No NRL Expansion as NRL sign new TV deal

[Heardy_101]

Link

Expansion of the NRL beyond its current 16 teams appears to have been put on the backburner under the new deal signed with Channel 9.

Nine has won the rights to broadcast the NRL from 2018 - 2022 in a deal worth more than $925 million, the game's governing body announced yesterday.

NRL Boss Dave Smith welcomed the news as helping secure the game's future.

Smith said he had been involved in discussions with potential parties about expanding the NRL to 17 and 18 teams, but the new deal was based around 8 games a week and thus 16 first grade sides.

Absolute joke.

Foxtel are also yet to commit to the new deal.

 

[Aucklander]

Very disappointing if Perth doesn't come in. They've put some Sydney clubs to shame with the crowds they've got.

 

[Heardy_101]

Relocation

Or another merger which would force the NRL to bring in a new club. NRL needs to bite the bullet and tell clubs like Gold Coast and Cronulla that they either get their s**t together or merge. Especially given the NRL currently control the Gold Coast license.

 

[Heardy_101]

OK.

St George move permanently down to Wollongong and call themselves the Illwarra Dragons. It should of been like that from the start.

Merge Cronulla and Gold Coast = Gold Coast Sharks.

Currently that only leaves one spot. Either 2nd Brisbane (preferably the Bombers bid) or Central Coast.

Seriously, I'm surprised there is no review into why the NRL aren't looking into expanding, or why the new TV deals don't allow room for new teams. They are killing themselves.

 

[Heardy_101]

Nothing short of controversial there.

Can't see the Roosters or Rabbiohs merging, both are too strong at the moment.

Merge Penrith and Parra? Could work. Perhaps merge them with GWS and have the GWS Giants Sporting Club lol.

Definitely moved tigers to Campbelltown. And while we're at it, revert them back to the Magpies.

 

[fumbler]

So the league needs to have:
Perth
Ipswich/2nd Bris
Gosford

Could have:
Adelaide
2nd NZ
Central QLD
Tassie

Keep 16 but merge:
Penrith/parra
Wests Tigers/Dogs
Souths/St George
Roosters/Manly or Sharks/Roosters

 

[fumbler]

How about.....

Roosters and Rabbitohs merge
Move sharks to Brisbane #2
Dragons to illawarra permanently
Tigers to Campbelltown permanently
Merge eels and panthers
Move Bulldogs to central coast

Enter Perth
Enter new Zealand #2

{don't kill me!!}

Even if we un-merged the former mergers.
Wests
Balmain
Dragons
Steelers
Manly
Norfs

We could have:
Central Coast Tigers - Norfs/Balmain
Nepean so and so's - parra/penrif
Illawarra Dragons - St George/steelers
Sydney Sharks - roosters/cronulla
West Sydney Bluedogs - Wests Magpies/Canterbury

Manly Sea Eagles
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Canberra Raiders
Brisbane Broncos
South Queensland Titans - GC Titans/2ndBris side - half and half home games
Melbourne Storm
Perth - West Coast Pirates
Auckland Warriors
Adelaide Rams
Ipswich Flanno's
2nd NZ

 

[Broar]

How about.....

Roosters and Rabbitohs merge
Move sharks to Brisbane #2
Dragons to illawarra permanently
Tigers to Campbelltown permanently
Merge eels and panthers
Move Bulldogs to central coast

Enter Perth
Enter new Zealand #2

{don't kill me!!}

Good luck with sending the Sharks to Brisbane.

The whole notion of a second Brisbane side is for tv numbers and having a game up here every weekend.

On one hand you have the Broncos - a great culture, history, biggest crowds & tv numbers. Then you have the sharks on the other hand who have been a disaster for a very long time. You can't send up slops and expect them to succeed.

If the Sharks are sent to Brisbane not only have you killed off their club but you've killed off a second Brisbane side for a long time.

 

[Heardy_101]

No.

Central Coast want their own team which is North Sydney trying to re-enter as Central Coast.

Cronulla deserve to be killed off - the whole club, incluing players such as that prick Gallen, are the shame of the competition. They've been digging their own hole for a while. They'll either be relocated - think Adelaide or Central QLD - or merged with the Gold Coast. Expect the latter, in fact I'm predicting it within the next few years.

