What to do with the Melbourne Storm?
Roar Pro
By Paul J, 5 Dec 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Pro
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- Brisbane Lions, Melbourne Storm, NRL, Rugby League, sports on tv, Sydney Swans
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Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy overseeas a training session in Melbourne, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. Melbourne Storm will play the Parramatta Eels in this weekends NRL Grand Final. AAP Image/Julian Smith
The independent commission is almost upon us – the annual NRL CEO meeting focused on developing a core set of values within the clubs; and the fantastic 2009 NRL season provided growth in TV ratings, crowd figures and memberships. Things seem to be moving in the right direction for rugby league.
Yet there is one question that still troubles rugby league like an itch you just can’t scratch: what to do with the Melbourne Storm?
In their relatively short twelve year existence, the Storm have had incredible success on the field.
Five grand final appearances, with three wins and a regular at finals time, ensure they have been undoubtedly the team of the decade.
The irony is not lost on many Rugby League fans that their own teams, some whom have been in existence since 1908, can not beat a team from the AFL capital of Australia.
While the NRL hierarchy could not have dreamed of such immediate on field success for their expansion team, the success off the field is less flattering.
The Storms crowd figures still hover around 13K, and most people in Melbourne still get confused as to which rugby code – apparently there are two of them – the Storm represents.
To try and calculate how successful the Storm have been, you can try to compare them to the two AFL expansion teams – the Sydney Swans and the Brisbane Lions.
The main ingredient for expansion appears to be time, and the Swans and Lions have been in existence for longer than the Storm; 27 and 22 years respectively.
The AFL must feel pleased with the great inroads these teams have made into rugby league heartlands.
This year, the Swans had average crowds of 30K and an average Sydney free to air TV audience of 86K. The Lions, considering the smaller population of Brisbane, had more success with average crowds of 29K and an average Brisbane free to air TV audience of 90K.
Of course these figures are put into perspective when compared to the accumulative rugby league crowd and TV viewing figures in Sydney and Brisbane, but they represent a considerable lead over the figures that the Storm produce for the NRL in Melbourne.
Worryingly for the NRL, the Storm is reported to record annual losses of $6 million.
Part of the process that allowed rugby league to finally get an independent commission is that News Ltd will sell the Storm and leave the game. However, they will still keep a 66% ownership in the highly profitable Brisbane Broncos.
Storm CEO, Brian Waldron, has been given the task to find private investors to become the new owners of the Storm.
Reports state that part of the transfer of ownership will have News Ltd drip feed about $20 million back into the Storm over the next 5 years.
This will encourage potential buyers for the viability of the Storm in the short term, but leaves no guarantees for the long term.
One change in the Storm’s fortunes will be their move into the new rectangular stadium at the Olympic Park precinct next year.
Leaving the old 1956 Olympic training venue for a state of the art modern stadium will most certainly help, but cautious estimates have predicted that this may only cut the Storms annual losses in half to approx $3 million.
The one area where the Storm must improve to ensure their survival is in free to air television broadcasting.
One of the many examples of how poorly the NRL negotiated its last TV broadcast rights deal is that Channel 9 does not show regular Storm games at prime time in Melbourne.
Conversely ,the AFL have negotiated TV contracts that has forced Channels 7 and 10 to show Swans and Lions games in prime time to Sydney and Brisbane audiences, which has greatly incresed their exposure.
How the curious Melbournian – who may wish to see what all the fuss is about regarding Inglis and Slater – is then expected by the NRL to stay up to watch a midnight Storm broadcast is anyone’s guess.
The fact that the Storms on field success has not been backed by free to air prime time coverage can only been seen as a real opportunity lost by the NRL.
Promisingly for the Storm, on the rare occasion Channel 9 risked a primetime broadcast of a Storm game in Melbourne – as in round 2 against the Broncos – the Storm posted a decent TV audience of 203K.
The next free to air primetime Storm TV broadcast into Melbourne was not until the preliminary final – again against the Broncos – and the Storm posted an audience of 324K. And this on the day of the AFL grand final.
However, only four other Storm games were shown by Channel 9 in Melbourne during the entire NRL season. They were shown outside of prime time and recorded average viewing audiences of just 21K.
