NRL to reap $1.2b from TV rights

[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!

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

Why the hell will payTV number get an overall increase for the NRLs fn games? You already get Live games!

This is the reason the AFL figures have increased. We have never had live games, especially in WA where the game was 3 hours delay. So the increase would have been there for the AFl even if it was FTA only. Where as the NRL audience that would watch the payTV live would already be watching the live ch9 coverage so the FTA coverage would decrease.

[Raiderdave]

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

Why the hell will payTV number get an overall increase for the NRLs fn games? You already get Live games! This is the reason the AFL figures have increased. We have never had live games, especially in WA where the game was 3 hours delay. So the increase would have been there for the AFl even if it was FTA only. Where as the NRL audience that would watch the payTV live would already be watching the live ch9 coverage so the FTA coverage would decrease.

rubbish ... you think you had 250K to 300K veiwers out there last year who just didn't watch any VFL & have decided to this year
the VFL games are on live too in 2012 on FTA everywhere except WA ( 2 hr delay.. not 3 ) ... I mean .. you think all of these pay veiwers come from WA ??
wot sort of a moron are you :

people are choosing to watch a different broadcaster add free if they have pay ... it hasn't affected the FTA figures for singletball
as they won't with the NRL in 2013
pay ratings ..they'll be in addition like they have for the vicky kicky

NRL ... miles in front in 2013
simply ... miles

[Xman]

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

Why the hell will payTV number get an overall increase for the NRLs fn games? You already get Live games! This is the reason the AFL figures have increased. We have never had live games, especially in WA where the game was 3 hours delay. So the increase would have been there for the AFl even if it was FTA only. Where as the NRL audience that would watch the payTV live would already be watching the live ch9 coverage so the FTA coverage would decrease.

rubbish ... you think you had 250K to 300K veiwers out there last year who just didn't watch any VFL & have decided to this year
the VFL games are on live too in 2012 on FTA everywhere except WA ( 2 hr delay.. not 3 ) ... I mean .. you think all of these pay veiwers come from WA ??
wot sort of a moron are you :

people are choosing to watch a different broadcaster add free if they have pay ... it hasn't affected the FTA figures for singletball
as they won't with the NRL in 2013
pay ratings ..they'll be in addition like they have for the vicky kicky

NRL ... miles in front in 2013
simply ... miles

Well this will be a very interesting experiment if the NRL get a similar schedule.

IMO the afl always rated far higher when shown at 7.30pm and live. This year they are now getting this for every FN and the audience has increased accordingly. I mean seriously, why else do they have 300k extra viewers each Friday night?

The fact is if there was no change to the schedule and friday night games were delayed on fox and fta, and shown at 8.30pm there would have been little change in the ratings. More may have watched on foxtel but they would have been previously viewing on fta so those ratings would have dropped,

This year the subscription rates for afl have obviously increased significantly because better games are now shown on payTV and those fans are now watching foxtel instead of FTA for friday night games. This would have resultd in a drop in FTa ratings but clearly new viewers are now watching the AFL because 1. it is shown at a more freindly time of 7.30pm and 2. is finally live.

These things do not apply to the NrL who already have a decent payTV schedule, plus live coverage on Friday nights, and a friendly 7.30 schedule.

So where are these extra viewers on friday night for the NRL going to come from?

[Beaussie]

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

That docbrown is a raving lunatic. Seriously, what a wanker he is.

[justanotherleaguefan]

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

That docbrown is a raving lunatic. Seriously, what a wanker he is.

That comment applies to you as well

[pussycat]

http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/05/01/wh ... s-billion/

Let me start by saying this, I’m an AFL person. I have always been an AFL person. My allegiance to the Broncos in the NRL is more to do with it being tied to my birthplace than any hardcore support like that I reserve for my beloved Carlton.

So this article may well come as a surprise to some.

We’re hearing all sorts of numbers and theories concerning the NRL TV rights deal.

One thing is certain – it will be a lot more than the current arrangement. Given the scope of the AFL broadcast deal and given similar, if not better, ratings to the AFL, it should be patently obvious that the previous rights were woefully undervalued for a variety of reasons.

