This event aired on Eurosport before the channel left Foxtel on January 31.
The Sunday Telegraph reports Rugby Australia officials misinterpreted the contract for the Shute Shield and nearly blew their negotiations to fold the competition into their broadcast package, before cool heads prevailed. The report said RA officials mistakenly believed Club Rugby TV only had rights to Saturday’s match of the round, and even contemplated taking the remaining four games of the 11-team tournament if a deal with Club Rugby TV owners Nick Fordham and John Murray could not be reached. The problem is that Club Rugby TV does hold the rights to all Shute Shield games until the end of 2024.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/rugby/rugby-australia-yet-to-secure-tv-rights-for-shute-shield-as-it-seeks-to-sell-whole-of-game-package/news-story/cb618b23734df28549daf66f538c80d9
Well played by 7, should have put it as Australian viewers switch now to 7 and watch the Fox numbers drop!
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The undermining begins
There was an even worse column saying that the sport would die without news and no reference at all to increasing free to air exposure.
It seems Optus and Ten will get the rights with much more free to air exposure for rugby.
News corp seem to forget that they’ve killed the A league and other sports with their rights deals they sign.
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have Ten committed to greater Super Rugby coverage? An interesting move if they have
The FFA have done a pretty good job of that as well
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Not too sure. The commentary seems to suggest some super rugby live on free to air for the first time. Probably combined with local rugby in NSW and Qld with those now coming under the auspices of RA.
Look this isn’t really ideal for ten given rugby being so niche but it’s probably part of the bigger picture of building a portfolio of sport over the next few years.
James Warburton has indicated to The Australian that Seven has no interest in rugby union and Hughes Marks has reportedly previously said Nine have no interest in the code. Ten’s Paul Anderson has told The Australian that Ten will bid for the rugby free-to-air rights including the Wallabies, but it is believed that they do not want to show Super Rugby in primetime.
If Foxtel have indeed walked away and now only Ten and Optus are interested then where is this competitive pressure Rugby Australia was hoping to manufacture?
If Optus don’t bid or bid low will rugby go running back to Foxtel?
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Super Rugby will be dead after the next World Cup anyway. If South Africa go Northern Hemisphere for their internationals then I’m sure it will only be a matter of time and negotiations for the 4 remaining SR teams to join the Cheetahs and Kings in the Celtic League (or whatever it’s called). Keeping in mind South Africa are the biggest rating country of the 5 currently involved for Super Rugby and the Championship (although how they got the money like most things in the republic is open to debate). Interest then for what would be a 10 team comp (Jaguares being the 10th team with the Sunwolves disbanding after this season) would probably be lower than ever although a potential draw would be easier to digest.
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Much more measured articles compared to the rubbish News have been spouting.
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I suspect the truth lies somewhere in the middle
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it’s going to get more nasty as News Corp reps have been given permission to fire all guns at ARU officials.
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Rugby is in shambles. I don’t know why Fox are bothering except to push the price up for suckers like Ten and Optus
Fox Sports have upped their offer for $40 to $50 million a year … They still want it bad as it brings in 15% viewership and for Fox Sports that means they can charge advertisers more on ad rates which they desperately need as subscribers continue to dump the crap that is Foxtel and Kayo in large enough numbers to make News Corp execs shit scared.
This is their M.O.
They need rugby because of the type of subscriber it attracts. Wealthy and arrogantly loyal rugby fans. The leather patch brigade. The Waratahs game still outrated A- league so they would definitely want the rights.
Their faux outrage is hypocrisy personified. The fact they can’t believe RA would go to market is highly arrogant.
This is the same play they did with the cricket and with NRL when they had already struck a deal with Nine without consulting Fox.
In syaing that Rugby is very niche and boring to watch. Well below the heights of 2003.
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on top of that the type of advertisers rugby gets are more high spending - BMW, Banks, Weath Management, etc.
Did you mean Manna? Rugby Union really isn’t Foxtel’s manna from Heaven.
Notice how they have made threats of walking away but are yet to officially do so?
News Corp playing games is not new, but they have pissed of many within the ARU (RA) and these people are not dumb Hicks, they are all uni grads that go as far back as schoolboy rugby and they want revenge for what Fox Sports have done to their “game they play in heaven”.
The ARU was right to test the market, Cricket, Tennis, League all did the same thing and so should every sport, no need for loyalty to Fox Sports anymore as they have betrayed all sports with their attitude.
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Exactly - as the AFR pointed out today, The Australian claimed last November that Foxtel ‘withdrew’ its offer for the rugby rights after talks ‘broke down’
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