Opinion Commentary & Media VIII

[king of the road]

Brereton was one of the better ones imo

I couldn’t stand him.

Had some good insight on occasion.

But waffled on, didn’t focus on the game enough.

Too much about him.

 

[FlyHigh18]

I’d love for all games to be split across the FTA channels. Let them go all out with innovation and try get an edge over the others.

The AFL can be a bit too controlling with the product, this way the product may be a little different but I don’t mind it if it replaces the current vanilla dribble.

Blind bidding, highest one gets the grand final. Or rotate it.

 

[FlyHigh18]

Breteton wasn’t a natural commentator but he was more positive about North than the others. It’s a lost for us

 

[Makeshift Park]

Back on tv rights for a second, media rights deals typically have performance clauses in them (subscriber numbers, anti-piracy protections etc.).

And most importantly, x amount of game time content that advertisers can pay for spots in.

Hence this wild card malarkey.

 

[RooInNorthLondon]

On a tangent one thing DAZN might push for with AFL is to really invest in Watch AFL to create a truly global online equivalent of NFL Game Pass which gives international access to all games via their streaming service. That might actually help AFL grow its visibility in Asia, Europe, USA which is where the big money is. The AFL has tv rights in parts of these areas but is mainly locked away on smaller footprint subscription services (e.g. need TNT sports in UK which is the small, spotty cousin to market dominant Sky Sports). This might be the carrot that gets dangled in any renegotiation.

 

[zoomba23]

I couldn’t stand him.

Had some good insight on occasion.

But waffled on, didn’t focus on the game enough.

Too much about him.

Well, each to their own. I'd take a waffler over a vindictive and/or disingenuous campaigner any day

 

[spicerFanClub]

Back on tv rights for a second, media rights deals typically have performance clauses in them (subscriber numbers, anti-piracy protections etc.). If AFL has not delivered against some or all of the performance clauses DAZN/Foxtel will have levers to pull for at least partial renegotiation and in extreme cases can activate break clauses. Blavatnik will always want more for less and he will likely want more subscription games and fewer/zero FTA. It is how he does business.

Definitely. There's also the fact that even if AFL hit the metrics, DAZN can make life difficult for the AFL if they want to buy providing zero flexibility or willingness to engage for mutual benefit. Contracts are never perfect, particularly long term ones. Things change and you need good faith between parties to navigate them.

For example if the AFLPA came along in a few years and they demanded 2 weeks off mid season across the league (and threatened to strike otherwise), without DAZN willing to come to the table the AFL have very few options and might end up having to do something like still play the games but with all non-unionised players (i.e. VAFA / EFL types - putting aside the whole "crossing the picket line" issue) if their contact commits then to X number of games. If DAZN is willing to discuss alternatives it might look like giving them a new special event they can broadcast during the 2 week break. Unlikely the contract is a basic/blunt as this but you get the point.

So even without contract breach, they can create a scenario where it's preferable to renegotiate the contact than stick with the bad situation. Commercial lawyers also cost a lot of money.

 

[Makeshift Park]

On a tangent one thing DAZN might push for with AFL is to really invest in Watch AFL to create a truly global online equivalent of NFL Game Pass which gives international access to all games via their streaming service.

Just an educated guess, but I suspect what he really wants isnt an NFL Game pass system, but his own Spotify-ish, Netflix-ish platform that is available worldwide. Look at what he did to nhl.tv - which is basically the model you’re describing - he bought it so it was exclusively accessible outside North America under the DAZN banner. AFL will probably become available internationally in the same way as NHL is now.
Once he adds a bit of sizzle to the local offerings, at a steeper rate, the Foxtel brand will probably just become known as DAZN as well.

 

[Sphynx]

I reckon there would be a lot of risk management modelling going on at AFL House - lots of 'what if' coz the new owners have the money for a fight if necessary.

The AFL are also not the Belgian Pro Ligue and Ligue 1 who have been on their absolute ass for a decade.

They have hundreds of millions in working capital, billions in clear assets and are effectively state backed by one of the wealthiest economies in the world. They are a league, but also essentially own the sport and all its revenue.

You are comparing it to one of many leagues within a global sport.

It’s not really comparable.

I know a lot about him, however, the AFL as incompetent as they are, would not be a lame duck to attack legally, in their own country, with hundreds of millions in federally and state backed funds at risk.

The AFL is virtually the biggest and richest indigenous sport, outside of the NFL, on the planet.

What will the Tassie license cost the taxpayer down there? The best part of $1B AUD when all said and done with the stadium etc? It’s not really far off in relative terms what the cost of an NBA expansion franchise like Vegas and the reintroduction of Seattle will cost.