However, these have nothing to do with this article.

Supporters of the AFL are milling about various forums including The Roar with the idea that the NRL cant get as much as the AFL, expressing the view that the AFL is more national and thus more deserving of the greater slice of TV revenue. Yet, viewing numbers on Foxtel and elsewhere indicate support levels are almost the same.

Then there’s content.

The Foxtel AFL deal includes the Under 18s championships, the Foxtel Cup, the NAB Cup preseason competition, and nine games a week live on Foxfooty and Fox Sports 1. The Channel Seven AFL deal includes the NAB Cup grand final, and four games a round simulcast on Fox. Both outlets will show the finals and grand final. Telstra have the mobile and internet rights. With contra, this garnered the AFL 1.253 billion dollars – a record for Australian sport.

The NRL has plenty of content, eight games a week – the season is two weeks longer – and the Toyota Cup. Then there is representative fixtures including City v Country, Kangaroos Test matches, the World Club Challenge and the big daddy of rugby league in Australia, State of Origin. There are calls from some quarters for a pre-season tournament, as well as a return to reserve grade. There may even be an extra game if expansion is approved during this deal.

Oh, and then theres the New Zealand rights. I’d suggest that the NRL has plenty of content to offer.

Then there is obviously ratings. Theres no denying that while home and away games run neck and neck with the AFL – especially this year, Origin blows everything away with the exception of the AFL grand final. No matter how you interpret the ratings from Oztam and RegionalTam, the NRL rates highly despite most of its ratings originating in two states (and three of the four biggest ratings areas).

It remains a phenomenon that isn’t matched even in Melbourne – Sydney viewers of the NRL usually outnumber Melbourne viewers of the AFL. Melbourne is meant to be AFL mad, whereby Sydney is meant to be less earnest in its pursuit of the NRL (although such opinions are generally based on crowds, which has little or nothing to do with TV ratings).

Finally, what was once lambasted in league media as a shortsighted arrangement, the NRL deal being negotiated after the AFL deal will be seen as a moment of genius when the dust settles. The Independent Commission will have a year to see how the AFL handles its arrangements with simulcasting and anti-siphoning legislation. The Commission will then be able to iron out those bugs during the process. Likewise, with free-to-air broadcasting and digital channels. In short, the NRL will get similar benefits, without many of the problems. Some predict – including myself this time last year – that the NRL figure would be about $850 million. We are going to be wrong.The NRL has undergone massive changes in the lead-up to the season. Theres a new Commission made up of genuine business people and several previous obstacles to progress have been removed.

The News Limited and Fox entanglement is almost gone, and for the first time in years, the NRL has a genuine chance to put a firm foot on the sporting landscape. There’s a determination to do better that has been absent for some time.

On every relevant benchmark, they meet or exceed, the AFL on raw data.

They’ll get the billion. They deserve it.

Why the NRL deserves to get its billion

[Xman]

http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/05/01/wh ... s-billion/

Let me start by saying this, I’m an AFL person. I have always been an AFL person. My allegiance to the Broncos in the NRL is more to do with it being tied to my birthplace than any hardcore support like that I reserve for my beloved Carlton.

So this article may well come as a surprise to some.

We’re hearing all sorts of numbers and theories concerning the NRL TV rights deal.

One thing is certain – it will be a lot more than the current arrangement. Given the scope of the AFL broadcast deal and given similar, if not better, ratings to the AFL, it should be patently obvious that the previous rights were woefully undervalued for a variety of reasons.

However, these have nothing to do with this article.

Supporters of the AFL are milling about various forums including The Roar with the idea that the NRL cant get as much as the AFL, expressing the view that the AFL is more national and thus more deserving of the greater slice of TV revenue. Yet, viewing numbers on Foxtel and elsewhere indicate support levels are almost the same.

Then there’s content.