My vision:

*Current Teams*

Manly
South's
Sydney
Canterbury
Bronco's
North QLD
Melbourne

*Relocated/Renamed*

Auckland Warriors
Illawarra Dragons (St George permanently relocated to the 'Gong)
Wests Magpies

*Merged/Joint Ventures*

Gold Coast Sharks (Gold Coast /Cronulla)
West Sydney Panthers (Couldn't think of another name. I love pissing off Parts supporters)

*New Franchises/Teams*

West Coast Pirates (Perth)
Central Coast Bears
Brisbane Bombers
Wellington Orchas (is that the Wellington league team's name?)
Ipswich/West Brisbane
Central QLD

 

[Heardy_101]

Just googled "NRL Expansion".

Seems that there isn't anything to stop expansion despite the new deal being for 8 games/week with 16 teams - must be clauses somewhere.

Anyway, here's some interesting articles:

http://m.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-p...t-for-relocation/story-fn2mcuj6-1227480807976

http://m.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/nrl-expansion-on-the-cards-broadcast-rugby-league/2739274/

^^This one is interesting. Didn't knoe about the Adelaide Pandas!

http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/08/12/shortare-nrl-going-kill-expansion/

http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/06/2...e-goal-its-time-for-the-blinkers-to-come-off/

 

[fumbler]

Honestly the Bombers will never make it.

Firstly 'IF' they get the green light, Essendon will injunction them until the curtains fade.
Secondly the Brothers bid is growing at twice the rate ever since they said they would back Ipswich.

Best case scenario is to have the Gold Coast and Bombers merge into a South QLD Crushers style club playing x amount of games on the Gold Coast and x amount at either Lang Park or back at Kessels road.

The 2nd NZ team must be made to play at least 4 home games on the South Island and be called the Southern whatevers.

Bears do not deserve s**t, they should have stayed strong in the first place and now have to fight it out and if that means having the Sharks or Tigers there as well then so be it.

 

[balmainforever]

Good luck trying to convince the people of Campbelltown to go to 12 home games there.
The fact that the club is being run by Wests Ashfield at the moment with Balmain nearly insolvent and Campbelltown not wanting to contribute anything to the JV would tend to lead me to think that playing football at Campbelltown wil soon be dead. (as will Leichhardt)

 

[balmainforever]

So funny thinking that you could think that playing at that toilet called Brookvale could be in the best interests of the NRL.
There needs to be a proper rectangler stadium built north of the harbour bridge.

 

[fumbler]

So funny thinking that you could think that playing at that toilet called Brookvale could be in the best interests of the NRL.
There needs to be a proper rectangler stadium built north of the harbour bridge.

I'd like to see North Sydney better utilised.

If there was a decent stadium on the northside, it could be used by the soccer and Union clubs also.

 

[Broar]

Honestly the Bombers will never make it.

Firstly 'IF' they get the green light, Essendon will injunction them until the curtains fade.
Secondly the Brothers bid is growing at twice the rate ever since they said they would back Ipswich.

Best case scenario is to have the Gold Coast and Bombers merge into a South QLD Crushers style club playing x amount of games on the Gold Coast and x amount at either Lang Park or back at Kessels road.

The 2nd NZ team must be made to play at least 4 home games on the South Island and be called the Southern whatevers.

Bears do not deserve s**t, they should have stayed strong in the first place and now have to fight it out and if that means having the Sharks or Tigers there as well then so be it.

Agreed Brothers>Bombers.

But I'd like the Titans to be left alone - They've just been run so poorly run for a long time now, yet I think they averaged more than the Raiders, Panthers, Manly, Sharks and Tigers last season. Once they become competitive that will surely only improve. Tough it out on the GC now and we'll see the benefits in 20 or so years time.

 

[nobbyiscool]

Jesus. Plenty of people here happy to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Tell me, who is going to actually go to games and watch them on tv if you get rid of everyone's teams? Rugby League already knows better than any other sport in this country what happens when you force mergers.

If the NRL wants teams in developing markets, they need to take some of this money and offer inducements for relocation. If you offered Cronulla $25m to become the Perth Sharks, does anyone think they wouldn't take it? (They don't even have to offer an inducement to the sporting cesspool that is the Gold Coast... surely they aren't going to be so intimidated by the Suns to keep the Titans where they are?)

It's not a perfect solution - it alienates some Crounulla fans, but at least they still have a club. And I don't think it alienates the Reds group at all - they will have won the battle for a Perth team, I don't think anyone thinks it has to be a brand new team.


Of course, with all that said, Fairfax has an article today saying the deal allows them to consider expansion in 2018. I'd have preferred a deal that actually solidifies a 9th game each round from 2018 onwards, but at least they have a time frame for consideration included.


