 2012 - as the sole free-to-air bidder.

But Seven owner Kerry Stokes has declared the AFL ''greedy'' and Ten shareholders James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch believe they are already paying too much for sport.

Nine's worst-case scenario would be to end up with both AFL and NRL. No free-to-air network makes money from AFL. It is a loss leader, keeping viewers tuned to shows on which it can turn a profit. According to a recent Citigroup report, free-to-air TV coverage per year of AFL generated $75m in advertising revenue and cost $93m to acquire, not including production costs. It warned that if the price of AFL TV rights increased in the next contract, it would impact on the value of the shares of Seven, Ten and Foxtel's owners.

It's expected the AFL will receive $100m a year from Foxtel, up from the current $53m it pays for four games a week. Foxtel will have an additional game because of the entry of Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney in the competition in 2012, plus the pay TV network will share a further two games with Seven and Ten. Foxtel may also simulcast the finals, except for the grand final.

It all adds up to improved coverage for a network whose subscription rates in the south and west of Australia are well below those in the northern, rugby league states.

If Seven/Ten share games with Foxtel, they will lose viewers and advertisers in a deal under which they now pay $90m-$100m a year.

Foxtel will show the games live and if the free-to-air channels continue their practice of delayed coverage (in order to load up with commercials), Seven and Ten will leak even more viewers to pay TV.

So, if Foxtel delivers $100m and Seven/Ten yield and pay the same, Demetriou has his $200m a year, or $1b over five years. If Seven/Ten play hardball, Demetriou will announce $1b anyway, slipping online rights into the bundle.

The AFL now receives $60m over five years, or $12m a year, from Telstra for online rights. The value of sport's internet rights are expected to increase significantly over the life of the next broadcasting contract.

Any increase in what Telstra pays could come from more live BigPond games, meaning a further devaluing of pay and free-to-air rights.

But Telstra, along with its co-owners of Foxtel, News Ltd and James Packer's CMH, in which Stokes also has a shareholding, all agree football costs too much. Once the AFL deal is announced Ten will close its digital, all-sports channel, One HD, taking one more bidder out of the auction for NRL rights.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au

[DIEHARD]

MONEY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NRL clubs have been warned that the next broadcast deal will be worth significantly less if Monday Night Football is scrapped. The opening three weeks of this season have attracted record ratings figures for league, with the first-round Bulldogs-Tigers match being watched by a record pay-TV audience of 365,000 viewers. In comparison, the highest rating Saturday night match of the season so far was last weekend's Tigers-Raiders clash, which was watched by 306,000 viewers. Yet some NRL club officials have suggested Monday Night Football was having a negative impact on crowds and should be scrapped. Not surprisingly, Fox Sports chief executive David Malone said that would cost the clubs dearly as Monday Night Football has become so successful that the Ten Network is believed to be considering bidding for it. ''If you took Monday Night Football out of the equation that would have an impact on the value of the rights,'' Malone told Sin Bin.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au

[DIEHARD]

I vote to keep Monday night football, for the betterment of the game as a whole while giving support to clubs who have to suffer it.

[Boofhead]

I love MNF, best part of my day.

Not to mention the FS coverage of it is fantastic.

[DIEHARD]

I love MNF, best part of my day.

Not to mention the FS coverage of it is fantastic.

Too right may and it also gives us a free run in the media. Most sports are in review mode while we have a game in preview mode.

We have a Monday night coming up and I hope that the club does there School Night promo again. The Legion could wear ties or something. And I can put a dunce hat on Greg.

[DIEHARD]

Seven lining up tilt at Origin

CHANNEL 7 will try to pluck the jewel of rugby league's broadcasting crown by having a massive tilt for the State of Origin football rights.

Cashed-up Seven also is interested in snaring Friday night football but the super-rating Origin is more realistic.

All major networks are in the mix for the new TV rights which start from 2013.

