Not quite a rumour as its done the rounds on some TV apparently, but its speculation so close enough.
Apparently Channel Ten have done a big cost cutting exercise and have 'only' £250m to spend on programming next year / for a while (not clear the time frame).
Its therefore being speculated that they, by their self imposed budgeting restrictions, cannot afford to bid on either AFL or NRL games as part of the next rights deals.
AFL sneaks through its big deal while this was still not known and bidding assumed a competitive market.
NRL, a year later, find themselves with only one true bidder - Channel 9, with Foxtel already getting most of what they want out of NRL under the current agreement.
No doubt there is more to it than this very simplistic scenario - but on that score, surely the NRL are ****ed finanically or ****ed in terms of coverage - or probably both. A non-competitive bidding process, with no where else to go; the best money already taken, with everyone knowning anything 7 does will be merely to push up the price to 9 (ie not a serious bid).
the NRL are breaking up their package to sell rights to Origin, H&A and internationals separately on the the very logical basis it would get more for them this way. This logic was pretty sound up until now- isnt there a very big risk this may now find this bites them on the bum and seriously damage the prestige/brand of things like Origin if it doesnt raise serious money.
eg Channel 9 says: £250m for 6 years of H&A, because thats all its worth without Origin and Internationals. Agreed? Great,....now oh, just before we sign: you'll be throwing in Origin thanks.
NRL already cant afford to sustain itself properly, let alone bankroll expansion: so a static or even reduced rights income would stymie it significantly... and from a perception point of view: a bad rights result would almost be as bad as its poor crowd figures in terms of undermining its right to claim its status alongside AFL.. and this lost of prestige can mean less favours from TV, Governments, sponsors, stadium operators etc...
On top of this the NRL is having trouble agreeing its own management structure with its wrangling over the implementation of an AFL-style independent commission approaching farce proportions just a year out from rights negotiations. Compare this to the AFL who had a 5 year game plan to get to £1bn.
If I were the CEO of the NRL I dont know what trump cards i have left.
Will Ten really not put in a competitive bid?
Apparently Channel Ten have done a big cost cutting exercise and have 'only' £250m to spend on programming next year / for a while (not clear the time frame).
Its therefore being speculated that they, by their self imposed budgeting restrictions, cannot afford to bid on either AFL or NRL games as part of the next rights deals.
AFL sneaks through its big deal while this was still not known and bidding assumed a competitive market.
NRL, a year later, find themselves with only one true bidder - Channel 9, with Foxtel already getting most of what they want out of NRL under the current agreement.
No doubt there is more to it than this very simplistic scenario - but on that score, surely the NRL are ****ed finanically or ****ed in terms of coverage - or probably both. A non-competitive bidding process, with no where else to go; the best money already taken, with everyone knowning anything 7 does will be merely to push up the price to 9 (ie not a serious bid).
the NRL are breaking up their package to sell rights to Origin, H&A and internationals separately on the the very logical basis it would get more for them this way. This logic was pretty sound up until now- isnt there a very big risk this may now find this bites them on the bum and seriously damage the prestige/brand of things like Origin if it doesnt raise serious money.
eg Channel 9 says: £250m for 6 years of H&A, because thats all its worth without Origin and Internationals. Agreed? Great,....now oh, just before we sign: you'll be throwing in Origin thanks.
NRL already cant afford to sustain itself properly, let alone bankroll expansion: so a static or even reduced rights income would stymie it significantly... and from a perception point of view: a bad rights result would almost be as bad as its poor crowd figures in terms of undermining its right to claim its status alongside AFL.. and this lost of prestige can mean less favours from TV, Governments, sponsors, stadium operators etc...
On top of this the NRL is having trouble agreeing its own management structure with its wrangling over the implementation of an AFL-style independent commission approaching farce proportions just a year out from rights negotiations. Compare this to the AFL who had a 5 year game plan to get to £1bn.
If I were the CEO of the NRL I dont know what trump cards i have left.
Will Ten really not put in a competitive bid?
