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  1. #1
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    Default NEXT NRL TV DEAL

    NRL may sign new TV deal with two years left to run on current contracts

    RUGBY league may sign off on its next television ratings deal this year despite having two more years to run on the current contracts with Channel 9 and Fox Sports.

    And the agreement in 2012 of Nine and Fox Sports to relinquish the first and last rights of refusal in negotiations with the NRL means there is certain to be a big increase on the current deal.

    That is worth $1.025 billion over, five years for free-to-air and subscription broadcast rights and expires in 2017.

    The AFL’s current $1.250 billion broadcast deal expires 12 months earlier.

    Discussions between the NRL and free-to-air networks have been held over the past four weeks, with Seven and especially Ten keen to bid big enough to secure rights to some NRL match programming.

    Concluding negotiations with the commercial networks for a number of seasons starting with 2018 before the AFL completed its talks with broadcasters would provide an advantage for the NRL.

    But the NRL would need to first decide how many teams will be in the NRL from 2018.

    Bid teams have started to get busy in staking their claims in the media again, but the most likely outcome remains a retention of 16 NRL teams.

    Relocation, always a vexing issue for competitions and their less wealthy clubs, is more probable than an expansion to 18 NRL clubs.

    Poor ratings for matches played by the AFL’s 18th club, GWS Giants, have underlined for the NRL that while an extra game a weekend means more content for broadcasters it does not lead to a commensurate increase in total television viewers.

    And four NRL teams already have needed financial assistance by the NRL — Gold Coast Titans, St George Illawarra, Wests Tigers and Newcastle.

    Nine chief executive David Gyngell told the ABC earlier this week that he anticipated he would have to pay significantly more for free-to-air rights and is prepared to do so.

    Two State of Origin matches and the NRL grand final figured among the four most watched programs on Australian television last year and Nine will be intent on keeping the rights.

    ARL Commission chairman John Grant said in August, 2012, when the current rights deal was announced, that the willingness of Nine and Fox Sports to relinquish the first and last right of refusal on future deals had weighed significantly in the decision of directors.

    Fox Sports has been involved in recent rugby union rights negotiations.

    News Corp reported last month that Fox Sports was set to take up the option of a five-year extension as part of a new, increased ARU broadcasting rights deal providing $40 million to $45 million a year to part fund the game in Australia.

    The ARU and their South African and New Zealand partners could announce this month that a new broadcasting agreement has been stuck.

    Fox Sports’s NRL match telecasts draw much bigger audiences than the majority of Super Rugby games involving Australian teams.

    http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/
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  2. #2
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    New free-to-air television agreement
    http://www.nrl.com/

    Rugby League fans will be able to watch four live matches each week on free to air television from 2018 as part of a new broadcast rights agreement reached with the Nine Network today.

    NRL fans the winners in new television deal

    NRL CEO Dave Smith said Channel 9 has secured the rights to screen matches on Thursday, Friday and Saturday during prime time and on Sunday at 4 pm.

    The deal, the biggest in Australian free to air television history, is worth up to $925 million and will take effect from 2018.

    Mr Smith said the number of live games shown on free to air television would increase from two at present to four.

    “So there will be more live and free Rugby League on television – and that is what the fans want,” Mr Smith said.

    Mr Smith said the agreement would also help secure the long term financial future of the game.

    “And we still have simulcast rights, pay tv, New Zealand and international television rights to be negotiated.

    “So the future of the game is in great shape.”

    The CEO of Nine Entertainment Co, David Gyngell said Rugby League was part of Nine’s DNA.

    “This is a transformational outcome for supporters, Rugby League and Nine,” he said.

    “It will enable views to see the best of the NRL, live and free, four days a week – anywhere and on any device.”

    Mr Smith said that, as part of the agreement, the NRL would regain control of the season schedule – and deliver a better deal for the fans.

    “We will be able to schedule the best games when fans want to see them – and ensure all clubs receive the coverage they deserve on free to air television,” he said.

    Other highlights of the agreement include:

    • The NRL Telstra Premiership will be played over 25 weeks - instead of 26

    • A new State of Origin schedule with the second match in each series being played on a Sunday night as part of a stand alone weekend of representative football which will also feature Pacific Nation Tests

    • International Rugby League will be given a new priority and will be played in a dedicated window after the NRL Premiership season.

    Mr Smith said the changes would mean less disruption to the Telstra Premiership with only one split round each year.

    “In other words, we are preserving Origin as a marquee event of the year while minimising disruption to the Premiership,” he said.

