http://www.watoday.com.au/rugby-league/ ... 25wn3.html
NRL chief executive Dave Smith believes the game is in a strong position to begin making decisions about its long-term future after a record-breaking season in which television ratings, membership figures and social media activity all increased significantly.
With officials set to adopt a blank canvas approach as they consider what the game should look like after the next television rights deal in four years, Smith said the NRL was open to any option for building the game.
He said the NRL was able to think far ahead because of the growth achieved this season, which is expected to lead to an even bigger broadcast deal from 2018 than the present $230 million a year agreement with Channel Nine, Fox Sports and Telstra.
"My strong belief is that we are creating enormous value for this game like it has never had before," Smith said. "What that means is that the game is building a secure future, and that gives you the luxury of being able to sit down and plan out what you want in Australia, what you want in New Zealand, and what you might want to do internationally."
Ahead of next week's announcement of the 2015 premiership draw featuring more blockbusters and major events than previous seasons, Smith outlined a series of indicators that demonstrate the success of the NRL this year, including: having the three most watched television programs of the year (Origin II, Origin I and the grand final), as well as four of the five highest rating sporting events; having already exceeded the 2017 target for social media engagement with 7.125 million followers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; growing overall membership by 11 per cent from 229,000 in 2013 to 254,000 this season; and setting 22 new attendance records as crowds increased across the game from 3.653 million to 3.805 million, including representative matches.
"We have done exceptionally well at bringing very large audiences together, and as well as doing that we have broken our own records," Smith said in reference to Origin II being the highest-rating rugby league game in history and South Sydney's premiership triumph over Canterbury being the most watched grand final.
"We own for the first time the top three programs in the country. It is a really, really significant achievement. That is creating real long-term value for this game because ultimately it goes to rights, and there are lots of things that we might do differently, but fundamentally that is creating real long-term value for the game.
"Across the world, premium sports like ours are growing between 10 and 15 per cent a year. The reason for that is because we have the ability to aggregate big audiences like nothing else. And the thing with premium sports is that you can't time-shift, you can't watch it tomorrow, you want to watch it now. That is why sport is so valuable to media companies."
Since leaving Lloyds International to take on the role of NRL chief executive at the start of last season, Smith has been determined not to let issues such as the ASADA investigation and player behaviour problems distract him from his task of expanding the game's wealth,
and $80 million has this year been invested in a future fund.
He has also overseen the NRL's merger with touch football, which has 630,000 participants – including a large number of female players – and the introduction of the NRL Nines tournament in Auckland.
Smith and his staff have also been developing a stadium strategy, in conjunction with governments, as the game focuses more on the big events that attract a wider range of fans – as evidenced by the 9 million unique users who accessed official NRL content via FaceBook during grand final week.
"Ultimately, more people aren't watching broadcasts, they are using digital devices. So 10 years down the track, the fact that we have built strength in this area is very, very significant," he said.
After backing the NSW government's three stadium policy, the NRL has invested $750,000 in a feasibility study on the re-development of Allianz Stadium and the adjoining Moore Park precinct, which will be repaid by the SCG Trust if the project goes ahead.
"One of the most significant things I think we have seen this year is the government's announcement to invest a minimum of $600 million into stadiums in Sydney, and I think the historic lack of investment has meant that our long-suffering fans haven't had the experience they deserve, so I am thrilled by that," Smith said.
"The next step is how does the government invest that money and there is a range of options that are being considered. The SCG Trust was well advanced in their planning and we had an opportunity to be involved in that, so we chose to fund half of the initial planning phase on the agreement that if the investment comes we get all of that back.
"We want to be part of that because ultimately we are a major provider of content in this country, so we want to do that on behalf of our fans to ensure that they get a better experience and when they go to watch a game of rugby league it is in a world-class stadium, it is easy to get there, when they get there they can go for a nice meal or whatever and be entertained."
The NRL is also supporting a major stadium in western Sydney.
"We have a vision of a stadium network because we know that a vast majority of our fans are in western Sydney, so the question is: where does the government want to invest? But wherever the government wants to invest, we will be active partners, because we are active contributors and we want to have a voice in the way our fans are going to experience the game of rugby league," Smith said.
80million put into future fund in 1 year. So the NRL made a Profit of over 80million this year bloody hell.. =D> =D>
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