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There was something palpably different about Sydneysiders’ morning coffee today.
An eight-page lift-out dedicated to…the AFL?
Surely this was a grave mistake? Surely something is amiss? A bad printing run, perhaps?
The back-pages of the Daily Telegraph have long been the dominion of rugby league, but after the ARLC snubbed the Murdoch empire in its most recent broadcast deal with Channel Nine, those days may be changing.
The sporting world suspected Murdoch might be shifting gears when the AFL’s lucrative partnership with News Limited was announced on Tuesday.
“This is a very significant investment for us. We’ve always believed that this is the premium code in Australia – it’s the national game,” Murdoch said.
Just two days later, Murdoch proved he wasn’t bluffing.
The front page of the Daily Telegraph’s ‘Battle of the Bridge’ lift-out
After years of AFL news being a mere footnote in the Tele’s pages, Friday’s edition had an eight-page lift out devoted to ‘The Battle of the Bridge’, Sydney’s Saturday afternoon clash with cross-town rivals GWS.
It raised eyebrows:
Didn't take long: days after @AFL rights deal, News Corp's @dailytelegraph puts out 8-page #AFLGiantsSwans liftout. pic.twitter.com/d2nWyXAXRa
— Chris Mannolini (@ChrisMannolini) August 21, 2015
The @dailytelegraph have an eight page lift-out on tomorrows #AFLGiantsSwans. That's more pages than the Grand Final usually gets.
— Robert Griffin (@RLGriffinGWS) August 20, 2015
No stone was left unturned: Richard Hinds, Eliza Sewell and Neil Cordy all penned pieces, a full page spread on the back promoting the game and remarkably, not a single advertisement on any of the pages.
This wasn’t a PR stunt. This wasn’t a commercial. In fact, underlining that this was purely coverage, with no money changing, was the fact that not a single ad from anyone graced the liftout – except the ones promoting the actual game.
This was at the very least a statement, and perhaps even a changing of the guard.
After Fox Sports was left to ponder NRL’s new broadcast deal with Nine, Murdoch’s vengeance was swift.
First the landmark deal with the AFL, and now rugby league’s premier mouthpiece is, for the first time ever, being invaded by its greatest rival.
To think that Murdoch would be doing this purely out of spite, however is to grossly underestimate the man.
If nothing else, he is a wildly successful and shrewd businessman.
But the NRL forced his hand with their latest agreement and he has put his chips on the sport of Australian Rules.
He has proven time and time again that he’s more than willing to use the Telegraph to promote his own agenda.
Today’s paper shows that this partnership will be no different.
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