    “This will not only improve player welfare but it will be fairer for the clubs and fans.”

    Mr Smith said that, while the initial focus had been on free to air rights, the NRL had already held extensive discussions with a number of operators involved in pay television and streaming rights.

    “The digital media market is changing rapidly and it is our view that new and exciting opportunities will develop with Fox Sports and other providers,” he said.

    “By 2018, the digital world will be very different and we want to be in the best possible position to take advantage of any changes.

    “So negotiations with the pay tv and digital providers will continue and, again, our focus will be on ensuring the most widespread coverage on whatever platform fans choose to watch rugby league.”
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  3. #3
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    OK so one stand alone Origin is a move in the right direction is good.

    An international weekend is good, especially if linked to the RFL.

    Very sad to see the end of the Anzac Test, something that outrates the Bledisloe Cup with ease but is completely neglected.

    A shorter season opens up for tours.

    No expansion though.

    Not keen on Thursday night footy.

    Very keen on Saturday free to air. We have been giving a free kick to AFL for over a decade in Brisbane and Swans.
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  4. #4
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    NRL fans the winners in new television deal
    http://www.nrl.com/

    Fans are the big winners in the NRL's new free-to-air broadcast rights deal. Credit: Anthony Johnson. Copyright: NRL Photos.
    The NRL and Channel 9 have announced that four Telstra Premiership games will be shown live on free-to-air television from 2018, with NRL CEO Dave Smith saying it is a huge step forward for rugby league fans.

    New free-to-air television deal

    "I'm very, very pleased to announce a great deal for rugby league," Smith said.

    "It is the biggest deal in Australian free-to-air history - nearly as much secured in the entire current rights deal.

    "This part of the deal is really about getting four games live for fans on free-to-air, all live and all in prime time. It's a very significant shift forward for our fans. The game gets more control and the fans get more of the product."

    Under the new arrangement Channel 9 will screen matches on Thursday, Friday and Saturday during prime time and on Sunday at 4pm in a deal worth up to $925 million.

    "It's four games in prime time for free. It allows us to appeal to more people, especially those in regional areas who can't get to games. It's all about the fans," Smith said.

    "You're going to bring more people in. More women and girls are watching, more fans are watching the big events and we need to feed that into the premiership."

    As part of the agreement the NRL also regains control of the season schedule to deliver a better deal for supporters.

    "We are in complete control of the draw and the schedule both from a fairness perspective and what's best for the fans," Smith said.

    "We would lay out the season with the ability to change it towards the end of the season (as is the case with the current draw).

    "We're much more in control of the workload of the players. We're trying to get the balance right so we understand the impact and impost on players."

    In terms of expanding the competition beyond 16 teams after the current rights deal expires at the end of 2017, Smith said talks were still ongoing.

    "This deal assumes 16 teams. There have been discussions about whether we introduce a 17th team and there is scope to do that in this contract," he said.

    "This deal is about a 16 team competition, but there have been conversations and we have built flexibility in."
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  5. #5
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    NRL TV rights deal: Five burning questions about the new broadcast agreement
    http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/

    A HUGE chunk of the much-anticipated NRL TV deal is in the bag and the changes will roll in thick and fast and in 2018.

    Monday Night Football and the Anzac Test are no more. Origin II will be played on a stand-alone weekend. The season will be shortened by a round and there will be a window dedicated to international footy.

    There’s a lot to take in and even more to dissect, so how it will it affect the game and our viewing habits?

    1. WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH THE REST OF THE RIGHTS?

    As big as the new deal is — and at $925 million it’s the richest free-to-air deal in Australian television history — it can still get even bigger. The NRL is yet to commit to any kind of deal with Fox Sports for the pay TV rights or lock down an agreement regarding the digital or streaming rights.

    Considering that Channel Nine has the rights to a prime-time game on Saturday night, Fox’s Super Saturday — three back-to-back matches on Saturday afternoon/evening that has been the cornerstone of its coverage for some years — looks likely to undergo radical changes.

    Could Fox Sports possibly provide a simulcast of the Saturday game only?
    NRL chief executive Dave Smith said simulcast rights are yet to be agreed upon, which opens the possibility that Fox could simulcast all eight matches - and if they did, would they use the Channel Nine feed and commentary team or provide their own?

    Monday Night Football will go the way of the Hunter Mariners in 2018, which creates the question of where exactly the extra game will end up.

