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It has been nearly two weeks since the news broke that Foxtel had lost the rights to broadcast the English Premier League in Australia and the situation has become even more intriguing.
It has been revealed that Foxtel was simply not willing to pay $50m a year for what they deem a ‘tier three’ sport watched by around five per cent of total Foxtel sports subscribers. This annual subscription is higher than the fee paid for the A-League rights.
The fact of the matter is that English Premier League matches are aired at an inconvenient hour and are out-rated by domestic A-League matches. On top of this, EPL ratings are down by 29 per cent when compared to this time last season.
However the loss of EPL rights has been met with criticism from many fans of the sport. Those fans who feel the $50 a month subscription is not worth it if they are unable to watch both the EPL and the A-League. Many fans have commented on Facebook and Twitter that they will cancel their subscription once this season ends. Whether they actually follow through or not is another matter.
@Foxtel won't count for much when I cancel my subscription when you lose the EPL rights at season's end
— Steve_AFC (@Steve_AFCAus) November 4, 2015
The loss of the EPL rights has seen speculation regarding Foxtel’s next move. It appears as though the recent surge in NRL negotiations has been triggered by the loss of EPL rights.
Foxtel can afford to lose the rights to broadcast English football, it is a relatively small fish in a big pond, domestically. However the company cannot afford to lose the rights to broadcast the NRL. Along with the AFL, it is the biggest fish in the pond.
NRL and AFL matches regularly rate two to three times higher than the highest rated A-League and EPL matches. Whereas the loss of a portion of EPL fans would not be too costly for Foxtel, the loss of a number of NRL fans would be extremely costly.
That is what makes the proposed new NRL schedule so intriguing. A six o’clock match on a Friday night would be an absolute disaster for crowds, especially if it were to be played in Sydney. However it would likely rate through the roof.
Workers would get home from work, turn the television on and enjoy the football. Alternatively they would go for post-work drinks and watch the game from a pub. Either way there is a large chance a lot of rugby league fans would be watching this match.
Foxtel needs to give sporting fans a reason to keep their subscription. Losing the EPL rights gives fans a reason to cancel their subscription. Losing the rights to a Saturday night NRL game also gives fans a reason to cancel.
That is why Foxtel is so desperate to keep exclusive coverage of this match, which was sold to Channel Nine as part of the company’s free-to-air deal with the NRL. Foxtel is reportedly willing to pay $15 million a year for exclusive rights to this match.
At face value this is a huge fee to pay, but in reality it is not so large. $15 million equates to around 25,000 paying customers. If purchasing exclusive rights to the Saturday night match prevents 25,000 customers from cancelling their subscription, Foxtel will finish ahead.
Roy Masters is reporting that Channel Nine will demand $40m a yearfor the Saturday night match. This is a significant increase on Fox Sports offer and it will be intriguing to see what Foxtel ultimately pays for the rights to broadcast this match, if they do end up purchasing the rights.
It’s always fascinating watching media rights agreements pan out. Inevitably there are winners and losers and this situation is no different. Not only have football fans been split into groups of winners and losers, fans of rugby league will also become winners and losers. Ultimately whether you are a winner or a loser depends on how you prefer to watch a game; in person, on free-to-air TV or pay-TV.
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