The Foxtel AFL deal includes the Under 18s championships, the Foxtel Cup, the NAB Cup preseason competition, and nine games a week live on Foxfooty and Fox Sports 1. The Channel Seven AFL deal includes the NAB Cup grand final, and four games a round simulcast on Fox. Both outlets will show the finals and grand final. Telstra have the mobile and internet rights. With contra, this garnered the AFL 1.253 billion dollars – a record for Australian sport.

The NRL has plenty of content, eight games a week – the season is two weeks longer – and the Toyota Cup. Then there is representative fixtures including City v Country, Kangaroos Test matches, the World Club Challenge and the big daddy of rugby league in Australia, State of Origin. There are calls from some quarters for a pre-season tournament, as well as a return to reserve grade. There may even be an extra game if expansion is approved during this deal.

Oh, and then theres the New Zealand rights. I’d suggest that the NRL has plenty of content to offer.

Then there is obviously ratings. Theres no denying that while home and away games run neck and neck with the AFL – especially this year, Origin blows everything away with the exception of the AFL grand final. No matter how you interpret the ratings from Oztam and RegionalTam, the NRL rates highly despite most of its ratings originating in two states (and three of the four biggest ratings areas).

It remains a phenomenon that isn’t matched even in Melbourne – Sydney viewers of the NRL usually outnumber Melbourne viewers of the AFL. Melbourne is meant to be AFL mad, whereby Sydney is meant to be less earnest in its pursuit of the NRL (although such opinions are generally based on crowds, which has little or nothing to do with TV ratings).

Finally, what was once lambasted in league media as a shortsighted arrangement, the NRL deal being negotiated after the AFL deal will be seen as a moment of genius when the dust settles. The Independent Commission will have a year to see how the AFL handles its arrangements with simulcasting and anti-siphoning legislation. The Commission will then be able to iron out those bugs during the process. Likewise, with free-to-air broadcasting and digital channels. In short, the NRL will get similar benefits, without many of the problems. Some predict – including myself this time last year – that the NRL figure would be about $850 million. We are going to be wrong.The NRL has undergone massive changes in the lead-up to the season. Theres a new Commission made up of genuine business people and several previous obstacles to progress have been removed.

The News Limited and Fox entanglement is almost gone, and for the first time in years, the NRL has a genuine chance to put a firm foot on the sporting landscape. There’s a determination to do better that has been absent for some time.

On every relevant benchmark, they meet or exceed, the AFL on raw data.

They’ll get the billion. They deserve it.

Why the NRL deserves to get its billion

Try to post it once and keep it in the appropriate forum you stupid cat!

[pussycat]

Different parts of the article are appropriate in many different forums.

[piesman2011]

This was said and most of these points are possilbe, however here is some counter 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 At the moment it is closer to about 1.1 million for the first broadcast and about 600K-700K for the second so it is averaging what about 850-900K nationally for friday night. So I beleive to almost double that in the next TV rights is unlikely. Simulcast Pay TV doesnt really add viewers it just moves them from FTA to PTV. The increase in AFL numbers on Friday night is due to the Live component to the eastern sea board
* Sunday football doubleheaders are capable of drawing 1.2-1.4 million nationallly in a 1:30pm-6:00pm simulcasting slot With Friday primetime only producing 900K atm, how are Sunday afternoons going to get numbers like that *
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 Correct me if I am wrong but when the footage is used in the first place isn't it only used to one market eg NSW or Qld so it is not like it is the same footage being broadcast all across Australia twice during prime time
* All the networks have short to long term plans to buy part or all of their regional affiliates Probably true but per person regional advertising money is only about half that of metro advertising per person
* Within 10 years the larger regional concentrated markets with populations approaching/exceeding 500,000 will be given their own Oztam catchementssame point as above. Maybe this will help close the gap on regional advertising per person compared with metro. So might be a valid point
* Nobody was expecting Optus to win the follow up case Not true some did including the Doc, however can Optus appeal this finding? Might still put a bit of a damper on NRL phone rights.
* 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 Or they could end up in the scrap heap because they overspend on FTA NRL rights
* Halos work as long as there's regular week-in week-out contentcant disagree
* State of Origin will get biggerAgain cant disagree
* The NRL can add a 9th game and it will be as competitive as the rest This one is an interesting point. In order to be competitive from day one a new club will need to steal a lot of players for existing clubs. Melbourne was only competative because they were able to take the players from two clubs that folded. To me this is a call that cant be confirmed and if I had to put money on it I would say the new clubs will probabaly not be competative in the first few years
* 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)Players have been complaining about large work loads already so to add a preseason would cause problems (they would at least be wanting a lot more money at worst they would refuse to do it. There has been talk in the past of reducing the NRL regular season. Not to say that it couldnt happen. But I dont think the players would be happy
* The NRL has barely tapped its in-game and buffer ad potentialI agree, however it has yet to be seen how this will affect ratings. Lots of adds turns people away
* Foxtel needs to reach a 50% saturation level in NSW & QLD within 10 years There are targets and there are needs. Many argue that Foxtel will lose a lot of subs when the NBN and better online TV comes into play, many people say that Foxtel will just change with the times and get online themselves. All Foxtel need to do is make good money

