Channel 9 not keen on NRL in Melbourne

[Beaussie]

Hmm, I'm sure Raider suggested a few weeks ago that Channel 9 were keen on showing the Melbourne Storm live in Melbourne. Hmm, not in the same league as the Wallabies it seems and certainly no match for the AFL. What's going on at Channel 9 Raider? Care to comment throwball fans?

Channel Nine not keen on going live for Melbourne Storm's upcoming blockbusters
Russell Gould
From:Herald Sun
August 08, 201112:00AM

THE new love for rugby shown by Channel 9 is unlikely to extend to Melbourne Storm, with its two upcoming Friday night blockbusters set to be relegated to the graveyard shift.

Nine, the new rights holders for international rugby, used digital channel GEM to broadcast Saturday's Bledisloe Cup clash between the Wallabies and All Blacks from Auckland live in to Melbourne at 5.30pm.

It's the first time a TV signal was split between channels with the network broadcasting the Test on its main channels in Sydney and Brisbane then on Gem around the rest of Australia.

Special permission was required from Communications Minister Stephen Conroy to show the game live in Melbourne with the new anti-siphoning laws yet to be tabled in Federal Parliament.

But executives from Channel 9 won't be making a similar request to show Storm's Round 24 and Round 25 blockbusters against St George Illawarra, at home, then Manly away - both on Friday nights - live anywhere other than Sydney.

Instead they look set to be shown at 11.30pm or later in Melbourne, with the Wallabies match regarded as a one-off because of their national significance.

Programmers don't want to run NRL games up against AFL Friday night footy, and not on Gem, which is a channel loaded with content aimed at women over 40.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/c ... 6110435900

[Raiderdave]

Hmm, I'm sure Raider suggested a few weeks ago that Channel 9 were keen on showing the Melbourne Storm live in Melbourne. Hmm, not in the same league as the Wallabies it seems and certainly no match for the AFL. What's going on at Channel 9 Raider? Care to comment throwball fans?

Channel Nine not keen on going live for Melbourne Storm's upcoming blockbusters
Russell Gould
From:Herald Sun
August 08, 201112:00AM

THE new love for rugby shown by Channel 9 is unlikely to extend to Melbourne Storm, with its two upcoming Friday night blockbusters set to be relegated to the graveyard shift.

Nine, the new rights holders for international rugby, used digital channel GEM to broadcast Saturday's Bledisloe Cup clash between the Wallabies and All Blacks from Auckland live in to Melbourne at 5.30pm.

It's the first time a TV signal was split between channels with the network broadcasting the Test on its main channels in Sydney and Brisbane then on Gem around the rest of Australia.

Special permission was required from Communications Minister Stephen Conroy to show the game live in Melbourne with the new anti-siphoning laws yet to be tabled in Federal Parliament.

But executives from Channel 9 won't be making a similar request to show Storm's Round 24 and Round 25 blockbusters against St George Illawarra, at home, then Manly away - both on Friday nights - live anywhere other than Sydney.

Instead they look set to be shown at 11.30pm or later in Melbourne, with the Wallabies match regarded as a one-off because of their national significance.

Programmers don't want to run NRL games up against AFL Friday night footy, and not on Gem, which is a channel loaded with content aimed at women over 40.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/c ... 6110435900

why certainly beaussie
Ch 9 are now aware that if they did show it .. the Ratings the Storm would pull would cost them $$ when dealing with the NRL for the next lot of rights ... ie the compensation for ch 9 for being forced to show NRL in Victoria in the next deal would be less .. its a commercial decision
quietly Ch 9 in Melbourne know the Storm would do pretty OK even up against the AFL .. they have in the past .. they would & will in the future.
for one thing .. veiwers may actually see a contest
something they're not getting too regularly when watching the woeful AFL ATM

[Beaussie]

Hahaha, that is the lamest excuse I've ever heard. Take the blinkers off and the face reality that no tv network is interested in showing live NRL in any major capital city outside of Sydney and Brisbane because the game doesn't rate. Wallabies on the other hand...

Hmm, Rugby Union seems more popular Australia wide than Rugby League. I know many Melbournians who prefer Union over League and have all purchased Melbourne Rebels memberships dumping the Storm and Rugby League now that they have their real passion/fix satisfied.

[Truthsayer]

Would you possibly have access to the membership numbers for the Storm and the Rebels for a comparison, Mr Beaussie?

[Beaussie]

From memory I read somewhere the Rebels has something like 14k and the Storm 9k Truthsayer.