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ARL Commission officials will meet rival networks Seven and Ten later this week for talks which the game’s administrators hope will drive the new broadcast deal past the $1 billion mark.
The Commission this week received initial offers from current rights holders Network Nine and Fox Sports, and will head to the open market seeking the best offer.
While reluctant to disclose figures involved with the initial offer – which one report claimed fell well below $1 billion – ARLC chief executive David Gallop dismissed claims the Commission’s financial target had been lowered.
“All I can say is we remain really confident in getting a very good result and nothing that has happened so far changes that,” Gallop said.
“We’ll be having meetings with Channel Seven and Channel Ten later this week. We have done a lot of work to get a clear picture of the game’s value given the results that it produces.
“We go into the next phase really confident about that and, having been through the exclusive stage, we’re keen to move to the next stage.”
Nine and Fox retain first and last bidding rights as part of their current deal with the league, but they would forfeit the right for last shot should either Seven or Ten beat their initial offer by 20 per cent.
Having put in separate bids, Nine and Fox will also put forward a joint bid for the three Commissioners on the broadcast deal sub-committee – chairman John Grant, Jeremy Sutcliffe and Ian Elliot – to consider.
Gallop said there had been no firm decision made on how the broadcast rights would be sold, with suggestions games could be broken up including the possibility of a lucrative State of Origin package.
“We’ve got a number of options and we’re keen to explore the options that maximise the opportunity,” Gallop said.
Gallop also dismissed any concerns over claims sluggish ratings and Pay-TV take-up rates following the AFL’s new broadcast deal could hurt rugby league’s final reward.
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