Foxtel was a big player in this new plus billion dollar deal and the AFL wouldn’t have been able to do it without a few very generous companies.
While the NRL and Socceroos take the biggest ratings for Foxtel regularly, the AFL has somehow convinced business leaders in Telstra, Foxtel and Channel Seven that they deserve the most money for TV rights when Australian Rules is known to be a spectator sport and not as popular over broadcast.
The domestic media will say that NRL and football will get their fair share of the TV rights pie when their deals come up for negotiation, but there is only so much money Foxtel and Channel Seven can give out, isn’t there?
Foxtel believe their subscription rates in places like Melbourne will go up when there is a general trend of ditching pay TV for new free-to-air digital television.
The prices of Foxtel are rising due to this new AFL deal and recently the NRL have stated they will ditch Foxtel for free-to-air providers if the company can’t give NRL what it deserves, which is much more than AFL.
This could prove catastrophic for Foxtel if the majority of the country’s population in New South Wales and Queensland ditch their pay TV subscriptions and free-to-air reap the benefits.
Football on the other hand hasn’t been arguing or threatening Foxtel but have been submissive to premature calls for the new A-League television rights to be smaller than the original deal. While the FFA are worrying about this they aren’t focusing on Australian footballs golden egg that is Socceroos games.
Socceroos have produced the highest rating Foxtel program ever and regularly feature in the top 10 or 50 rating programs. It is undeniable that the Socceroos are the most valuable sporting broadcast product in Australia and they deserve one of the biggest deals in comparison to all other sports.
While Foxtel might not be prepared to cough up what is deserved for international football, there is definitely potential for the FFA to ditch pay TV in search of new free-to-air money.
Channel Nine would be likely destination and who knows if a new deal doesn’t just include World Cup qualifiers but all friendlies and qualifying matches? This would kill Foxtel and prove that the FFA have just a bit of power over the company that is denying football its deserved wealth.
When considering the A-League, companies like Foxtel cannot deny that it has grown in popularity and quality and while it doesn’t get particularly big viewership, there is no doubting its potential.
If A-League games moved to free-to-air, shared over a few channels it could seriously increase the competitions popularity and then would prove a further rights deal big money.
Why should football suffer the same fate of Super Rugby, disappearing from the majority population and only left for the most attached rugby fans willing to pay for it.
The FFA need to be smart over a new deal and I would strongly recommend separating Socceroos negotiations to the A-League and trying to secure a high earning long term deal for Socceroos. The A-League deal should be more short term, exposing the free-to-air market and then after a couple of years negotiating something new with a significantly appreciated new deal for an enlightened market.
There is no doubting the A-League’s potential and it already on-sells highlights packages to some 100 countries so it must be somewhat financially beneficial.
The FFA would be wrong to package Socceroos with A-League because Socceroos are just so valuable and can get their own share of revenue which would be undermined if packaged with another asset.
Some say the A-League cannot stand on its own feet and produce a good enough deal but it has already proved that wrong with a long stretch on Foxtel. Maybe when the A-League was starting it was too immature to be sold stand-alone but look at how much it has grown.
Foxtel have become too comfortable with the fact that they will keep A-League rights and that no other broadcaster wants them.
Well I can name two free-to-air channels, (who haven’t wasted their money on AFL rights) that could produce a very high quality joint broadcast product and who’s to say a deal with pay TV other than Foxtel cannot be made? Why not get SBS and Channel Ten involved with Setanta Sports or ESPN?
New free-to-air broadcasting would benefit everyone involved due to huge increases in A-League interest. It’s like we have a nation of A-League fans who don’t know it yet. The A-League engages sports fans across Australia on the national level and not out of Melbourne or Sydney.
Foxtel might continue to deny sports like rugby league and football their deserved revenue streams but the alternatives are looking brighter and brighter as the AFL shows no signs of recouping the ‘giant’ media investment made from Foxtel, Seven and Telstra. There could be a big bidding war for the two highest rating Australian sports and who knows what will result.