How the NRL have still not managed to negotiate a fairer TV deal for the Storm in Melbourne after twelve years is mind boggling.
Worryingly for fans, when David Gallop was asked a question at the annual fan forum in regards to improving the TV situation for the Storm, he answered that the NRL had to be careful to avoid the “Swans / Master Chef situation” where the AFL finds the Swans games in Sydney regularly out rated by an SBS cooking show.
Hopefully, this was nothing more than a little verbal backhand directed at a rival code.
Is the Storm’s future better placed by the NRL setting the immediate goal of free to air primetime Storm games in Melbourne,with an average audiences of 100K – even if they are out rated by Master Chef – or by continuing with midnight games getting average audiences of 21K?
How can the NRL expect the people of Melbourne to get a better understanding and appreciation of rugby league if they never get to see it?
Thankfully the independent commission has stated that the next TV broadcast rights deal will be a priority.
Surely negotiating free to air prime time Storm games into Melbourne will be recognised as one of the main areas for improvement.
With the new HD digital channels such as One HD, 99 and 7 Two now available, this should be a much easier task.
And most interestingly, the fact the NRL has suggested they will join the AFL by implementing a fixed season schedule to coincide with their next TV rights deal suggests that they plan to schedule Storm games so they won’t clash with any AFL fixtures.
Only time will tell how quickly the Storm can become profitable, if at all.
With the introduction of the Super 15 rugby franchise – the Melbourne Rebels – Melbourne will be set to join Sydney and Brisbane by being an increasingly crowded sporting market, represented by all four football codes.
However, if the enduring presence of the Swans and Lions are expansion models to be followed, then it would seem obvious that a decent stadium, prime time free to air coverage and a significant increase in marketing and junior development, obtained from lucrative TV broadcast rights deal,s is how to ensure the growth and survival of the Melbourne Storm.
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Crosscoder said | December 5th 2009 @ 5:43am | Report comment
In a nutshell, persevere,as it is a long term committment.Agree FTA TV at decent hours for the club is vital.
Ignoring the 2nd biggest market in Australia ,is to do so at the code’s peril.Especially as so much has already and is currently being expended on grassroots development.A niche market is all that can be expected and required.
The Swans had many financially troubled years in the early stages.They looked at the future not the present.
It has been stated by Gallop, the presence of an NRL team in Melbourne ,has been a factor in assisting in securing decent TV contracts.Imagine what the contracts would be worth on that basis,if the contracted station actually showed the Storm at decent hours on FTA.Channel 9 needs a good kick up the rear end.
The SOO and G/F and semi final TV ratings in that city ,should have been a wake up call,there is interest in that city.
oikee said | December 5th 2009 @ 5:10pm | Report comment
The Storm’s future is secured. Trust me, the living breathing spectical that we call Origin is a global giant waiting to be ignited. The passion fericousness, the beauty the streagth the poetic, the will-power, the heart and soul of this courageous game we love is well and truely something to be marvelled at, revered, and admired.
Their is no stoping rugby league as this game is a piece of all of us, its a instinct that every human has and evolved over time, but that primevel instinct comes out in this game. Its gladatorial and sense of being above other nations with sheer brutality and accausion, and the sense everything Australian, is pure Poetry in motion.
This is the game we all love and want to be part of, and is why rugby league will thrive in this country. Origin is the sheer beauty and brutality of sport we all have inside, but only a very few can acheive this greatness.
Origin from 2006 has embeded its humbleness into the Victorian Scyche on the Melbourne public, and vertually anyone else who witness’s this great contest. So rugby league is already ingrained in the Victorian Public. They would want to be the last City to miss this great spectical. Cheers. the Storm will be fine.
oikee said | December 5th 2009 @ 6:47pm | Report comment
Crosscoder, if you look at Origin 2007, game 1.,,, check out Steve Price after Thurston Kicks the winning Feild gaol, look at, and think about Passion, Commitment, and sheer pleasure of playing origin for Queensalnd, he never even looked once at Thurston, …. even though he just kicked Queensland to Victory, now thats passion. Lets not Forget. …
And then 3 minutes later, he came up with a winning charge down, ??? Steve Price, Petro Chivonciva are 2 of the greatest players we have ever seen, the respect these 2 guys have, is beyond immortal. They are Champions. Cheers.