NRL boss David Gallop has said the bidding process will not formally start until rugby league's new commission is formed and rugby league officials are counting the days.

Rugby league executives argue that if they draw similar numbers of viewers as the AFL annually - both float between 120 million and 130 million - they should get the same deal, not the $50 million a year less they get.

League's price is likely to vault to more than $800 million, a godsend for a code in which only four of 16 clubs showed a profit last year. League's rights landscape could change depending on what happens in the AFL rights war expected to be settled in the next few weeks.

"Sports television rights are the last of the great blood sports," an NRL spokesman said. "We are all looking forward to them because they will be so good for the game."

Broncos skipper Darren Lockyer believes an injection of cash would have league back in the war for talent.

"Rugby league should be on the cusp of one day turning the tables on the AFL and rugby union codes which have the revenue to attract some of our best players," he said.

"If the NRL's next television rights deal is done right and is reflective of the audience numbers the competition, as well as our strong representative football component, habitually draw, it won't be a case of our players going to other codes," Lockyer said.

"Potentially stars from other codes would come to the NRL because that is where the rewards would be. The Parramatta-Cowboys game two weeks ago attracted the biggest pay television audience yet by a league, AFL or union game. If the rights increase to reflect the strength of our game in the market, league would be so strong and it would be there on merit.

"Sonny Bill Williams back in the NRL ... who wouldn't stop to watch him on the box? Ma'a Nonu, I'm told, was pretty close to signing with the Wests Tigers at one stage before the New Zealand Rugby Union secured him.

"Quade Cooper, suggested in recent times as an NRL target, would bring more eyes to our competition."

The NRL rights are held by Channel 9, Foxtel and Sky TV in New Zealand. They signed a six-year $500 million package to broadcast the game between 2007-12.

League is the most watched sport on Australian television, with an aggregate audience of 128.5 million viewers last year.

Channel 9 are believed to be on equal footing with current free-to-air AFL broadcasters Channels 7 and 10. If Nine lands the rights Seven could be even more aggressive in chasing league.

The three Origin games are ratings mega-hits with last year's first game being one of the most watched programs in the country with 2.46 million viewers.

"The rugby league rights came cheap last time and Seven's owner Kerry Stokes is better positioned than anyone to have a big go at a part of the package such as Origin," an industry source said.

"Channel 9 has a massive investment in next year's Olympics, Ten haven't got much money.

"Seven are the only ones with big cash reserves. It will be an ego thing with Stokes."

Source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Free ads offered by Nine to make up for ratings tumble

THE Nine Network has been forced to offer "makegoods" to advertisers after disappointing ratings in the first quarter meant it failed to deliver guaranteed audience levels. Media buyers said Nine had had to make bonus spots available after consolidated prime-time ratings across the network and its digital channels Go and Gem fell from 36 per cent last year to 33 per cent so far this ratings season.

In contrast, Seven was up almost three share points, while Ten was down by 0.4 points.

Ratings on Nine's main channel are down by almost 7 per cent to a commercial prime-time share of 32.8 per cent due to the failure of key programs, including Ben Elton Live from Planet Earth, and the decision to hold back other programs, such as Underbelly follow-up Razor, which is scheduled to run in the second half of the year.
Media buyers said specific advertising campaigns had fallen short of their targets by as much as 10 to 15 per cent. "They are having to place bonus spots for us to make up for the shortfall on our campaigns," said Melissa Hey, head of television at media agency OMD. "There has been a significant drop on the main channel."

The network is believed to have succeeded in its goal of garnering more than 35 per cent of advertising revenues in February -- based on data from advertising measurement firm SMI -- plus a higher than average share of direct advertising, which SMI does not measure.

Calls to Nine head of sales and marketing Peter Wiltshire and sales director Ian Paterson were not returned by press time. However, sources said weakened demand for television advertising this month -- particularly in the weeks around Easter -- meant Nine would be able to get away most of its bonus spots.

