NRL to reap $1.2b from TV rights

[Beaussie]

Thousands more than those in Perth tuning in to watch the RL this weekend.

[Raiderdave]

Thousands more than those in Perth tuning in to watch the RL this weekend.

16,000 Western Australians went to watch 2 NRL teams .. neither from Perth

6,000 Western Sydneysiders went along to watch THEIR VFL team

good one bearsy
good one

[TLPG]

Western Sydney doesn't have a V.F.L team, Raider! No team has played in the V.F.L and calls New South Wales home since 1989!

Needed to be said.

[justanotherleaguefan]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... 1x7q4.html

Hmmm...

No surprises there. The tv ratings for live / prime time NRL in Perth are abysmal.

wonder how many western Sydneysiders will be tuned in to this arvos crows V tsunami blockbuster

3

4

Didn't even know it was on. Might have to watch it to get some laughs

[Beaussie]

Great game by the Giants yesterday. Loving the effort, commitment and improvement each week from the young lads. Great game and a win for the Giants is surely not far away.

Loved Izzy's first AFL goal too. According to AFL Gameday this morning, Izzy is loving his footy.

[Xman]

Great game by the Giants yesterday. Loving the effort, commitment and improvement each week from the young lads. Great game and a win for the Giants is surely not far away.

Loved Izzy's first AFL goal too. According to AFL Gameday this morning, Izzy is loving his footy.

Great goal. GWS were actually decent yesterday and even beat the crows convincingly in the 2nd quarter. =D>

[Raiderdave]

Great game by the Giants yesterday. Loving the effort, commitment and improvement each week from the young lads. Great game and a win for the Giants is surely not far away.

Loved Izzy's first AFL goal too. According to AFL Gameday this morning, Izzy is loving his footy.

Great goal. GWS were actually decent yesterday and even beat the crows convincingly in the 2nd quarter. =D>

even RL players can kick straight ...........

[Xman]

Great game by the Giants yesterday. Loving the effort, commitment and improvement each week from the young lads. Great game and a win for the Giants is surely not far away.

Loved Izzy's first AFL goal too. According to AFL Gameday this morning, Izzy is loving his footy.

Great goal. GWS were actually decent yesterday and even beat the crows convincingly in the 2nd quarter. =D>

even RL players can kick straight ...........

Anyone can kick at 70-90% conversion rate from 20 meters out!

Yet the nRL have dedicated kickers and this is their pinnacle of kicking for goal!

How exciting!

No wonder it struggles for fans!

[justanotherleaguefan]

Here's some new articles from Masters -

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...427-1xq78.html
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...427-1xq74.html

The Federal Court appeal panel's ruling protecting the NRL's right to sell live streaming has increased the code's chances of securing $1 billion-plus in broadcast rights. Roy Masters examines the opportunities for the broadcasters and NRL as bidding begins.
CHANNELS Seven and Ten can start bidding for rugby league broadcasting rights next week, following the end of the three-month exclusivity period of holders Nine and Fox Sports.
Seven is expected to be a serious bidder if the network is to achieve its ultimate aim of dominating the TV landscape by owning the two top-rating channels, meaning that its digital channel, 7Mate, outrates the main channels of Nine and Ten.
It can achieve this by owning the rights to both AFL and NRL.
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With a panel of the Federal Court yesterday upholding an appeal by Telstra, the NRL and AFL to protect live streaming rights, the enshrining of those rights will provide added value to the NRL and AFL contracts.
Seven shows four AFL games on its principal channel in southern and western states, and telecasts the same games on its digital channel in the northern states.
If Seven also held the rugby league rights, it could reverse the process, showing NRL on its main channel in NSW and Queensland and beaming these games on its digital channel into Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.
Seven would then have control over advertising rates in Australia's two most popular winter sports, charging a premium for companies seeking commercial packages with both. Television's ''halo'' effect, where viewers stay tuned once the football is over, allows it to charge higher rates on other programs.
Nine and Fox Sports have formed a shaky combination to bid for NRL rights, while Seven and Foxtel made a successful joint bid for AFL last year.
Should Seven outbid Nine for NRL free-to-air rights, Seven could do a deal with Fox Sports where the pay TV sports production company bought some of the games.
Nine pays $45 million a year for three games of league a week; Seven pays $84 million for four AFL games.
The AFL's total broadcast income, including payments from Foxtel to show all nine games live and Telstra's online rights, is $1.25 billion.
Whether league receives a similar amount depends on the value broadcasters place on the codes.