There is no player or code that comes close to this status. Simply, Origin Rocks. Rugby league is king.
Bay35Pablo said | December 6th 2009 @ 3:37pm | Report comment
(tears running down face over manic laughter)
“There is no player or code that comes close to this status. Simply, Origin Rocks. Rugby league is king.”
That state of delusion is scary oikee. One hopes you are kidding.
The best passion I have seen in any code was Socceroos v Argentina at the SFS, world cup qualifier in 1993(?). When we scored – the crowd (which I was in) went mental like I had never seen. After that, Aloisi kicking the penalty to qualify for 2006, when I was in a CBD pub (which also went mental). I was at the 2005 GF when my mighty Tigers won which was awesome, and have been at a number of Origins going back almost 20 years. But those 2 soccer moments were at the top of my memories. And that’s from a union fan.
Ealesy’s kick to win the Bledisloe, and the greatest test match of all time were also good ….
Suffice to say, keep dreaming oikee. Maybe we can all chip in and buy you a ticket to see a Merseyside or Rio Plate derby live.
oikee said | December 7th 2009 @ 6:55am | Report comment
Each to their own Bay35, each to their own. You find excitement with a extra time shoot-out, mine is the passion of origin, which is 3 times a year, seems to me i have more passion than you maybe.
Realist said | December 22nd 2009 @ 12:32am | Report comment
Bay35Pablo,
Perhaps the reason you were inspired deeply by those events is because they were unforseen, improbable (due to Australia’s underdog status in those sports) and different to what you’ve become accusotmed to seeing?
I was captivated by the Australian diver who won gold at Beijing because it was unforseen and highly improbable. Diving is not a sport I enjoy watching, but I still think the moment he won gold was great. See my point?
Barking Glider said | December 5th 2009 @ 5:43am | Report comment
“the two AFL expansion teams – the Sydney Swans and the Brisbane Lions.”
Sorry, the Swans and Lions are not expansions teams. They are relocated Melbourne teams. They are Melbourne clubs living in Sydney and Brisbane.
What was it that TV commentator said when the Swans won the flag? “Old Bloods have waited a lifetime!”.
Gatto Nero said | December 5th 2009 @ 6:14am | Report comment
Glider – so in that sense the Storm are just the relocated Western Reds?
Barking Glider said | December 5th 2009 @ 6:32am | Report comment
huh? I’m not sure why you’ve brought up the Western Reds but the Storm are not a relocated Reds club. Most of their 1998 players came from elsewhere.
The Brisbane and Sydney AFL teams took their Melbourne history with them. They still trade on it whenever they are in Melbourne and when they are in the finals.
The Storm shouldn’t be compared with imported Melbourne VFL teams that are now in Sydney and Brisbane. Tbe Storm serve as an example of what the AFL are now attempting via their GSW and GFC teams. Let’s see in 10 years time if GWS and GFC are doing as well as the Storm have done. Don’t forget the Storm did it without the money and AFL support that will put into GSW and GFC.
Pippinu said | December 5th 2009 @ 2:40pm | Report comment
I think that is a fair enough point – in the strictest sense – both Brisbane and Sydney do not represent expansion teams (although the original Bears probably did).
Barking Glider said | December 5th 2009 @ 2:55pm | Report comment
Good point. In comparison to the Bears (the AFL’s one and only example of an expansion club into a non AFL state), the Storm have done remarkably well.
chris said | December 5th 2009 @ 7:44am | Report comment
I can’t believe posts like this always leave out the elephant in the room…the Storm doesn’t have a Leagues club. (and nor did the now defunct Western Reds & Adelaide Rams). The Storm are not on a level playing field with NSW clubs because they are not propped up by a Leagues club handing them an annual multi-million dollar ‘grant’ to prop up an unprofitable football operation. It is widely reported that the Broncos are the only football operation in the NRL that is profitable – so the Storm making a loss is hardly unique.
RL people have to accept that any team not attached to a Leagues club, or to a rich private backer, will need to be assisted – in theory the Storm could become consistently profitable as a football operation but they’d be achieving something no RL club in NSW has achieved.
Barking Glider said | December 5th 2009 @ 7:53am | Report comment
I can’t believe you haven’t realised its 2009, not 1989.
