Ten Network pulls out of AFL TV negotiations

I love for Ten to get one game aleast, Monday Night are a winner on foxtel if MNF was to be on FTA it be a winner also since rivalry games do go Monday nights eg Sharks vs Dragons.

I'm always impressed at how Jeffery Browne (Nine Network Australia Managing Director & AFL legal adviser ) can get away with his massive conflict of interest by hoarding rugby league into Melbourne as often as he does.

Is the aussie domestic 20/20 on fox sports long term? That rates the house down for fox sports, perhaps 10 might bid for that.

If Lachlan Murdoch's goal is to keep sport off Ten so he can hoard it on Foxtel then the rest of the board at Ten are stupid if they allow him to do it. I cannot see the rest of the board sitting by idly and allowing him to weaken Ten for Foxtel's benefit. I'd imagine Ten still has aspirations to acquire some sporting content. They'll probably go after the rugby league and V8 Super Car series. SInce there are some Aussies in the Indy Racing League I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to snatch that too.

Is Ten just banking on Masterchef to help it in the ratings? While 7 and 9 (especially 9) try to win the ratings game with footy

The fact is that the NRL can withold anything and everything, Monday nights, Super Saturday, SOO, tests, WC, Friday nights. The current deal is so anaemic that they can get by with only half of the new deal, FTA rights only or payTV and send anti siphoning to the ABC for a year or two. NRL have a ton of bargaining power because they can survive at their current level fairly easily for a couple of years. Meanwhile Fox will be decimated in NSW and QLD, or Nine will be lost. AFL will be still spending squillions propping half their comp to no real purpose, just so they can puff their chest about how big they are I guess. It is just a matter of the IC having the balls to walk if necessary, then watch Fox and 9 panic and alternative players and media interests lick their chops. If they don't come to the party private owners such as Crowe and TInkler will start bleeding money and be quite prepared to lead an anti News campaign I'm sure. The NRL is an as strong, if not stronger bargaining position than the AFL. They can guarantee a nightmare scenario rather than just promising pie in the sky and mythical subscriptions like the AFL.

Those who can afford it will subscribe with Fox. The ones who can barely afford to foot the bill for a club membership won't be interested. You might be right about Foxtel not getting the uptake it wants. Victorians prefer live attendance over watching the game on TV. It's not like rugby league where fans prefer to watch the game from home.

Because the NRL guys underestimated what the AFL would get (led by masters), they have changed tune now to they wont make any money out of it. Seven bid without Ten so they knew what they were getting themselves in for. Ten wont bid for all NRL because it doesnt have the money, Nine will go ballistic if the NRL breaks up the games package so gallop is in an interesting space. NRL pay-TV subscriptions in the northern states have plateaued and will not be offering an extra game immediately in the next rights package. NRL has high PAY-tv ratings but the AFL is and will catch up. NRL has maximised its ratings by having no Saturday afternoons, no overlap of games, NSW/QLd split on friday night and the FTA/Pay networks gets the say on the scheduling (and St george top of the comp). The attraction for pay TV is the Saturday only offering on Pay Tv which is a slap in the face to the average NRL supporter. The FTAs couldnt possibly bid for 3 saturday games so Fox will take that space. Hence Ten may say that they will bid for friday nights but may be only forcing Nine to the negotiating table to stop them bidding against Nine. Ten want Monday night for packers betting interests so that will be the deal done to stop them bidding...Fox and Ten may simulcast Monday night...

Who knows what Foxtel will do. I will tell you what they wont be able to do this time,negotiate from both sides of the table and not pay true value. There will be a different makeup for starters,an expanded comp,during the period of the next contract.That is now a given,based on Gallop's comments.There will be 3 FTA and Foxtel involved this time,a different set of goal posts to last negotiations. Ch9 will be more desperate than ever to retain the NRL rights,and Foxtel have been told in no uncertain terms by Gallop,not to take the code for granted.Foxtel needs to remember,if they lose a fair swag of slots,they will lose a large number of rl subscribers.Those subbies have been the financial backbone of that media outlet. The Tv deals do not have to be worth more for rugby league.Securing anywhere around the $1b mark,will set the code up for years,provide a massive increase in club grants,a big injection of fiunding for grassroots and a money chest to provide for ä rainy day".

