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With the free-to-air rights for the National Rugby League’s next television deal announced, the Nine Network faces a huge test.
The NRL have regained full control from the broadcasters in scheduling, prompting questions as to whether we can finally see games showcasing teams in their local markets outside of NSW and Queensland.
People from Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory have long found it hard to watch the NRL live on free-to-air television. The new deal restores hope of the best rugby league games being shown in these markets.
Under the new deal, Nine will show live games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening, and Sunday afternoon. Three games will be played each on Saturday and Sunday, meaning Nine could create a flexible broadcast on these days to suit interstate viewers.
For example, if the Melbourne Storm are playing on Saturday night, that probably does not suit Nine’s timeslot for Sydney and Brisbane, but they should still broadcast the match into Victoria. The same principle applies for other teams such as the Canberra Raiders, North Queensland Cowboys, Gold Coast Titans and Newcastle Knights.
Each region would still receive four high-quality games while being able to watch their local team live as one of these matches each week.
If the West Coast Pirates are included, this can be applied to the Western Australia market. However if expansion does not occur then Nine should still make every effort to show games live into states and territories without NRL content on the main channel.
If the game is exposed to new markets, the NRL will attract new fans with the potential for new franchises in Adelaide and Perth in addition to a second Brisbane side, Central Queensland, Central Coast and southern New Zealand franchise.
David Smith and David Gyngell need to work together to ensure that everybody in Australia is given the opportunity to watch the greatest game of all, including every match from their local team, without having to pay for the premium service that is Foxtel.
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