Which NRL clubs in NSW are in 2009 “propped up by a Leagues club handing them an annual multi-million dollar ‘grant’ to prop up an unprofitable football operation”?
The few Leagues Clubs left that give money to their football club are barely giving anything.
chris said | December 5th 2009 @ 10:15am | Report comment
thanks for the tip – i know the year is 2009. I can’t believe you think RL clubs in NSW somehow moved off the tit of Leagues Clubs and their pokie revenue – exactly when did that happen. Yes they’ve had this source of revenue reduced but it is still a key underpinnig if the NRL competition – no pokies no NRL.
Which club you ask? Well here is a 2009 article talking about slashing of league’s club grant by $1m for Parramatta…so by definition the Parramatta grant for 2008 was more than $1m which is NOT “barely giving anything” is it now? So without much looking at all I’ve given you one club in 2008 – can’t be bother tracking and spoon feeding to you widely known and non-controversial data to support my comment – RL clubs rely on substantial and ongoing support from Leagues club grants whether or not you like to admit it, And my point is tht the Storm doesn’t, and never will, have this sort of support.
Leagues Club losses a warning to NRL clubs
BY Dean Ritchie
March 05, 2009
NRL chief executive David Gallop said Parramatta Leagues Club’s heavy annual loss was a timely reminder that football teams cannot continue to rely on grants from licensed clubs.
Parramatta Leagues Club announced a record $7.8 million loss for 2008 with the grant to the Eels’ footy side expected to be slashed by $1million by next season.”
Barking Glider said | December 5th 2009 @ 10:31am | Report comment
Really? I went and found that story http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,25138535-5003409,00.html and it says “The Daily Telegraph understands Parramatta Leagues outlayed $5 million to rugby league last season – primarily to the Eels”
You reckon the Eels are getting by on $5 million? You need more than $15 million for a NRL club.
chris said | December 5th 2009 @ 10:40am | Report comment
you’ve just prove my point for me – thanks. Without that $5m grant would Parramatta be able to field a team – no they wouldn’t. That’s my point – this NSW RL team has access to funds not available to the Storm.
Also you are probably exaggerating – I’ve seen reports that a RL team costs around $10m to run – and even if you’re correct about $15m who cares – it doesn’t support your point – it supports my point if anything.
Barking Glider said | December 5th 2009 @ 12:24pm | Report comment
I haven’t got all day to look on google but I found this from 2005 “the bottom line is that to run an NRL club you need an absolute minimum of $16 million,”
http://www.smh.com.au/news/League/Bears-Central-Coast-Stadium-stake-for-sale/2005/03/08/1110160830484.html
If Leagues Clubs vanished tonight the NRL clubs would survive. You were attempting to portray that NRL clubs live and die on the support of a Leagues Club. Over the past five years the NRL clubs have been getting less and less from their Leagues clubs thanks and how many NRL cubs have died without that support, or less support? None. They’ve found other options.
chris said | December 5th 2009 @ 2:46pm | Report comment
the article you linked doesn’t say $16m….and again you’re missing my main point and attempting to muddy the water with an irrelevant red herring argument about whether it costs $10m or 15m to run a RL team…
by your own admission Parra Leagues gives their RL team about $5m annually…. if they turned the pokie machines off today hen the Parra football operation all of a sudden has to find $5m …and find it annually….doesn’t this kind of line up very nicely with the annual $6m losses made by the Storm?!…can’t you see that…. RL teams operating outside NSW without League Clubs have always struggled – Western Reds, Adelaide Rams, Melbourne Storm….. so all this talk of ever returning to WA is absolute nonsense…and the future of the Storm is sketchy at best…they are inherently unprofitable unless subsidised or supported privately…
Barking Glider said | December 5th 2009 @ 3:02pm | Report comment
“the bottom line is that to run an NRL club you need an absolute minimum of $16 million,” There you go. I quoted it again for you. http://www.smh.com.au/news/League/Bears-Central-Coast-Stadium-stake-for-sale/2005/03/08/1110160830484.html
There are football clubs in all codes in all states, including NSW, which don’t have a Leagues Club. Most football clubs in Australia don’t have a Leagues Club. There is no NRL club solely reliant on a Leagues Club.