1

Rugby league outrates AFL on combined free-to-air and pay TV audiences but it needs State of Origin football to do so. The three Origin games draw a total of 11 million viewers a year and always appear in the annual top 10 programs.

2

Rugby league is a better product on TV than Australian football, where the fan must attend the game to appreciate the full experience. The 13-a-side code has the TV cameras focusing on the ruck and showing the parallel attacking and defensive lines, while the AFL viewer often can't see the ball or the man to whom the kick is directed. This partly explains why AFL crowds are bigger. Pay TV chiefs have sometimes cited, though, the AFL's larger crowds justify higher rights fees.

3

The AFL has nine games compared with the NRL's eight but at least three of the AFL games each week are one-sided, with new clubs, the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney easybeats, while Melbourne are perennial cellar dwellers. The NRL season is nearly a month longer, and results are unpredictable.
4

AFL games have four quarters and last two hours while rugby league games are two halves of 40 minutes. This means more opportunities for commercials in AFL games. However, the NRL has been busy working on increasing the number of commercials per game, such as an ad following a sideline kick and another following a goal attempt.

5

The AFL has higher five-capital-city ratings than the NRL, which has a stronger regional following. It means Seven can charge higher rates for ads in, say, Perth than a regional network can levy advertisers in say, western Queensland. Seven also has a nationwide network, while Nine owns channels in only Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Nine receives about one-third of the revenue generated by games in regional areas. While this means AFL's free-to-air revenue should be higher than NRL, rugby league's big following in regional and rural NSW and Queensland could be a future bonanza for the code. Foxtel has acquired Austar, and sees significant subscription growth if it can convince league lovers in the bush they should sign up.

6

Sixty per cent of the national advertising dollar is spent in NSW and Queensland where the NRL has 14 of its 16 teams. This was the motivation for the AFL to introduce the Giants and Suns. Before this, the AFL had only two teams (Swans and Lions) in the north and 14 of its 16 teams in the market providing only 40 per cent of the advertising spend. A second Brisbane NRL team would add significantly to rugby league's rights fees. Where can the AFL expand? Hobart? It already has all of Tasmania's eyeballs.

7

Rugby league has a viable international game, while the AFL's hybrid match with Ireland is not a serious product. The Australia-New Zealand Test match, shown on delay from Auckland, recorded fabulous ratings - 526,000 in Sydney, 365,000 in Brisbane and 615,000 in regional NSW and Queensland. The NRL also has access to the New Zealand market for seven months via the Warriors.
8

The AFL's $1.25 billion deal included a $150 million Telstra payment for online rights. Yesterday's appeal panel decision implies the NRL should receive the same.

9

AFL's pre- and post-game shows are superior to the NRL's. When broadcasters are buying rights, they are also acquiring access to players and coaches. Even non-rights holders, such as Nine and Ten, have AFL programs. This reflects the inferior quality of league TV commentary.

10

Rugby league has the big media players as fans - James Packer, Lachlan Murdoch and David Leckie. This hasn't helped because the Packer family and News Ltd believed they own the code. Serial underpayment for league rights will make it difficult to make the leap from $500 million to $1 billion, compared with the AFL's jump from $780 million to $1.25 billion. There have been media changes that might benefit rugby league. Packer and Murdoch have equity in Ten in conjunction with their stakes in Fox Sports. Seven owner Kerry Stokes is an AFL man but will back his chief executive, Leckie, on league. New appointments at the top of Foxtel and Fox Sports should also help league, particularly the departure of Kim Williams, now head of News Ltd. Williams believed AFL's more wholesome image warranted higher rights fees.

[justanotherleaguefan]

THERE are myriad options for NRL rights bidders. They include: free-to-air and pay TV; flexible versus fixed game schedule; live or delayed broadcasts; the sale of separate properties, such as State of Origin. There is even a gambling alternative where a broadcaster can have exclusive rights to wagering.