Maxus chief operating officer Mark McCraith said each network had had to offer makegoods in the past year. Seven is believed to have offered some for its tennis coverage, while Ten struggled with disappointing ratings for last year's Commonwealth Games broadcast. Nine's woes are understood to be of a broader nature -- covering more programs -- than usual.

But Mr McCraith said it depended which program an advertiser was buying. "If you're buying the NRL, it's up," he said.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au

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Meanwhile, the NRL has admitted it will be difficult to ignore Monday night football in its next television deal, given the game's consistently high ratings on Fox Sports.

But both the NRL and its clubs have warned broadcasters they will need to pay through the nose for the game. Several clubs have raised concerns over the scheduling of games on Monday night, placing a cloud over its future.

However, the viewing figures this year indicate the game is a fan favourite. Last week's match between St George Illawarra and South Sydney was one of the highest rating programs in the history of pay television.

"The clubs that are on the television committee were keen to get behind the message about Monday night football, which is if we can get a true picture of its value then it will be hard to argue against its future," NRL chief executive David Gallop said. "I think the numbers are compelling."

Source: http://www.news.com.au

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I'm all for the rention of Monday night footy. It sucks when your club plays, but it's so welcome when there is a game on. And the ratings are tremendous.

A powerful tool in broadcast rights. I say try and get it on free to air as well!

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NRL still hopeful of billion-dollar television rights deal

THE NRL'S dream of a billion-dollar television rights payday remains on track despite the AFL being set to announce a similar deal in coming days.
While AFL officials remained tight-lipped last night, it is understood the game has done a deal with Seven and Foxtel for the next five years believed to be worth more than $1 billion.

There were immediate fears that Seven would no longer be in a position to challenge Channel 9 for the free-to-air rights to the NRL when its current broadcast deal ends at the end of 2013.

But a well-placed Seven source last night confirmed that Seven would remain in the hunt to challenge Nine and Channel 10.

"[Seven chief executive] David Leckie loves rugby league," the source told The Daily Telegraph last night.

"Seven will be actively involved in the television rights negotiations."

Yet the AFL's decision to end its association with Channel 10 - which now has Lachlan Murdoch at the helm and James Packer as a significant shareholder - could be the NRL's ultimate gain.

Asked if the AFL deal had sucked too much cash out of the pot, NRL boss David Gallop said: "There is nothing in the AFL deal that should adversely affect our position."

Gallop would not nominate a figure for league's next television deal but the NRL has long believed its product is worth the magical billion-dollar figure because it is the most watched sport on Australian TV, especially in the biggest market of Sydney.

"Our ratings results are simply outstanding and we are now well placed to do a great deal when the negotiations commence," Gallop said.

"When the restructure of our game is in place, we will start formal negotiations. But our deal has a year longer to run than the AFL, so we have plenty of time."

The AFL denied a TV rights announcement was imminent, but it is understood an in-principle agreement has been reached that gives Foxtel five games a week and Seven four games.

Seven would then have the opportunity to on-sell any or all games, with the Nine Network likely to secure the rights for Sunday football.

"We have no announcement at this stage and we are not commenting on the ongoing subject of TV rights," an AFL spokesman said yesterday.

An intriguing powerplay appears to be looming between Seven owner Kerry Stokes and Nine chief executive David Gyngell over the rights to the NRL.The late Kerry Packer attempted on his death bed in 2005 to leave Seven financially crippled when he made a huge offer for the AFL rights.

It forced Stokes to pay a then record $780 million for the AFL rights for the next five years.

Stokes is ready to exact his revenge by forcing the price up on Nine for the NRL rights. Nine has the first and last right of refusal.

Nine's owner CVC is financially stretched but Gyngell is desperate to retain the rights to the football code it has dominated for decades.

The slow march towards rugby league's independent commission has stalled negotiations for the NRL rights.

There is certainly belief amongst NRL club chairmen that they do not want Gallop to do the deal.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au