The bit from the deal that I am having trouble getting a straight answer on (because it's inconsistent depending on what you read/listen to) is whether the deal they've already done with 9 allows them to do a simulcast deal with Fox Sports. 9's pathetic coverage actually makes me watch less NRL than I would like to, so hopefully Fox Sports get all 8 games - hopefully they also do what they've done with the last couple of GF replays and put their own commentary over it.

 

[robbieando]

The bit from the deal that I am having trouble getting a straight answer on (because it's inconsistent depending on what you read/listen to) is whether the deal they've already done with 9 allows them to do a simulcast deal with Fox Sports. 9's pathetic coverage actually makes me watch less NRL than I would like to, so hopefully Fox Sports get all 8 games - hopefully they also do what they've done with the last couple of GF replays and put their own commentary over it.

They have the ability to bid for 8 games of which four will be using the Channel 9 broadcast and 4 the Fox Sports broadcast.

They can't simulcast origin or the Grand Final (not sure about finals and Tests) and if they do pick up the 4 Channel 9 games a week, Channel 9 pays $25 million a year less.

 

[nobbyiscool]

They have the ability to bid for 8 games of which four will be using the Channel 9 broadcast and 4 the Fox Sports broadcast.

They can't simulcast origin or the Grand Final (not sure about finals and Tests) and if they do pick up the 4 Channel 9 games a week, Channel 9 pays $25 million a year less.

So given that...

If we're only talking about 8 games a week.

And if 9 have already agreed to hand over $925m for exclusivity on the GF and on Origin.

And if the first $125m of Fox Sports money goes to 9 if they take all 8 games.

And if they've kept the streaming rights alongside the TV rights...

How the hell are they going to get to $2b?

Fox Sports would have to pay $1.2b for 4 games exclusive, 4 games simulcast, no Origin, no GF, and at best, streaming on 4 games.

I dunno... perhaps I let this $2b pledge confuse me too much this week. Stupid me read a dozen different articles figuring out how the NRL thought they'd get to this number - it now occurs to me that they were just talking s**t.

 

[Smashwood]

How about.....

Roosters and Rabbitohs merge
Move sharks to Brisbane #2
Dragons to illawarra permanently
Tigers to Campbelltown permanently
Merge eels and panthers
Move Bulldogs to central coast

Enter Perth
Enter new Zealand #2

{don't kill me!!}

Are you consuming mind altering substances by chance?

 

[Smashwood]

Zero codes should be on the GC. Titans/Suns simply don't get the crowds and never will. Get rid of the Titans pronto! Just erase them like it never happened. Titans/Suns is an epic waste of money. The resources the NRL/AFL have wasted could've been used elsewhere. Their stadiums are just a joke in regards to crowds/atmosphere.

Relocate either Sharks-Dogs-Parra-Tigers to the Central Coast. Another team is just not needed. Just not sure NRL would take off in Perth. But in saying that, it stands a greater chance in Perth than it does on the GC! Titans out, relocate a team to Central Coast, give birth to a new club in Perth, there's a start.

Gets the game growing in another State (Perth), Central Coast get a club to call their own (albeit a relocated team) and no more finances pissed up against the wall on the GC. Easier said than done I understand but it's a start.

 

[Smashwood]

No.

Central Coast want their own team which is North Sydney trying to re-enter as Central Coast.

Cronulla deserve to be killed off - the whole club, incluing players such as that prick Gallen, are the shame of the competition. They've been digging their own hole for a while. They'll either be relocated - think Adelaide or Central QLD

Had to stop reading there. The chances of NRL (crowds, general interest, and not living off NRL handouts forever) taking off in Adelaide or Central QLD is less than relocating an NFL team to Mt Isa.

 

[Smashwood]

Very disappointing if Perth doesn't come in. They've put some Sydney clubs to shame with the crowds they've got.

But they are one off matches, not every second weekend.

 

[Heardy_101]

Relocating St George permanently down to Wollongong makes more sense than un-merging. Illawarra Dragons - should of been that from day zot.

Even I wouldn't kill off the Tigers. Mind you I'd rename them the Magpies.

Merge Cronulla and Titans.

 

[Heardy_101]

The Gosford residents won't want the Sharks. If you merge them with the Titans, also kills two birds with one stone. Or move them to Central QLD

 

[Heardy_101]

Trouble is you'd be hard pressed to kill off the Tigers. Yeah, I hate their guts just as much as I hate Cronulla, Melbourne and Canterbury. But I'd only go as far as renaming them back to the Magpies - something which is gaining momentum from what I'm hearing.