Foxtel is definitely in for a reality check, its overwhelming monopoly on sports broadcasting has gone on for far too long.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
GoGWS Rope a dope indeed,there is an operative description there. LOL you have provided zilch supporting evidence, to say there will be no expansion,other than a Gould comment. Again blind assertions by you. I have stated before provided the money from the Tv contracts is there,there will be expansion.The bid teams such as the Bears,Reds,B2 and Wellington would have been told not to continue with the current bid process,if there was absolutely no chance.again nothing is guaranteed 100% in life,not even GWS. Sheesh you know the make up of the I.C.You have no idea how the code will be offered.You have no idea,which stations will be bidding for what. You have no idea of the makeup,of the annual gclub grants from 2013.You obviously ignored the fact the 16 NRL CEOS were in favour of Perth,should expansion happen.They seem to think it will happen.Keep swinging wildly champ,you may hit the mark(sic) one day. http://www.nrl.com/finance-not-an-issue-in-wa-league-bid/tabid/10874/newsid/61795 26/3/11 http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/nrl/perth-based-nrl-team-would-provide-huge-windfall-chairman/story-fn7shzfu-1226028730783 23/4/2011 http://ww.perthnow.com.au/sport/nrl/reds-letter-day-looms-for-wabid/story Lets start on the rights. Today Australian in the Business section by James Cheesell NRL boss warns Foxtel not to take the rights for granted. http://www.the australian.com.au/business/media/nrl-boss-warns-foxtel-not-to-take-rights-for-granted/story-e6frg996-1226059246130 http://www.smh.com.au/action/printArticle?id=2359802 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/nrl-disputes-afl-audience-claim/story-e6frg996-1226025045416 the Australian 29/4 by Brent Read ït's a win for NRL too,says David Gallop. D.T 27/4 :NRL still hopeful of billion dollar TV rights Australian 21/4 :NRL powerbrokers tackle key issues Not one reference to Masters,but of course you are the authority of everything rugby league and I note even Mormonism on another thread.. Oh and it would not do you any harm,seeing you are shooting blanks,to look a the the state of the game report 2010 for the NRL. Do yourself a favour and spend a little time researching the bids, by the likes of the CC Bears and The WA Reds ,you may learn something. You are struggling but I admire your tenacity.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Really!!!!! Judging by the numbers on my side here.I could barely raise a quorum. Judging by the little time I spend on AFL forums , in contrast compared to the numbers of AFLers on the other codes',I am rather bemused. I humbly suggest to you,the hypocrisy is weighted heavily in one direction.One only has to look at the volumes ,that could fill a library ,bagging Masters et al, by you and your band of merry men,to prove my point. When I inhabit AFL forums ,you may have a point.ATM you are grasping at thin air.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Well its not only the Warriors ,but the Broncos and St George,that are also big ticket. I don't need the commentators to tell me how a stadium is filling or is not filled.I have eyeballs that confirmed the size of the Anzac Day crowd. Freebies hardly unique to rl ,ask the Lions/Suns.
Boomshanka
Guest
Shoot the messenger eh GoGWS! Peter Costello touched on the grandstanding and cheerleading in Melbourne Media a few months ago when he wrote about Big men flying into a fury at those who dare question the AFL. "........There are now a large number of people who derive their income from managing players, or reporting on them, who need to stroke the players and administrators to get access. They form a cheer squad of spruikers and boosters. Like any subculture, they defend insiders and turn on those who break the taboo of the group. And it was taboo for me to suggest that football is not quite the civilising agent the industry believes it to be........." http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/big-men-fly-into-a-fury-at-those-who-dare-question-the-afl-20110301-1bd44.html
GoGWS
Roar Guru
What? No credible source, or suggestion of credible source, from the NRL itself on the 18 team issue? No links the article quoting Gallop or anyone from the NRL itself? All you have are blind assertions? Your really didn’t surprise me in that last massive post Crosscoder… but I have to admire your rope-a-dope approach…you keep getting wacked around the head yet you still stand there begging for more…
Boomshanka
Guest
Hypocritical? Careful how you word that one Redb. I've seen many posts where Crosscoder speaks critically of the NRL and administration (when due) as well as stand up for the game when people brought up on one code attack our "brutal" game. I've yet to read anything from yourself that conflicts with the official AFL lines coming out of Melbourne. At times I'd swear you work for the AFL.
