- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
With news that Channel 10 could want into the Rugby League pie, it’s not entirely unrealistic to think that the free to air NRL rights could be split between the three big networks, as well as having games on Pay TV. It poses the question, though, of who wants what?
Channel 9 will have something. Their ratings winner for a long time in NSW and QLD has been Friday night footy, and with the additional second game, which was pushed by current CEO David “where’s the loyalty” Gyngell, it’s hard to see Channel 9 not retaining Friday nights in the new contract.
So let’s put two games for Friday night out of the equation and at this time, and not including expansion teams (which as I have written about, a Perth team makes very good TV sense), it leaves us with six games left.
Super Saturday has been a big winner for Fox Sports, with three games back to back, and let’s not forget the Toyota Cup early game, for which some games get better ratings than the Super 15.
Channel 10 could go after a Saturday game to show at 7.30pm, to at least show NRL in NSW and QLD, where the AFL doesnt rate very well. Channel 7 could be in the same boat.
Ideally, if this is what happens, one channel could have both the NRL and AFl rights for a Saturday night and show the two games
back to back. In NSW/QLD/ACT, you would have the NRL match followed by the AFL match and vice versa for the AFL states.
If Pay TV is to keep anything, it will be their Super Saturday, with two games, with the first starting at 5.30pm, and with the Toyota Cup match starting at 3pm.
We come to Sunday, where two games are up for grabs.
The 2pm match probably fits in more with Pay TV as, when the match is held in New Zealand, it reverts to a 12pm start, and with a lead in Under 20’s match it’s worked well for Foxtel with a double header on a Sunday.
Nine’s Sunday afternoon football has been a solid ratings winner. The match shown at 4pm is on one hour delay, which probably detracts a little from ratings and perhaps increases some crowds.
New laws hopefully will mean this match must be shown live and Channel 9 perhaps would maintain this game.
The Sunday schedule could be vastly improved, with a guaranteed English Super League match and a pre-game show at 2.30pm.
That leaves us with Foxtel’s ratings winner, Monday Night Football. All the free to air networks must want in on the action with this TV wonder product. On Fox, Monday night football consistently wins the ratings and has given the NRL some of the all time high Pay TV ratings.
It could very well head to Channel 10’s digital sports channel ONE HD.
That is just the regular season rounds. Finals could be shared like they are in the AFL.
State of Origin is probably the NRL’s biggest carrot with three matches a year, and a TV audience of 3 million per game. Channel 7 boss David Leckie has said how big Origin is on a national scale, and no doubt Channel 10 know too.
Although their Masterchef show didn’t do too badly last year.
We then have Internationals, English Super League, Pacific Cup, Toyota Cup, pre-season games, and the newest Rugby League innovation – the All Stars match – still up for grabs.
We’re still even a year or so away before the NRL can talk to networks about the TV rights, but there are so many exciting possibilities.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.