1

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The status quo. Nine and Fox Sports retain the rights for five years. This means Nine continues to show a double-header on Friday nights and a delayed Sunday telecast. Fox would retain its Super Saturday three-match coverage, plus one Sunday game and its popular Monday night game. Nine would also retain Origin and internationals. Fox Sports or Telstra would acquire the online rights to live, or near live, games on mobile phones. The flexible schedule would continue, with the networks making their choice of games four to seven weeks in advance. While Fox Sports has the money, Nine might not. The debt-stricken network could have problems with its bankers in submitting a five-year, liability-loaded contract.

2

A live, fixed-season revolution with existing rights holders. This means the schedule for all games is determined before the season and all games shown live, other than on free-to-air. Fox Sports would show all eight games live. The simulcast strategy has worked well for Seven and Foxtel in the AFL where it has allowed Foxtel to sell subscriptions on an ''all games live, advertising free and in HD'' basis. However, some of Seven's games fed to Foxtel aren't in high definition, and there is no sound when ads are shown post-goal. The live, fixed-season option will involve a slightly longer game on Nine, perhaps one to two minutes, to accommodate more advertising. All games would be live on mobiles and tablets through Fox Sports with some games available on IPTV through Smart TVs. This option would mean online/mobiles also having a support type IPTV channel to the Nine/Fox Sports channel, offering immediate highlights statistics and history. More than 60 per cent of TV viewers in Australia watch another screen while watching the program, particularly sport. This increases the media rights market opportunity.

3

The Dominator Strategy. Seven and 7Mate become the leading two networks. This means Seven acquires the free-to-air and pay-TV rights and onsells some of the games to Fox Sports. Seven shows NRL in the north on its primary channel and on 7Mate in the south. It reverses this with AFL. Stokes directly owns 22 per cent of CMH, which owns 25 per cent of Foxtel and half of Fox Sports. Seven could then onsell mobile rights to Telstra and either onsell IPTV rights to Telstra or goes directly to market with their own version.

4

Break up rights. Rugby league packages (Origin, Friday night, Saturday, Sunday and Monday) are sold on a fixed-schedule basis across platforms (FTA TV, Pay TV, Online/IPTV/Smart TVs, Mobiles/Tablets) and to broadcasters (Fox Sports, Nine, Seven, Ten, Telstra, iinet/Fetch TV). This would involve compliance with federal anti-siphoning rules. For this to occur, Nine must lose its right of equalling a final bid from a rival. This would happen if, say, Seven, beat Nine's initial offer by 20 per cent.

5

Ten and Fox Sports acquire the rights. James Packer has equity in both networks, while Lachlan Murdoch has 9 per cent of Ten and is a director of News Corporation, which owns half of Fox Sports. Ten needs a loss leader, such as NRL, to rescue its failing ratings. Murdoch's father, Rupert, made Fox the US's fourth network only by acquiring NFL rights with an offer that blew his rivals out of the water. Ten has shown interest in a Monday night coverage, meaning Fox Sports would lose the high-rating property. Significantly, Channel Ten announced this week it would have ''catch-up TV'' online or IPTV through Smart TVs, the support technology to a main channel.

6

Fox Sports acquires all rights and onsells three games to free-to-air TV in order to satisfy anti-siphoning rules.

7

A Seven-Ten combination acquires the rights and onsells some games to Fox Sports. Seven would have Origin; Ten a Friday and Monday night game, plus Sunday afternoon. Fox Sports would have five games.

[justanotherleaguefan]

Also this was posted at LU by Docbrown he had some interesting points

* Friday night Football is capable of drawing 1.6-1.8 million in 7-9pm simulcasting slot and 1.3 million in a 9-11pm follow on
* Sunday football doubleheaders are capable of drawing 1.2-1.4 million nationallly in a 1:30pm-6:00pm simulcasting slot
* In both case the same footage is used twice for no extra production cost - meaning there is added value for advertising over the main & secondary F2A channels
* All the networks have short to long term plans to buy part or all of their regional affiliates
* Within 10 years the larger regional concentrated markets with populations approaching/exceeding 500,000 will be given their own Oztam catchements
* Nobody was expecting Optus to win the follow up case
* Whoever fails to pick up the F2A NRL rights out of 9 or 10 will be left to the scrapheap for at least 5 years
* Halos work as long as there's regular week-in week-out content
* State of Origin will get bigger
* The NRL can add a 9th game and it will be as competitive as the rest
* The NRL can add a pre-season competition structure and can add or retool any number of other previous or new club or rep structures (World 7s, WCC etc)
* The NRL has barely tapped its in-game and buffer ad potential
* Foxtel needs to reach a 50% saturation level in NSW & QLD within 10 years