'Commercial corporations don't throw hundreds of millions around for no goood reason...' What world are you living in Cattery, look at the current economic situation of the world based entirely on what you are saying never happens. I'd have to agree with you to some extent though, it isn't hundreds of millions it's more like trillions.

I'm not so sure there will be a major bleed to Fox. Yes, Fox' package improves but the differential between FTA and Fox decreases. Three of Seven's four games will be live; four in some markets. Currently, zero FTA games are live into Victoria; and only in NSW and Qld are any live games guaranteed on FTA. So, in essence, FTA delivery improves more than pay TV broadcasting (particularly if Fox take "dirty" feeds; with Seven's ads included; for FTA/Pay simulcast games as reportedly will be the case). With lower difference between the two delivery systems, even with the Fox product improving, will more people actually be prepared to hand over extra money?

I expect Seven to lose a lot of money from the AFL braodcasting deal. They're going to lose viewers to Foxtel as all games are going to be broadcast live on Fox Sports. Fewer people watching the games on Seven means smaller advertising rates during Seven's coverage. AFL might struggle to secure a major deal in the future. Ten are obviously not interested in handing money over to a product that doesn't rate. Only way I can see Ten taking on the AFL is if they get exclusive free-to-air rights at a low price. Seven and NIne won't allow that to happen. Seven might end up being the only network interested in AFL.

"Ten have opted out of that loss making venture. TV analysts have already predicted seven to lose again." Kerry Packer's wish -- to screw Seven -- is coming true. Pity the AFL is benefitting from it.

But are Foxtel going to broadcast all games live? You cant compare what Foxtel get now with AFL and NRL with ratings and use that to garner what each is worth when the Ygoal-post have shifted substantially. What if the status quo remains with Foxtels arrangement with the NRL? You can't possibly claim they are worth more then.

Good Morning Roarers Beautiful blue sky and 22 degrees in Brisbane today. All we know from this is... Ten Network = No AFL. Ten Network = possibly some NRL, time will tell. The NRL will have Nine/Seven and Telstra but it seems it will be Foxtel that will be the big player. The AFL wouldn't have made $1 billion if not for Foxtel, so Foxtel will need to convince the ARL Commission that they can pay less for the number one sport on Foxtel. The highest ever rating program on Foxtel was a NRL game until that was broken this year - three times - by NRL games.

Sport , you have to love the comradery of it , the joy of your team winning and then a little friend in a T.V .company says with everyones best interests at hand , get out you don't rate here and where not paying another cent, charming .

AC i'm glad someone has pin point the fact that people in NSW and QLD live outside of Sydney and Brisbane. Yours truly lives an hours drive south of Sydney, home of the 2010 premiers. Areas like Wollongong,Newcastle, ACT, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Townsville, Cairns and Central coast. Total all of that population from those areas, its somewhere in the range of 2.5 to 3 million people.

Matt S and AC The NRL will get big bucks for a very similar reason as what I've stated, it will probably be less than what the AFL gets, but there will be daylight to the next sport, NRL average salaries and salary cap will increase significantly, FTAs can mix and match with secondary stations in different states, sports fans all around Australia will win out of it, it's all good.

Thanks "The Cattery" i know FTA is declining. Loomk at what makes a top TV show now compared to 5 years ago. About 500,000 people are missing. But never the less Seven doesnt make a dime out of the AFL other than as you said peiople watching the channel. I am not sure that is really what FTA is all about. You make sense and i see what you are saying. But TEN couldnt do it in the northern states and i cant see SEVEN doing it either. NSW and QLD are very decentralised states people a lot of them living outside Sydney and Brisbane and i think whoever can get a foothold there is doing pretty good. The NRL does very well in those markets and i think TEN can see that. Remember Lachlan Murdoch follows the NRL.

Aware, the super league rights are still a bargain at that price. Hardly an overspend. If you are lucky enough to get channel nine's midnight super league coverage, catch Warrington's 35-28 win over St Helens before a capacity chant laden passionate crowd in a match for the ages to see why Super league is still a bargain for Sky. The Monday game between Wigan v Huddersfield will be equally enthralling.