Breaking: NRL TV rights stay with Nine, Fox Sports in $1 billion deal

Having said that, I would have done things slightly different. I would def have that live saturday game. I would use the fox feed, and show that on FTA....and make it an advertisement for getting foxtel. EXPLAIN MORE below. I would be pinching the ch7 intro/outro score, and scoreboard graphic.....I would be using picture in picture, and getting an app for a tablet that allowed it to be a "viewing companion" (your own picture in picture, plus giving alternate commentary, camera views, replays, highlights on the fly, pre-bookmarked highlights - try, tackle).... They obviously want people to sign up for foxtel, I dont know why they did not just grab the feed of the foxtel game.... ...THEN shove it on ch9 on saturday live. ...INSTEAD of having a foxsports live graphic in the corner, I would have a foxsports on ch9 in the corner. why not. ....I would also make a statement like (if this is even effective) "You are/have been watching a fox sports feed of the game tonight....sign up to fox to get additional features, including the ability to view in HD".... - honestly, guys, I have NO IDEA why they did not do this. It would have been enough to appease the lowest ranked fans, who are being quite vocal about not being able to get fox (but may aspire to), and are crying foul.

Exactly. This is a lose for the game and the fans.

NZ and ditigal rights still to come.

None of them mentioned the AFL Deal but I dont care I like the new deal end of story talk to you next time A Rules

planko, Almost all of your posts mention the AFL or the AFL Deal, so it's a bit rich complaining that "AFL people" are commenting on this story - it's a huge news item and everyone is going to throw their 2 bob in. Ignore the obvious trolls and carry on.

Let me remind you channel 10s bid was apparently for 4 FTA games nationally on prime time and their bid was $200m pa,according to one of today's papers. I don't know Doc Brown from Dr Strangelove,but nowhere did he give a definitive figure. He stated the 3 FTA stations would be bidding strongly and 9 was not past the post.That is exactly what happened. tThe figures quoted $1bn to $1.4bn were quoted by Lek as guidlines.They were in the herald. Everyone took his word as gospel!! Most knew he had a fair idea.he stated the code would get $1bn at least.Please advise where that is incorrect. Furthermore there are still 3 more deals to which he had included ,which are to be negoatiated,Sky NZ and internet and mobile. If anyone wants to call someone a liar or slanting the truth, or play follow the leader,take a look at some of the Big Footy ignorant comments over the year ,about rugby league.Pot and kettle,seem very apt. :dude! One hero on this board,wont mention his name "word is that Fox and 9 bid ATM is $790m". Word from whom,his imagination,big Footy?

Who, from BigFooty claimed to have inside knowledge? Don't aviod the fact that everyone on LU took his word as gospel. He said Channel 10, $1.2-1.4, all 8 games on free-to-air. If he had said- "hey, I'm a random internet poster and I'm only guessing," then it would be a different story. He is a sad little lying man. Poor comparison. Apples with oranges dude.

The people who I mix with certainly do..Thursday nights will be live on FTA,and there is a chance not set in stone, some sunday games could be live. I just wish some people had bothered to get the opportunity to listen to the whole news conference. Yes AR, more money exactly what the code has been crying out for ,and exactly what some AFL people by their comments did not want to happen. One only has to read between the lines of some of their posts,to get the picture.

I follow all sports - and comment on any issues I'm interested in. Of course you're free to do the same.

Do people really count the fixed 20 rounds as a "win"? I mean, it was a disgrace that Ch.9 ever had control of that in the first place. Yes, there will be $ spent on infrastructure etc. But most NRL fans experience the game on tv. It seems that for most fans, they don't have an improved tv deal. No?

I responded to an AFler who brought up the Sharks as going downe the gurgler.If he hasn;t got a clue,he should be reminded so.ATM these guys are swam,ping the NRl threads as soon as teh $1bn news came out.Tad green. Or it may pay you to keep track of his original comments. I am not concerned whether the GWS or Suns have been here for 5 minutes.He knows zilch about the Sharks..