[eelofwest]

Different parts of the article are appropriate in many different forums.

Expecting Xman to actually read the articles is to much pussycat, he has generic replies at the press of a button or he just cant read. I think its the latter

[Xman]

Different parts of the article are appropriate in many different forums.

Expecting Xman to actually read the articles is to much pussycat, he has generic replies at the press of a button or he just cant read. I think its the latter

[Xman]

Picture turns fuzzy for ARL's broadcast rights goal of $1bn
BY: SIMON CANNING From: The Australian May 05, 2012 12:00AM

THE ARL Commission is hopeful of a billion-dollar-plus payday when it settles the next round of TV rights negotiations, but a series of factors that have emerged recently could cruel its chances of securing a deal similar to the $1.253 billion agreement struck by the AFL last year.

Club executives are hopeful the new deal will provide a cash windfall for the code, allowing for a higher salary cap and better funding for the clubs that are struggling financially.

Current rights holders the Nine Network, Foxtel and digital rights holder Telstra have until the close of business on Monday to submit their bids for the free-to-air, subscription and digital broadcast rights to rugby league.

It emerged last night that Nine wants greater control of the on-field action as part of its new bid.

Should it hold on to the rights, it will pressure the game's administrators into accepting a raft of changes including timeouts for commercial breaks and live Thursday night football. According to The Daily Telegraph, Nine hopes to wedge twice as many commercials into its live coverage, increasing the overall time of a game from 90 to 95 minutes.

There would by 30-second breaks for scrum stoppages, line dropouts and after tries are scored.

NRL officials last night said there would hardly be a difference to the stoppages in play for TV as there are now under regular play.

At least four games a year would be played on a Thursday night and Nine would also hope to shift Sunday games back an hour so they can be shown live at 4pm.

Nine has a first-and-last rights bid option, but the new ARL Commission is likely to test the market and open the bidding for Ten and Seven.

However, a successful bid by either network will prove problematic on several levels, some of which have only just emerged. Two weeks ago, Seven, which has dominated ratings and advertising revenue share for the past three years, shocked the market with a profit downgrade, warning that advertising revenue had slumped and looked unlikely to recover in the short term - even as the network boasted the nation's highest-rating TV programs.

But the financial challenges for the network also extend to the spiralling cost of content, in particular the high costs of local productions mandated by Australian content laws.

Such cost pressures may limit Seven's ability to bid for the rights, although industry insiders suspect the network would not be unwilling to make a large ambit offer that would force Nine - heavily reliant on rugby league, in particular the State of Origin series - to pay more than it was willing. Nine loses last bidding rights if the highest offer is 120 per cent greater than its first offer.

Seven is also challenged by the potential for conflicts with its existing AFL contract that might force it to split the rights with Ten, as it did under the previous AFL contract.

AFL conflicts have already caused discord with the V8 Supercars on Seven, with the V8s forced to Seven's digital channel on a number of occasions, an issue that would certainly be central to any discussions between Seven and the NRL.