Yet for some reason you think that NRL clubs in NSW can’t survive without a Leagues Club.
oikee said | December 5th 2009 @ 5:20pm | Report comment
You guys quit arguing, it looks as if we dont get a independent commission, rugby league will be in trouble. Obviously all the money is gone, and we need someone running the game because clubs are in Jeopody. With the Commission, league will be ok, and grow. Simple.
The only game doing great is AFL, we all can see this, why fight it, embrace and learn.
Mick from Giralang said | December 6th 2009 @ 7:04am | Report comment
Poker machine support is not unique to rugby league. The AFL is propped up by $100 million in pokie revenue a yeaqr.. any argument about dependence on one-arm bandits applies equally to both codes.
Pippinu said | December 6th 2009 @ 7:34am | Report comment
Yes – AFL clubs now have gaming revenue as a major source of revenue.
chris said | December 6th 2009 @ 7:55am | Report comment
Some people here have commented that AFL clubs are equally supported by pokie revenue…nonsense. For a start the richest club in the AFL is West Coast – and it operates from WA where they don’t even have any poker machines!!!..apart from its casino there is not one machine in the whole state!!!…the WA government has not licensed pokies for WA….. and Fremantle Dockers are also another very rich club out of WA with no pokie revenue…both WA clubs don’t receive a singles cent from pokies….and I’d be pretty confident that BRisbane Lions and Swans don’t either…
AFL clubs have much higher memberships (i.e. season pass holders) than RL clubs…just two teams combined – West Coast & Collingwood -have more members that the entire NRL competition,…higher gate revenue, higher broadcast revenue, much higher memberships and more valuable sponsorships…. AFL teams don’t need pokie revenue like RL clubs – it hasn’t been a traditional revenue source for them…. if there are AFL clubs that use them (which I doubt) then they would be a far smaller percentage of their revenue than is tha case for RL clubs…
Pippinu said | December 6th 2009 @ 8:02am | Report comment
chris
fair enough about West Coast – and you’re right about having many large sources of revenue – but over the past decade – the Victorian clubs have come to rely on gaming revenue as a major souce of revenue (I didn’t say the largest).
Collingwood now has an annual turnover over in excess of $50 million, and a large chunk of that is gaming revenue – in fact, they may be one of the larges operators of machines in the whole state.
ruckrover said | December 5th 2009 @ 8:19am | Report comment
hard to see a long term future for the Storm – with a Super-15 Rugby team coming into Melbourne – Storm will just do well to maintain current interest – and at that rate they must according to your figures, eventually go belly up.
Woody Warambel said | December 5th 2009 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
Who is to say it won’t be the union team that folds again?
They certainly won’t be on FTA TV at any time.
BTW over the season just ended for every one person that watches Australian Super 14 teams on Pay TV five will watched the Storm. (That is the Storm beat the whole union competition by a factor of five.)
Sam said | December 6th 2009 @ 4:15pm | Report comment
The Super 14 teams get nearly all of their revenue from the broadcasting agreement with News Ltd. Most of the income for the Super 14 and Tri-Nations comes from the value of the deal in South Africa – and the there is no comparison between the status of the game there and in Australia. So I can’t see the Melbourne team folding as long as the South Africans are tuning into their rugby. Of course having good viewing figures in Aussie is still important, but not the be all and end all.
Paul J said | December 5th 2009 @ 8:26am | Report comment
ruckrover
We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for the Storm and the Rebels.
One point i was trying to make is that the Storm – even after 12 years – all still basically neglected in the same way the Brisbane Bears once were.
The Link said | December 5th 2009 @ 10:58am | Report comment
The Storm go alright. 11-15k crowds seem not that good by AFL standards, but most A-League teams would kill for that right now. They have a little nieche in Melbourne which realistically is a best case scenario for RL there.
Compare the Storm to the Swans in 1992/3 and they stack up not too badly.
For a team born out of the messy compromise of a once in a 100 year upheaval of a sport its hard to imagine how they could be realistically better placed. It wasn’t RL finest hour and in the early years survival was the key rather than engagement with the community, but that is being re-addresed.
