That really wouldn’t benefit anyone in the media landscape. Seven needs a major change in their whole attitude and structure to the way they run things, then we can talk about dealing and negotiating. At the moment their little rantfest about everything is sleep-inducing.
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To quote those Industry SuperFunds ads, “Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance”. In other words, just because Seven is engaging in legal action against CA doesn’t mean they’ll inevitably engage in legal action against every sporting league/competition they have rights to.
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They did it in 2000 when they lost the AFL. They’ve got a bad track record in this area.
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I did love 7’s coverage but I do feel that 9 are much better at soaking up the atmosphere of Melbourne Park. Towards the end of 7’s tennis years they were presenting in front of a screen. It’s like they had given up! Absolutely deserved to loose the rights.
This is why broadcasting from the Olympics is great in adding to the coverage.
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Seven would probably sue Tennis Australia if the Australians have a particularly bad tournament and if Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer all retire
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They do a really good job at all of that. TA would be happy with the level of traction they’re getting from the 9 activation.
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And they had the worst hosts: Hamish McLachlan and Mel McLaughlin.
Bothers me to no end why they didn’t use the likes of Bruce, Kylie, Beretts, Jim Wilson etc.
I’m surprised Seven haven’t sued Tennis Australia for Ash Barty performing so well after they lost the rights.
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Yup. If it is not exactly how Seven wants, they throw a big tantrum and sue the company.
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Yep, plus with all the slams in one place with Stan Sport, TA must be happy with things at Nine.
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TA is happy with the incumbents
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Story back in April about the next Tennis rights deal
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They did used to use Bruce in the 2000s, then they got him back in the commentary bunker with Jim Courier (after John Alexander went into politics).
Kylie did used to be part of the coverage in the 2000s.
Beretta and Wilson were regular members of the coverage, including in Seven’s final years.
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My only complaint is they’ve used the same set every year. Due for a refresh, but the location is great.
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Tennis Australia is reportedly asking Nine to pay an average of $100 million per year for the next rights. I am not sure if the contract is worth that much, after the retirements of Ash Barty, Serena Williams and Roger Federer this year.
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It’s an interesting dilemma for Nine. On one hand, a 66% increase compared to the value of their current deal is a hefty one and it might be hard to justify forking out on a whim. On the other hand though, the outlay might be worth it to retain a valuable rights package and prevent a) another network (particularly Seven) from grabbing it off them and/or b) potentially having to pay more than $100 million a year if an open tender process becomes very competitive.
The game is always bigger than the players. I can’t see that a network bids on the rights of a whole sport based on the performance of a handful of players in that sport.
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Tennis is different though. It’s an individual sport. The entertainment and value for money definitely would rely on the players more in this sport than most others.
If I were thinking about the rights to the next Tennis contract I would definitely be looking at the current talent playing and whether or not there are any clear up and coming stars that would make it worth having the rights.
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Champions are replaced by other champions. You can’t guess what will happen in 2,3 or 5 years or just give up. Obviously Nine had a look at what the sport of Tennis could do for them throughout the summer, as a launch pad to their whole year of television on the network.
It was working well for Seven for decades which is why Nine snatched from them and gave away their rights to Cricket which they held for decades.
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If Nine gets the Tennis and Seven loses the Cricket, then:
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Nine gets rights to both Cricket and Tennis. One is moved to 9Gem with the other on main channel/9Go.
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Foxtel takes the rights for all cricket exclusively, that means no more Cricket on FTA at all.
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10/Paramount take the rights, with either Tests/BBL on FTA or Tests/T20, with the other events on Paramount+.
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