This has been a great blog and highlighted to me a different world where people who for some reason feel the need to come on to this blog from the "AFL" side and attempt to undermine what was a good day for Rugby League. For the first time vested interests within the media did not get a discount on the rights to this our game. Everyone who has followed Rugby League knows what I am talking about. Having just read the AFL annual report from 2011(not cover to cover) I would like to see some changes to way players are paid including a "super" super. I would like to see a significant portion of money over and above a figure to be calculated by someone else but lets say 85k to be invested till retirement. I know it sounds a bit nanny state but brutal honesty is important.Too many players get to the end with nothing. Before anyone arks up now is the time to talk about it.... Before the extra money falls into "general revenue". People do this before they get used to earning the extra money. It is no different to people as they get closer to reitrement getting a pay rise and putting most of it into super. As a rugby player you are close to retirement the moment you are selected into first grade.

Well I would interpret this deal as the day the Super League war has finally been put into the past. News is out of running the game and is merely broadcasting it again. The people have prevailed. It will be great to see Souths run out at last for some big games in September. I hope there's 80,000 there to cheer them on.

For me its a great deal because it sets us up for the future. Its not like we are missing out on RL anyway with the tv games...we just have to put up with the same boofheads....yet hopefully they change their attitudes. This means a helluva lot for the game. No doubt this was the first thing on the commissions list to get right, and I think they have done just that. To be more valuable than the afl hour for hour is remarkable. Plus we have less overheads than them. This makes the future of league bright. So much will change and grow in the life of this tv contract.

But most afl clubs are running at a loss as well. Its not a rose garden over at the afl.

Also, the nrl deal is more valuable hour per hour already, and we don't have to prop up 2 expansion clubs, and we use less players and support staff. I would say the nrl is ahead in this regard.

This will have to change, and I think you will find its on the to do list, with a red pen around it. This is my bug bear, but one thing is for certain. Now it will be easier than ever to make larger crowds a reality. The bricks are falling into place. Big tv deal and money influx into the game was number 1.

I think they will spend it wisely. From what I have heard they have a 10 point plan, and getting this influx of money is step 1 For me, its about this: I know I will still get to watch rugby league. Sure, sometimes the coverage is left wanting (owing largely to certain egos), but I will still see rugby league. Maybe not much has changed, but I would think they will pull the heads in of those who need it. I am not willing to put down 9 so much for their next 5 years. I want to see what they do first. Commentary is throw-away mostly to my mind. I do not place a huge deal of value on it for my experience. Maybe I am tuning it out, because I do shake my head many times. Some things to improve it for me ==== Don't premept decisions so much. Let it unfold. Don't bag the refs so much, mention their performance once maybe, but stop feeding the fire during the coverage. Don't be negative. Don't get stuck in ego wars. Be more supportive of one another. I hate it when gus and co squabble. Its not cute. As you can see, most of my dislike centers on the ego's. As for the footy show, scrap it. Something more like the Game plan, please. I think that show is great. __ I personally think that they will end up with 1.3 billion or a little more. nz rights, naming rights, other internet media/telstra, radio. ___ I am sure they will spend it wisely, build for the future.

The more I read about this deal, the more I'm not liking it. One live FTA game is ridiculous. You can't ignore the value of what the AFL has done with live FTA. The NRL has locked itself behind a paywall out of sight of 60% of households. The old saying "out of sight, out of mind" applies here. The AFL is on all the time over the weekends, where is the NRL? Add on the ground work the AFL has apparently been doing and this has got to hurt eventually. It might take 20 years for it to have an impact at the pointy end, but even so.

Uhhh.. this is so ridiculous, but sorry I couldn't let it pass. How on earth did you come up with that figure? It looks to me on the face of it the AFL deal is worth $50,000,000 a year more, and they had better conditions, how did you get that down to $20,000?