Why isn't rugby shown live on Free To Air TV?

I have played and watched Rugby all my life.... Our state team plays tonight and we cannot view the game... That is plain and simple elitest and for those of us who love rugby cannot watch the game.... Why? How do you expand a game like Aussie rules and soccer who have free to air.... You guys have absolutely o idea.

My family agrees

A big YES for ALL AUSTRALIAN including LADIES sport to be free to air. I live south of PERTH and can, on any day watch american grid iron - base ball WHY and WHO WANTS TO watch anything american ,when we live in the best country in the world. ALL AUSTRALIAN sports people , all codes,should have the same opportunities,be treated the same,have the same television coverage. If Rugby League (Melbourne Storm) can succeed in Victoria ,a AFL dominated state,then so can RUGBY UNION or any other sport incl LADIES, have a larger support and fan base if given equal free to air coverage. As AUSTRALIANS we should give ALL AUSIE sports a fair go.

I listened to it on the ABC. Was a very good call of the game.

I made the mistake of watching Seven's broadcast of the Wallabies-Boks game on Saturday night! NEVER AGAIN!! Among their many sins (and we include the commentators in this) was: a) lack of a halftime report b) lack of a halftime! c) advertising overload! d) Dan Cowley's beautifully time comment about how Saia Faingiaia never takes a step backward even as we watch, in slow motion, Saia being thrown (not driven but THROWN) to the back of a breakdown. e) The commentator's reluctance to be more critical (ie Rocky Elsom pops up on the wing and attempts a chip kick which fails yet the commentators joke about it instead of asking why the big man was on the wing, why did he try a kick and what were the wingers doing??)

Kovana You didn't put this on your post about NZ TV Ratings for last Saturday: Most watched on SKY Sport 2 1.NRL: 95,260 (7:35pm - 9:25pm) 2.NRL Under 20: 61,370 (5:15pm - 6:55pm) 3.NRL Pre Game: 43,350 (6:55pm - 7:35pm) 4.The Open Championship: 23,070 (9:30pm - 2:00am)

Here are the NZ TV Ratings for the 3N match.. Shown at 2 different times "Intl Rugby Tri Nations: 511,880 (SKY Sport 1, 7:35pm - 9:15pm) NZ vs SA Intl Rugby Tri Nations: 345,430 (PRIME, 8:35pm - 11:00pm) NZ vs SA" Total of = 857310 The Warriors vs Storm Match played at the same time. "NRL: 91,430 (11:05pm - 12:55am) " http://www.throng.co.nz/ratings/tv-ratings-17-july-2010

The issue is larger than just TV. Rugby fans need to flex their muscle with all supporters or supposed supporters of rugby. So, buy some Tooheys beer, becuase they sponsor Shute Shield. etc etc. With the TV stations, rugby fans need to watch the rugby games........................................ Currently, they dont!!!!!!! So, whether you really want to or not, do!!!!!!! AND then things will change. And of course, there is the internet. the FTA stations are going to become irrelevant as people realise that you can watch TV on the internet and Aunty is leading the way.................

Channel 7 took over the broadcasting of Sydney Rugby for a while some decades ago, going all Hollywood with a Doug Parkinson song written for the show. After showing it live for a while they took a typical Channel 7 approach and "delay telecast" it, gradually finishing up with the game at about midnight. Rex Mossop roasted channel 7's programming boss Glen Kinging on air for this approach.

True. But the Shute shield on a Sunday arvo is hardly going to pull on a raft of new supporters. I was referring to s14/s15 coverage. I think the FTA tests would be more popular if there was a bigger base of ppl who have been exposed to s14/s15 rugby. This is especially so given the new national conference system in the s15. We will now have QLD vs ACT vs NSW vs WA etc. Lots of state rivalry stuff the media loves to push in the state of origin clashes.

Well since it was a 3N game held in New Zealand that didnt involve an Aussie side. Those stats aint too surprising Trying to look for the NZ TV ratings for the 3N and Warriors match But i guess it wont come out till tomorrow. As soon as it comes out, i will post it. I do however have the TV ratings for last weeks 3N match. "Intl Rugby Tri Nations: 475,460 (SKY Sport 1, 7:35pm - 9:15pm) NZ vs SA" "Match Attd= 30'000" http://www.scrum.com/trinations2010/rugby/story/119313.html http://www.throng.co.nz/ratings/tv-ratings-10-july-2010 The closest Warriors home game was on 4 July 2010, 4:00pm "NRL: 210,280 (4:00pm - 5:45pm) Warriors vs Eels" "Match Attd= 9,912" http://www.throng.co.nz/ratings/tv-ratings-4-july-2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_NRL_season_results The only stats for the Trinations i got for this last weekend were match attd "Warriors vs Storm = 13,118" Mind you, i saw the TV,... I think it was MUCH smaller then that "NZ vs SA= 36'000"