Redb
Roar Guru
I hope you've got your tongue firmly planted in your cheek when you accuse others of being part of a cheersquad. Hypocritical Champ!
Boomshanka
Guest
Seven - Eight thousand people is a fair number just "passing by". They obviously enjoyed what they saw as those passers by stayed to the very end. Well and truly demonstrates the level of competence running the game in Melbourne.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
GoGWS Oh please !!!! But you dont know if he is correct'.How do you know ,just because Gould conceded 16 teams is the number,when he has absolutely nothing to do with the decision,by an I.C. not yet announced.You are grasping at straws. And many others within the NRL club admin ,have stated the opposite. Crystall ball in operation? You say nobody thinks the NRL will have 18 teams except me and a few fans.You need to get out and and smell the roses, That is arrant nonsense.Read rl magazines,NRL shows on Fox,comments from the CEOs,bid teams, and that is for starters.That is no iron clad guarantee,but it knocks your silly comment no one except rl fans thinks so".. I have aready spelt out where Gould has been wrong and given examples .He is but one voice against many,and he was expressing a concern the code won't expand.Not that it will DEFINITELY NOT expand. Your arguments come across rather hollow,when the best part of debates, centre on trying to discredit rl jounos and hangers on. Its like saying the earth is falt one minute,but it is not the next. Either a source is reliable or it is not,more so when it is blatantly obvious ,the other code's followers have stated they tell untruths. But dear man,let's suppose Richie is close to the money,he then becomes right ,when you say he is wrong. This Ritchie happens to be employed by the very organisation that will be involved in the bidding process Foxsport .If I happen to employ such a chappie,I would be suggesting to him,please stop trying to push the code's value up,when it is not there in the first place. I refer by repeating a reference to an article in the Australian 21/3/11 by Simon Canning (media wrietr,not a rl journo),which goes into a deep analysis of the FTA and pay TV figures and states"both codes are aiming for multi year deals worth close to $1b"". If that doesn't sink in ,then read on about Shane Matticke of the NR:'s director of strategic projects'There was little understanding of the NRL's dominance of the Pay TV sector in the broader community.It positions us very strongly when you come to think about the next round of media rights". if you want code war drivel,park your body in front of the TV and watch Offsiders,and the crapola that emanates from the m0uths of the AFL cheer squad.Ably led by Caroline Wilson. Or the print media with Wilkson,Sheahan and Smith for starters.Check your own environment first .We know all about cheer leading ,and Wilson is the chief dancer.Why are they correct? You suggest I look over the fence at AFL,well again you are wrong.If you bother to open your peepers,you will note, I of recent times spend little if any of my time on AFL threads,in complete contrast to yourself,who not only appears on Football but rugby league threads, as almost a right of passage and an authority on all sports.. You started the issue with your comments on what the NRL will get on the next Tv deal,no expansion etc.You get a response which goes against your line of thinking.Deal with it. You accuse rl journos of going overboard and slinging it,the irony is delicious,when by the very same token you are doing exactly the same with your rugby league comments,which at times,show little research and understanding of the game,the admin and the fans and the bid teams. Maybe GOGWS looking over the rugby league fence ,would have given you some insight. I think you have been under the hypnotic spell of Sheedy et al.
Jaceman
Guest
OK 12K or 13K but if that includes the Warriors thats their big ticket of the season... The commentators on ANzac Day NRL TV said that there was good crowd - they didnt say it was a sellout - my source says they opened the gates after the start and let passers by in
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Jaceman . If you are talkin Storm's current average ,official as per Big league issue this week:13,174 what's a thousand between friends.