One things for sure, they play the most attractive Rugby Football of any team in either code in this country. They have set the standard for the Rebels on the field to meet when they get in.
chris said | December 5th 2009 @ 11:31am | Report comment
apparently the storm have a loyal core of 12k fans that show up every week.. and they need to treble that to be viable…hard to see that happening….they’ve been super-successful already and only manage crowds of just over 10K… i don’ think the new stadium will all of a sudden triple crowds especially when rugby union gets going and the Storm slips down the table…
i think it’s a case of indefinite subsidy of the Storm’ by the rest of the competition so they are a ‘national’ competition that can be sold to broadcasters,,,..or they just bight the bullet and relocate Storm to CC…
Woody Warambel said | December 5th 2009 @ 12:22pm | Report comment
Link -I disagree.
Melbourne do have some of the best players & athletics in the game but they play ugly ugly football.
The tactics they employ are such things as little or no passing in their own half, repeated dummy half or one out running.
They also invented of the grapple tackle & other wrestling innovations..
Good players playing ugly football.
Justin said | December 6th 2009 @ 4:20pm | Report comment
All true Woody but I think success wins in drawing crowds over playing to a somewhat boring game plan.
Corey said | December 6th 2009 @ 11:59am | Report comment
Link, 11-15k is pitiful- it means league is the least supported footy code in crowd attendance in Melbourne- even behind the soccer team, which is pretty bad in Australia.
The Link said | December 6th 2009 @ 7:54pm | Report comment
Gents – disagree on the Storm’s playing style, some of the football played in the semis this year for example was pretty good. The prelim against the Broncs sticks out in the mind in particular.
Since when do you need crowds of 35k+ to run a sporting team in Australia?
Corey – The Victory should be getting bigger crowds than the Storm by all rights, Soccer in Melbourne has a long popular history, unlike RL in the southern capital.
11-15k is not all that bad, just ask Clive Palmer, who would kill for such crowds
Springs said | December 6th 2009 @ 8:49pm | Report comment
At the moment Union gets 0k.
oikee said | December 5th 2009 @ 11:42am | Report comment
Maybe we see how the Storm go next year, With a new stadium for Melbourne punters, might bring in some new fans and also fans who would go, but did not want to sit in the stands of Olympic park. Dont underestamate what good stadium can do for a team. Hopefully they get a decent buyer who knows how to run a club. The Storm are a goldmine, if you know what your doing. I think Greg Inglis alone will attract more fans, this guy is unbeleivable.
Justin said | December 6th 2009 @ 4:31pm | Report comment
Goldmine is currently dropping 6m per year and Inglis isnt a new player just quietly…
Rod said | December 5th 2009 @ 4:56pm | Report comment
Storm will be going nowhere.
Matter of fact, the Storm when compared to the A League are doing very well, only the Victory at the moment average higher, yet we don’t hear of all these A League clubs with years of history if you consider they were around in the NSL being talked down in the same way.
If you look at all Rugby Clubs world wide (Union and League), the Storm hold their own easily.
Sam said | December 5th 2009 @ 5:03pm | Report comment
I thought it was a great article Paul. Well written. I was wondering about your TV viewing figures though, do they include Foxtel viewing? News Ltd must be pretty happy that when you live in Melbourne and want to watch any of the other football codes (except AFL) you really *have* to get Foxtel. It must bring them in quite a large amount of money for a city of 4 million. That is probably why they are happy to take a loss. I agree that the NRL need to be more aggressive about getting their sport on prime time in Victoria though. I’m not sure about the Melbourne Super 14 team and what effect that will have. I don’t actually think it’ll reduce their slice of the rugby union/league pie but rather increase the size of the pie itself (if that makes sense). I do think that the new stadium will help as well. As for crowd numbers, Foxtel show the Storm games in Melbourne live don’t they? Surely that influences (as well as that league is a sport very easy to watch on tv) the size of the crowds?
Paul J said | December 6th 2009 @ 8:47am | Report comment
Thanks Sam
The figures are for FTA in Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane only – do not include FTA in regonals or Pay TV.
Pay TV takes up about 30% on the market although it is stronger in Sydney & Brisbane (RL states).
If the Storm get FTA prime time coverage in Melbourne in 3 years time – when the NRL start their next TV rights deal – and are playing out of a new stadium it will mean that the Storm 2013 will be where the Brisbane Lions were in about 1998.
The next TV rights deal will be all important