It’s an interesting one because at what point is a free stream online more accessible than a broadcast fixture on television. The day won’t be far away, if it isn’t already. In fact you could argue it’s more accessible for cord cutters and the like.
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I took it more as that its no longer a guarantee that the events on the list need to be on FTA Television they just need to be free to access - although I’m not sure it’s in the spirit of the law (which isn’t all that surprising, we have a series of laws that haven’t kept up with any evolution)
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A new NRL free to air rights deal is close, according to The Australian. Nine appears to be the front runner and hopes to sign a five year deal before the grand final. Ten is said to still be interested and is promising CBS NFL style innovation to the way the game is broadcast.
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I want 10 to take on the AFL, so selfishly I hope 9 secures the FTA rights, but the NRL would be silly to turn them down.
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I’d love to see 10 get the regular season. And 7 get the SOO series. But that’ll never happen. 9 will get it again.
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Hope ten get it
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Be careful what you wish for. We all wanted CBS to acquire Ten ahead of Bruce and Lachlan thinking they’d invest in news and restore the network to a position where it would be competitive. Look how that worked out. I wouldn’t trust them with sport when ViacomCBS don’t give a rats about the quality of the product they foist on Australian viewers.
CBS did do a great job. It is Viacom who has stuffed things up
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i honestly would not object to 10 getting it. might be good for the game for it to go to a new broadcaster after so long with the old one - could be a chance to mix things up a bit.
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If Nine is to retain the rights, the NRL will want significant changes for the network’s commentary team.
That is up to the network.
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I think this article, along with the one about the EPL rights are ‘strategically’ placed by Nine to try and wedge the NRL to sign a deal ASAP.
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The EPL wouldn’t care about 9’s soft diplomacy. There’s a blind auction for the rights. The companies submit the bid and the EPL gives the rights to the highest bidder. They don’t care what happens in Australia. They produce a world feed and sell it to a local distributor.
The NRL is different. There are so many factors as to how you build the game etc.
The NRL is dwindling on free to air because of 9. They need a new broadcaster to relaunch the product and turn it into a bigger event. 10 would produce a high quality broadcast.
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do you have a link to the article? can seem to find it on The Australian website?
The problem the NRL have with the FTA rights is with the Pay TV rights with fox sports already signed until mid 2020’s they have the simulcast deal and can’t leverage streaming options or a joint free to air deal to get more from the FTA networks.
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2027
Exactly - the NRL boxed themselves in when they did the long-term extension with Foxtel last year. By contrast, the AFL will be able to go to market at the end of the 2023 season/early 2024 with their full set of rights up for grabs.
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nothing to do with the NRL
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If you don’t believe sports organisations put pressure on which talent are involved in coverage of their sport, you’re dreaming.
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Like you, I work in the sports media. They can “suggest” but the rights holder can also tell them to FRO, which I know first hand has happened to a major sport in the last few years (not NRL)
The NRL can want Andrew Voss or Uncle Fester for their coverage but if they are contracted somewhere else, bad luck.
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