    The likely destination seems to be Sunday at 6pm, a timeslot used occasionally over the last few seasons, or a 1pm game on Saturday, unless the NRL intends to simulcast more than one match at a time.

    Throw in the question of what happens to the NSW Cup, Queensland Cup and under-20s rights (if the under-20s is still around in 2018...) and there’s still a lot to think about with the remaining NRL content on offer.

    2. HOW WILL THIS IMPACT EXPANSION?

    The NRL has been gun shy on expansion since the Titans entered the competition in 2007 but in recent weeks there has been talk of increasing the competition to 18 teams, which would create an extra game every week and therefore more content for the TV networks.

    “This deal assumes 16 teams,” Smith said at the announcement of the new deal.

    “We have had discussions about whether we could introduce a 17th team and there have been good faith discussion and there is the ability within the contract to do this.

    “If you do the modelling, typically what happens is that you get all the costs that suggest you move to 18. But I’m not talking about that today - this deal is about a 16-team competition, it is about eight games a weekend.”

    If television was the only concern, one would think that the Brisbane Bombers would be a shoo-in to be included.

    Nine boss David Gyngell has expressed his desire to have at least one match in Brisbane every week and the strong crowd numbers and television ratings in Brisbane could reportedly see the Bombers boost the deal by up to $200 million.

    However, the inclusion of new franchises — which now appears to be unlikely considering the terms of the new deal — would create serious congestion.

    Simply put, there’s only so many games the NRL could hold each weekend before they start doubling up or delaying coverage.

    For example, if the new layout for a typical round was one game on Thursday nights, one game on Friday night, three on Saturday afternoon/evening and either three on Sunday afternoon/evening where would they put the extra game?

    Doubling up and playing two games at once immediately hinders ratings and crowd numbers, but a neat way around this issue would be to introduce a Perth team.

    The time difference could create the opportunity for a live 9pm game on Saturday or Sunday nights, which would kick off at 7pm in the west.

    3. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE INTERNATIONAL WINDOW?

    International footy has copped a raw deal for many years but the NRL has broken new ground by announcing that a dedicated international window would be introduced at the end of each season.

    What this means isn’t clear but what does seem certain is that there will be more matches for Pacific nations like Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. The deal makes specific mention of holding Pacific Tests during the stand-alone week of Origin football, which at the very least guarantees annual matches for these burgeoning national sides.

    However, the specifics of the international window are not really made clear. The Anzac Test has already bitten the dust but does the window mean that there will international footy at the end of every season?

    How will this impact World Cups? Most crucially, is the NRL now in charge of deciding when and where international football is played?

    4. COULD WE BE LOOKING AT FOUR-QUARTER FOOTBALL?

    Nine will be looking for serious return on their $925 million investment, and advertising dollars form the bulk of the revenue but with the jettisoning of the second Friday night game there will be less opportunities for in-game commercial breaks.

    So could the NRL be considering a move to four-quarter football in order to appease the TV networks?

    Creating two extra extended breaks in play would allow for greater advertising opportunities and has been mooted as a way of increasing income - but such a change would not be taken lightly.

    Four-quarter football has been used in pre-season competitions, the old AMCO Cup days and in the Indigenous All Stars match and while it does create more breaks, it throws off the rhythm of the match and would result in a fundamental shift in the way rugby league is coached and played.

    The decision to reduce the interchange for next season in order to — among other things — increase the fatigue factor in matches means the introduction of an additional break is unlikely but still an idea under consideration.

    5. HOW WILL THE NRL DEAL WITH THE SCHEDULE?

    In perhaps the biggest victory for the NRL, they have regained control the schedule, which allows the discretion to dictate when and where matches are played.

    No longer will fans be shackled to watching Brisbane every Friday night or forced to watch two cellar-dwellers battle it out on free-to-air while a marquee match-up is locked away on pay TV.

    Teams like the Raiders and Warriors, who have never received a fair share of free-to-air games, might finally get a look in.

    It remains to be seen exactly how the NRL will use this new power but it looks a positive step forward in every respect.

    The shift of Origin II to Sunday nights, eliminating two of the depleted rounds that have been the bane of the NRL for some years, begs the question as to why all three matches were not switched to stand-alone weekends?

    The future of the much-maligned City-Country fixture also seems up in the air. The last TV deal, which will run until the end of 2017, guaranteed the survival of the match but Smith declined to comment on the future of the NSW Origin trial. The timeslot of the grand final was also not specified.