GoGWS
Roar Guru
So if Gould says something correct I can't credit it?!...That's a pretty strange claim to make isn't it?... Even a busted clock get's it right twice a day... they rarely they make a valid point bu on some rare occasions reality intrudes... Gould is quite correct to concede the point about 16 teams for the next TV rights deal for the NRL... of course he does so because he's once again teeing off at the NRL/Gallop but on this occasion he also happens to be correct in what he says.... nobody thinks the NRL will have 18 teams by 2013 except you Crosscoder, and fans like you.... is there an unequivocal statement from the NRL saying there'll be 18 teams by 2013... I'd like to see it... as as for using infromation from artciles by Gould or Masters, or any of the rest.....look the majority of the 'code war' drivel published in Masters/Gould (and others) in Sydney newspapers is blatant cheer leading most of which is utter nonsense - lies wrapped in distortions wrapped in lies.... if you can't see that they specialise fudging the truth even after they lead RL fans down the garden path on the issue of the value of the AFL TV rights deal then I kinda feel sorry for you... trust me you're headed for more disappointment,,,, I read an article yesterday (think it was Ritchie?) where we paraphrases anonomyous sources saying the NRL should go for at least $1.2bn ...this is the sort of garbage we'll see over and over, from RL jopurnalist in the next 6 mths,,, and then poor old Gallop will face the NRL fans/players with the fianlised TV deal that can never hope to reach the unrealistic expectations that have been whipped up by deluded RL journalists..... of course we have a free press (supposedly) but it'd almost be worthwhile for the NRL to get some of these lead RL journos and take them through the drivers of the TV deal......the relentless squealing/moaning than goes on by some sections of the RL media must drive Gallop and the NRL mad....perhaps educating these jRL ournalists is the key, or trying to educate them at least,,,,,. as I said before Crosscoder, if you stop looking over the fence at the AFL you will be a lot happier....it seems you've been sucked into believing the odd little narrative being pushed by some in the RL community....
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@ The Cattery In actual fact, those predictions of $700m for the rights to broadcast an AFL season are right on the money - actually they proved over-optimistic. The FACTS tell us .. If a network wanted to buy the rights to every AFL game then: 1. 5 years ago: the price was $780m (price paid by the Ch 7 & 10 consortium) 2. today: the price is $600m (price paid by FoxSports) (note: this price purchases 12% more product than 5 years ago and today's dollar is worth 16% less than it was 5 years ago) So, the amount of money required to purchase a FULL season of AFL games, has dropped by 41% in real terms. But, the AFL has offset this significant drop in inherent value of the product, by selling the product through more distribution channels.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
GOGWS You refer to Masters and Gould on the occasions, when it suits your argument.The cheer squad from day one, spends many waking hours doing their best to discredit them. You can't have it both ways .Either they are wrong or they are right. What if they happened to be correct 95% of the time.OMG cliff jumping here we come.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
jaceman. LOL Not cross champ,just spelling out the reality.If that doesn't suit others' agendas ,c'set la vie.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
It's certainly true that there is a great disconnect between reality and what many of our Northern cousins think they know about the sporting landscape - we see that every day right here on the Roar. And that is no more apparent than the many who were predicting between $700mill and $800 mill for the AFL TV rights, having bought this story that League ratings were higher than the AFL's.
GoGWS
Roar Guru
I don't believe Gould - some of the things he says are factually incorrect and a lot of his moaning arises because his distorted view of the local sporting landscape...but that's his lookout......I referred to Gould just as an example of a RL lover who has seen the writing on the wall on this issue, unlike yourself... Gould will be moaning for as long as he allows himself to be let down by the gap between what the game of RL is actually capable of delivering and what he fantasises it can deliver....and there is a very large gap.... dreaming big is fine but there is a point at which you become disconnected from reality.... that's where Ritchie, Gould, Masters and various RL ,journalists' find themselves....disconnected from reality... with the AFL they ran around quoting anonymous sources and postulating theories about the AFL deal being worth anywhere between $700m to $900m....and in reality the AFL was worth $1.25bn.... how can you trust this worthless mob of clueless gibberers?...please....
Bondy
Guest
Victorian born and raised - Hallelujah. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIMBxwKzlKs .
Boomshanka
Guest
Sadly, I'm serious. This should have been huge news (as you say). There was nearly 29 000 people there for the game. I'd say 22k were there for the ANZAC ceremony at the start, but the entire western stand filled shortly after. Casts a bit of doubt on the reliability of attendance records in Melbourne doesn't it?
Jaceman
Guest
Cross coder or just plain Cross "I can travel overseas and watch my code" if you go to 15 countries around the world you can AFL or 123 countries if you want Rugby Union. so what. The rest of us will travel to do other things