The Ten Network faces a different set of problems. Having abandoned any hopes of retaining a slice of the AFL last year, the network is believed to be keen on having a tilt at Seven's V8 Supercars rights.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/b ... 6347238874

So it looks like the NRL will need to give further control to ch9 to get near the 1bil rights, and double the number of advertisements shown during their games.

Talk about selling your soul to the devil!

And it also looks like ch7 and ch10 will not put in serious bids for the NRL with costing issues of their own.

So, good luck NRL fans. You may get money from TV close to the AFL but your coverage will be worse than ever.

[pussycat]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/n ... 6347259953

Channel Nine's audacious bid to stop NRL matches for more ads by: Phil Rothfield From: The Daily Telegraph May 05, The Daily Telegraph
CHANNEL 9 has launched a $1billion bid to retain NRL TV rights but with a catch _ time-outs during games for commercial breaks, and live Thursday night football.
Tell us what you think. Post a comment at the end of the story

The radical proposal is part of a joint bid by Nine and Fox Sports that heralds the most significant changes to TV sport since Kerry Packer launched night cricket and reduced eight-ball overs to six, specifically to sell extra advertising.

The Daily Telegraph understands the deal would allow Nine to raise an extra $35 million in annual revenue by showing up to 12 commercials during a game, twice as many as they currently offer their advertisers.

Nine boss David Gyngell and network CEO Jeff Browne will deliver their bid to the NRL's independent commission on Monday. It includes:

*INCREASING the overall time of a game from 90 to 95 minutes;

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.

NRL pollDo you support the Channel Nine proposals to have more ad breaks in NRL match coverage?
Yes No
Vote now
.End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
*HALF-TIME extended from 12 to 14 minutes to play more commercials;

*30-SECOND breaks for sideline scrum stoppages;

*30-SECOND breaks for line drop-outs;

*30-SECOND breaks between try conversions and restarts; and

*AT LEAST four games a season to be played on Thursday nights.

Nine's Sunday match may be broadcast live with a 4pm start, meaning at least seven of the eight games each round would be shown live.

Nine and the NRL have been working together for several months to maximise revenue without ruining the free-flowing nature of the game.

State of Origin coach Ricky Stuart, former coaches Daniel Anderson and John Lang and former players Wayne Pearce and Trent Barrett were part of a committee that agreed on areas for stopping play. Stoppages have been aimed at times when play is held up anyway.

"It takes an average 35 seconds for sideline restarts, 25 seconds for line drop-outs and 23 seconds for try restarts,'' NRL director of football Nathan McGuirk said.

"So we're not going to be radically slowing down the game with these changes.''

NRL chief executive David Gallop was reluctant to comment about finer details of talks with Nine's management.
"It's not appropriate to discuss details of our negotiations with the broadcasters,'' Mr Gallop said.

"We are looking at ways to maximise value for broadcasters with ad breaks at appropriate times while maintaining the continuity and physical nature of the game.''

The addition of six 30-second commercials is the only way Nine believes it can make a return from its vastly increased $1 billion rights contract without slugging advertisers.

Nine currently charges $50,000 for 30-second commercials on the top-rating Friday night football games, making $300,000 during live play.

Under the new deal, that would double to $600,000, on top of pre-game, half-time and post-game ad-breaks.

Taking into account Origin and finals, the breaks in play could deliver Nine an extra $40 million a year in advertising.

[Beaussie]

Still owned and operated by media interests. Way to go NRL.

So much for the ARLC. Channel 9 and Foxtel still run the game. That much is clear.

[eelofwest]

Still owned and operated by media interests. Way to go NRL.

So much for the ARLC. Channel 9 and Foxtel still run the game. That much is clear.

You know what else is clear?
That 7 10 have not bid yet, so i see League getting even more then i first thought. =D>
Also this is for a 16 team comp, imagine when it goes 18 teams???
My opinion 1.1billion 16 team comp, or 1.4billion 18 team competition in phew years time.

BTW were are all the blind sheep saying League wouldn't get 1 billion for the rights? were are you guyyyyyyyyyssssssssss