    Perhaps more than anything else to come out of the new deal, NRL fans should be excited by the prospect of the league finally holding control over its own matches, as this offers the potential of a flexible schedule that prioritises marquee matches with greatest relevance to the competition, rather than just to ratings.

    After years of being at the mercy of the networks after being shackled into an inelegant and inflexible TV deal, the NRL has taken back the power
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  6. #6

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    Pretty awesome to go from 1 live game and 2 delayed games to be getting live games on four nights the week. Will do the club a lot of good to get more coverage.

  7. #7
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kioli View Post
    Pretty awesome to go from 1 live game and 2 delayed games to be getting live games on four nights the week. Will do the club a lot of good to get more coverage.
    Hopefully more Sunday games means better crowds. But we will have Thursday night games, which are likely to poach big games and cut the crowds to shreds.
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  8. #8
    Super Moderator TITAN PETE's Avatar
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    I'm happy to be swapping Monday night footy for Thursday , I hate Monday night footy

    Stand alone Origin sounds fantastic , you can turn back time & make a whole day out of it as we used to with a Sunday afternoon Grand Final.
    #itaintweaktospeak

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by DIEHARD View Post
    What this means isn’t clear but what does seem certain is that there will be more matches for Pacific nations like Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. The deal makes specific mention of holding Pacific Tests during the stand-alone week of Origin football, which at the very least guarantees annual matches for these burgeoning national sides.
    Hyperthetical............. I am a Samoan International and an Origin player, which do I choose?

    Not starting anything......The deal sounds great (not sure where Fox slip their games in?) but I suspect the Internationals may choose Origin.

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    ... So who would replace Rabbits as Channel Nine’s next face of footy?

    No.2 caller Ray Hadley is too busy at 2GB to take it on, while No.3 commentator Matt Thompson doesn’t have the experience ...

    A snippet from the article NRL TV deal: Voice of rugby league Ray Warren admits he’s a ‘day-to-day proposition’ as Nine’s NRL chief commentator
    Ray Hadley currently is 9's No.2 caller.. That's quite a scary thought considering his commentary follows along the lines of his opinion, more so than actual sports commentating. David Gyngell, pull your head out of your **** and demote this clown and find someone who is actually up to the task.

  11. #11
    Super Moderator TITAN PETE's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Toads View Post
    Ray Hadley currently is 9's No.2 caller.. That's quite a scary thought considering his commentary follows along the lines of his opinion, more so than actual sports commentating. David Gyngell, pull your head out of your **** and demote this clown and find someone who is actually up to the task.

    Outside of Rabbits the best caller the game has ever seen or heard is Graeme Hughes, I would love heebs to get a start
    #itaintweaktospeak

  12. #12
    Rep Player shamus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Toads View Post
    Ray Hadley currently is 9's No.2 caller.. That's quite a scary thought considering his commentary follows along the lines of his opinion, more so than actual sports commentating. David Gyngell, pull your head out of your **** and demote this clown and find someone who is actually up to the task.
    Quote Originally Posted by TITAN PETE View Post
    Outside of Rabbits the best caller the game has ever seen or heard is Graeme Hughes, I would love heebs to get a start
    A little off topic but Channel 9 need to review their process on who the assistant 'callers' are on game day. To have people like Darren Lockyer and Wally Lewis co commentate Broncos games is a joke. Their bias shines through like a beacon. TBH the only ex player that attempts to stay impartial is Peter Sterling. JMO

  13. #13
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    I really dont like Hadley and I think it is time for Warren to move on. Nine needs fresh blood.
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    ALl i can see is all the execs with bigger pay rises. They will do **** all putting back into RL.
    This year will be BLUE Go NSW!

    Quote Originally Posted by Toads View Post
    Prince lost of his shine when Matty Rogers retired. Matty used to make him look good (IMO).

  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by DIEHARD View Post
    I really dont like Hadley and I think it is time for Warren to move on. Nine needs fresh blood.
    Agreed. I have a lot of time for Rabbits but he is going downhill although I think that is due to Gus Gould who spends too much time on a particular high horse or worrying about the number of seagulls around - and repeats it all many times throughout the coverage.
    I think the change from Monday to Thursday is good - still a crowd killer but better than Mondays. I can only assume the Fox deal is done as you wouldn't announce half a deal surely. I would also hope that with this deal adding further megabucks that the fans who attend get some benefit. Since Smith started he has secured the game financially but ticket prices to major games have skyrocketed and there has been no change to other game day costs. The NRL now has the cash to influence these things.


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