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I am a passionate Waratahs supporter, but I have a confession to make. I have never woken up at 3am to watch a Waratahs game being played in South Africa.
I want to watch the Tahs play, but with a demanding job and a house filled with small children I cannot afford to sacrifice anymore sleep.
Currently, a game played at 7:00pm in South Africa is broadcast live to Australia at 3:00am. On the other hand a 7:30pm game played in Australia is broadcast live into South Africa at 10:30am. Apart from the occasional afternoon rugby game in New Zealand, all Super rugby games are broadcast at a reasonable time into South Africa. But at least one third of games are broadcast into Australia and New Zealand in the early hours of the morning.
It is frustrating for a fan when our team goes on tour to Africa. They can play two or three of these early morning games in a row. Fans lose the momentum of following their teams when they are out of sight and out of mind for up to three weeks. I believe this effects crowd numbers when the team returns home. This will be compounded if Super Rugby expands to include the Southern Kings and teams from Japan and Argentina.
Varying time zones are a fact of life for the international Super Rugby tournament, but they do not have to be a hindrance to viewership. In fact, if SANZAR schedules games more appropriately, the time zones could boost viewership and bring in greater broadcast revenue.
If the Australian or New Zealand teams are playing in South Africa, SANZAR should schedule these matches earlier in the day so that they are broadcast to coincide with higher-rating viewing times in Australia and New Zealand.
For example, if the Waratahs are playing the Stormers at 1:30pm in Cape Town, that match could be broadcast live into Sydney at 9:30pm. The South African time zone could be maximised, with these afternoon starts allowing for more triple headers on a Saturday night.
Please note that the South African derbies do not need to become afternoon games, just those games where a New Zealand or Australian team is playing in South Africa.
From an Australian east coast perspective we could have the following example on a Saturday night:
• 5:30pm Crusaders versus Chiefs in Christchurch
• 7:30pm Reds versus Rebels in Brisbane
• 9:30pm Stormers versus the Waratahs in Cape Town
Alternatively, the South African game could be played in the afternoon on a Sunday, meaning that a Sharks versus the Brumbies match being played in Durban at 12:30pm could be viewed on the east coast of Australia at 8:30pm on a Sunday night.
None of the other codes in Australia have a Sunday evening game, why couldn’t rugby take this opportunity?
If South African games move to the peak viewing time in New Zealand and Australia and Japan enters Super Rugby, we could have games clashing in the 7:30pm or 9:30pm time slots. Is this an opportunity for one of the clashing games to be shown on free-to-air TV?
This article may be east coast Australia-centric, but it stands to reason that all games, not just the games in South Africa, should be scheduled so that the fans of the visiting side can watch their team at a reasonable hour.
This is especially true if SANZAR include Argentina and Japan in the tournament.
If the NRL or AFL had the multiple time zones that Super Rugby has, you can be certain that they would maximise the opportunity rather than bury games in the small hours of the morning. Without knowing the intricacies of the current broadcast agreement, and the reason behind the current scheduling, it appears that SANZAR is currently taking the wrong direction. It is hurting the competition.
If South Africa pushes back on earlier starts, then make it conditional that the inclusion of the sixth South African team is dependent on them permitting time zone friendly scheduling.
Whatever model you prefer for Super Rugby, it will involve games in different time zones. We need to better maximise this opportunity. SANZAR must start scheduling games at times that allows fans of the visiting side to watch their team at a reasonable hour.
This has the potential to maintain interest in the competition for the whole season, improve viewership across the countries and bring in a great broadcast deal for SANZAR.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.