 

[King Hansen]

Brereton was one of the better ones imo

Let's be honest, it's not hard to be.

 

[RooInNorthLondon]

You are right medium term Makeshift but he needs to get other sports to a level like NFL Game Pass before that vision can be realised. Of course if EPL ever decides to fully commit to a subscription streaming platform then that changes everything for them as a partnership with DAZN would make perfect sense and create the scale they need. The AFL has to be an early adopter/partner if it does not want to just become an afterthought in somebody else’s global subscription empire.

 

[the big lebowski]

I like Brereton

 

[Makeshift Park]

The AFL has to be an early adopter/partner if it does not want to just become an afterthought in somebody else’s global subscription empire.

Haha, if they wanted the rights goose to keep laying golden eggs, I don’t think they had much choice. At the risk of mixing my metaphors, they’re now a small fish in a very big pond.

 

[Sphynx]

You are right medium term Makeshift but he needs to get other sports to a level like NFL Game Pass before that vision can be realised. Of course if EPL ever decides to fully commit to a subscription streaming platform then that changes everything for them as a partnership with DAZN would make perfect sense and create the scale they need. The AFL has to be an early adopter/partner if it does not want to just become an afterthought in somebody else’s global subscription empire.

The EPL will never be that locally.

There’s a massive tranche of local broadcasting laws to overcome.

Residents still have live TV blackouts locally to force people to attend games and low league games.

Maybe internationally, which is all he would care about anyway

 

[RooInNorthLondon]

Globally Sphynx. Domestic tv rights are not the growth market for EPL as UK prices are already Sky high (pun intended).

 

[Makeshift Park]

Globally Sphynx. Domestic tv rights are not the growth market for EPL as UK prices are already Sky high (pun intended).

Still can’t believe in this time of wild inflation that a sports streaming subscription that provided total epl access in Australia was available for less than $10 a month this year. (And is still, if you’re an Optus customer)

Loaded oligarchs like Blavatnik probably look at that and go - “yep, fair bit of consumer price optimisation yet to be done down under.”

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Still can’t believe in this time of wild inflation that a sports streaming subscription that provided total epl access in Australia was available for less than $10 a month this year. (And is still, if you’re an Optus customer)

Loaded oligarchs like Blavatnik probably look at that and go - “yep, fair bit of consumer price optimisation yet to be done down under.”

That just made me sick in my face.

 

[zoomba23]

Let's be honest, it's not hard to be.

Definitely not disputing that

 

[desie]

Back on tv rights for a second, media rights deals typically have performance clauses in them (subscriber numbers, anti-piracy protections etc.). If AFL has not delivered against some or all of the performance clauses DAZN/Foxtel will have levers to pull for at least partial renegotiation and in extreme cases can activate break clauses. Blavatnik will always want more for less and he will likely want more subscription games and fewer/zero FTA. It is how he does business.

Absolutely, A-League clubs now receive significantly less in distributions because Paramount didn’t hit the subscriber growth required.

Clubs are down almost $2m per year which is massive for businesses that already lost money.

 

[king of the road]

Well, each to their own. I'd take a waffler over a vindictive and/or disingenuous campaigner any day

I’d take a good commentator over both those options.

Not too much to ask is it?

Or just crowd noise with no commentator. With tech these days - there should be an option to turn them off.

 

[zoomba23]

I’d take a good commentator over both those options.

Not too much to ask is it?

Or just crowd noise with no commentator. With tech these days - there should be an option to turn them off.

I'm writing all this under the assumption that that is, in fact, too much to ask

 

[Passmore]

I like what Dermie has to say, just not the way he says it.

 

[My Left Foote]

Brereton was one of the better ones imo

One of the very few who would find the positives in us despite how poor we were playing. Given our lack of FTA games I’ll miss him commentating on our games and for our sake I hope our on field performances are much improved otherwise it will be another year of listening to Gerard Healy bag us at every possible opportunity.

 

[shintemaster]

Absolutely, A-League clubs now receive significantly less in distributions because Paramount didn’t hit the subscriber growth required.

Clubs are down almost $2m per year which is massive for businesses that already lost money.

That's an insane model for A Leage to sign up to with any expectation of success: Paramount are effectively a niche streaming platform. That sucks for them, but in what world was A Leage ever going to measurably drive streaming subscriptions to Paramount+?

Greed or desperation, not sure, but either one can be blinding.

 

[marklovesbeer]

I couldn’t stand him.

Had some good insight on occasion.

But waffled on, didn’t focus on the game enough.

Too much about him.

Agree. Great insight & special comments at times. But yeah, too often rambled on &/or irrelevant stories.