[Xman]

Also this was posted at LU by Docbrown he had some interesting points

* Friday night Football is capable of drawing 1.6-1.8 million in 7-9pm simulcasting slot and 1.3 million in a 9-11pm follow on
* Sunday football doubleheaders are capable of drawing 1.2-1.4 million nationallly in a 1:30pm-6:00pm simulcasting slot
* In both case the same footage is used twice for no extra production cost - meaning there is added value for advertising over the main & secondary F2A channels
* All the networks have short to long term plans to buy part or all of their regional affiliates
* Within 10 years the larger regional concentrated markets with populations approaching/exceeding 500,000 will be given their own Oztam catchements
* Nobody was expecting Optus to win the follow up case
* Whoever fails to pick up the F2A NRL rights out of 9 or 10 will be left to the scrapheap for at least 5 years
* Halos work as long as there's regular week-in week-out content
* State of Origin will get bigger
* The NRL can add a 9th game and it will be as competitive as the rest
* The NRL can add a pre-season competition structure and can add or retool any number of other previous or new club or rep structures (World 7s, WCC etc)
* The NRL has barely tapped its in-game and buffer ad potential
* Foxtel needs to reach a 50% saturation level in NSW & QLD within 10 years

I'd love to know how he thinks the NRL can get 1.8m viewers for a FN game and 1.3 for a delayed game.

The NRL average about 1.2 nationwide for their live targeted fn game, and almost half that for their delayed game.

Where is this increase coming from.

His points are just his opinion, and most are hysterical!

[justanotherleaguefan]

Bit worried there mate

[Xman]

Bit worried there mate

Hardly.

Got any explanation how the NRLs fn ratings will almost double when they already do everything possible to maximize FN ratings?

[Raiderdave]

Also this was posted at LU by Docbrown he had some interesting points

* Friday night Football is capable of drawing 1.6-1.8 million in 7-9pm simulcasting slot and 1.3 million in a 9-11pm follow on
* Sunday football doubleheaders are capable of drawing 1.2-1.4 million nationallly in a 1:30pm-6:00pm simulcasting slot
* In both case the same footage is used twice for no extra production cost - meaning there is added value for advertising over the main & secondary F2A channels
* All the networks have short to long term plans to buy part or all of their regional affiliates
* Within 10 years the larger regional concentrated markets with populations approaching/exceeding 500,000 will be given their own Oztam catchements
* Nobody was expecting Optus to win the follow up case
* Whoever fails to pick up the F2A NRL rights out of 9 or 10 will be left to the scrapheap for at least 5 years
* Halos work as long as there's regular week-in week-out content
* State of Origin will get bigger
* The NRL can add a 9th game and it will be as competitive as the rest
* The NRL can add a pre-season competition structure and can add or retool any number of other previous or new club or rep structures (World 7s, WCC etc)
* The NRL has barely tapped its in-game and buffer ad potential
* Foxtel needs to reach a 50% saturation level in NSW & QLD within 10 years

I'd love to know how he thinks the NRL can get 1.8m viewers for a FN game and 1.3 for a delayed game.
The NRL average about 1.2 nationwide for their live targeted fn game, and almost half that for their delayed game.

Where is this increase coming from.

His points are just his opinion, and most are hysterical!

he'd be adding pay tv numbers .. & i agree... i think he's a little ova the top
1.5 Million would be nearer the average mark with the addition of pay tv veiwers & about 1.2 Million for the 2nd game
& about 1.8 Million for a block buster FN game.. 1.4 million for game 2 if it is also a big targeted encounter.
far in excess of the present VFL ratings

the rest is just scary .. scary reading for singletball fans