Night fight in TV rights deal

THE dreaded Thursday and Monday night games could be under threat as NRL chief executive Dave Smith pushes for greater flexibility in the next broadcast deal, which is expected to net the code even more money than the previous $1.1 billion record contract.

The issue of scheduling has dominated the code recently following several poor crowd turnouts. Only 6345 fans — the lowest for this season — braved the freezing conditions on Monday night to watch the Sydney Roosters beat the Gold Coast at Allianz Stadium.

This week the first of four Thursday night games to finish off the regular season was played with only 14,092 fans watching South Sydney topple Brisbane at ANZ Stadium.

Both games could have attracted more fans in a friendlier timeslot and the networks may have to pay more if they want to retain those slots.

“In any deal you wouldn’t do the same thing,’’ Smith told The Weekend Australian.

“You learn through the deal, particularly a broadcast rights deal.

“The way the contract is structured we would look for more flexibility of course. Similarly, over time it won’t only be about broadcast rights; it will be about digital rights as well, and with digital rights you get immense flexibility.

“So there’s a number of things we would think about next time which would be different. This is a long time journey and next time will be even better.

“The next time we do the rights it will be better than this time and we’ll get more money for it.’’

While clubs have bemoaned the losses at the gates stemming from Thursday and Monday games — which they fear will impact on other areas, including merchandise and memberships — there is nothing that can be done about them.

The NRL is locked into a five-year contract until the end of 2017.

Talks on the next broadcast deal could start within the next 18 months. Although most clubs would be happy to see the back of Thursday and Monday night games, broadcasters will fight to keep them (Thursday’s Souths-Broncos game attracted over a million viewers).

A compromise could be reached that would see Thursday night games played at the start of the season and Monday nights to finish it off.

It is unlikely those games will be played in the middle of winter with the NRL looking to stage them in warmer months to attract more fans.

Smith will also look to maximise the return on the State of Origin series, which ranks consistently in the top 10 programs on Australian television every year. He believes the product is being undersold by being packaged in the regular season and will look to sell it separately to the highest bidder.

Smith acknowledged the broadcasters would still need to get their money’s worth from the next contract and it was important to find the right balance between the networks and the fans.

The last deal netted the code $1.1 billion, which has proven beneficial in raising player wages, the annual grants to every club, and other areas of growth, development and investment.

Other benefits include a fixed schedule and the removal of a first and last rights bidding option for free-to-air broadcaster Channel Nine.

“It was a really good deal, and you learn from all these things. Within the five-year period we’ll make it as good as we possibly can,’’ Smith said.

“It would be wrong to say it was a bad deal. It was a pivotal moment in the game’s history where we got rid of first and last rights (and) got significantly more money.

“I’m not saying it’s perfect. It’s not perfect but it was a good first step and the real question is when we take the second step, which will be 2016-17.’’

A number of Sydney clubs have been so alarmed by the problems around scheduling and the poor crowds that go along with it that they approached Smith before the recent chief executives’ meeting.

There are plans for a working committee to be formed to open talks with both of the broadcasters, to see if there is any room to move around the broadcast deal, which has been described as “unbelievably *restrictive’’.

Clubs are resigned to the fact that nothing can be done about this season but there is hope that some solutions can be found to ensure this year’s problems are not repeated in 2015.

Other areas being looked at are which clubs receive byes around the State of Origin period and the timing of certain blockbuster matches throughout the season.

“At the last CEOs’ meeting we agreed that we would sit down and just work through the pros and cons of the season with the clubs — the NRL and the clubs are all one and the same,’’ Smith said.

“We’re doing a bit of work in the background to look at what went well and what didn’t go so well — there’s a set date where we have to agree on next year’s schedule — and ideally we want next year’s schedule to be as good as we can possibly make it.

“The contract that we’ve got is the contract that we’ve got. It was signed up in 2012, so it’s about working within those boundaries.

“The broadcaster will want to listen to us and do as well as we possibly can on behalf of the fan.”

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