Here's something of a surprise with regard to the Australian Pay TV Ratings for the week just ended. The Warriors v Storm game which went head -to-head with the All Blacks v Springboks Nations' Test got 224K whereas the union got 124K. http://assets.astra.org.au.s3.amazonaws.com/929753db08e83390d66e55dc408c3883/ASTRA%20Ratings201000711-1.pdf

If anyone is interested here are the Melbourne FTA TV Ratings for RU Tests played so far this year: http://www.talkingfooty.com/tv_ratings_2010.php (down the bottom of the page) (in000s) Fiji 14 England12 England 17 Ireland 29 Although the games were screened around midnight the ratings still seem to be paltry. I can't imagine any Melbourne TV Channel hurrying to screen these games in prime time. The previous years Bledisloe & Tri Nations' Tests averaged about 30,000. http://www.talkingfooty.com/tv_ratings_2009.php

Doesn't Channel 7 show the international games live? Channel 2 still broadcasts the Shute Shield Match of the day in Sydney. Isn't there a competition in Melbourne? I know Eltham has a Rugby club.

Perhaps the current numbers of ppl watching rugby on FTA shouldn't determine ARUs approach. Currently, I assume Foxtel is offering them more money than any of the FTA networks will. In the short-term, this nets more cash in the hand for the ARU. I reckon that moving to FTA, accepting lower returns in the short-term would gain a lot more exposure for rugby, resulting in more followers that would lead to more interest from sponsors and advertisers - ergo more cash for the ARU. This cash flow would be much more sustainable than the current arrangements. I suspect through, that dodgy rules and opaque refereeing around the ruck and perpetual resetting of the scrum would limit the success of this strategy.

The only way to get kids as stated to watch and want to be involved in or with a code,is have it on FTA TV at decent hours.That applies to all sports.However there are no guarantees this will actually solve the problem as AFL is finding in Sydney with exposure for many years on FTA with little impact in NSW as an example.It was getting somewhere when Tony Lockett was around but now they have no standout personality ,and having Folau in GWS will have a novelty factor but again on FTA will not ensure a continual big following. The notion that the media designates players as superstars is overplayed.Hayne ,Lockyer,ThurstonSlater,Cronk.Inglis,Marshall and now Josh Dugan are earning that tag by their extra special performances.You just need eyeballs to answer that description not any media organistation. I recommend the Penrith v Parramatta game last night be shown as an example of why a person is called a superstar(don't like the word,but extra special is more apt).I cite the game as being one of the reasons the game rates on FTA. As far as ru goes for the Wallabies and the S14 sides in this country,there are no players that stand out like the proverbial except perhaps Cooper that encourage viewers en masse to want to watch.If you had a Campese or a group of Ellas the Wallaby ratings would be far higher and the game would have a better chance of attracting FTA regularly. Switching back and forth between the warriors v Storm and Boks v ABs < i noted the Blacks play the game the way both rugby''s should be played,and the Warriors are doing likewise.

What are you on about?

So many boring games on that list. ALso noticed there is no NRL or AFL on that list.. :(

Damo "Why does SBS slavishly serve up English soccer games ad nauseum whilst ignoring European rugby " If only...which SBS channel do you watch to get English Sokkah? Think you've mixed up pay TV (Foxsports). European Rugby? You mean French Rugby...not too much else really.Yeah its a niche sport in some other Euro countries. "Rugby is the next most popular ‘world’ game"...says who? Heard of Basketball? Cricket? Baseball? Gee even Handball is more popular in most of Europe. Dont see any Rugby on this list; http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2010/01/31/the-20-best-watched-events-of-2009-football-nfl-f1-and-badminton-310105/ Rugby is largely a Commonwealth game trying to spread its wings. Anyone from outside the Commonwealth ever won the Rugby WC? Rugby can be a good game but you need to have a better understanding of its place in the wider world of sport and forget the exaggeration. The last Rugby WC final had an average world wide audience of 33 million (reach of 64 million-people who saw some of the game). Rugby is an international game yes but there are other sports more popular around the world (ie more participants, more tv viewers, more spectators).

Oh and are not South African and NZ born Australians part of SBS immigrant audience? Why cannot SBS screen the non-Aussie Tri-nations matches out of its public funded obligation to immigrant audiences?