Foxtel’s financial flop and more fallout from the Israel Folau saga; it’s a week that’s been far from rosy for Raelene Castle.
As the rugby world waited for the independent panel to hand down its punishment to Folau over his “Hell Awaits” social media posts, some dire news was announced on Monday morning by pay TV provider Foxtel, who contribute a big chunk of Rugby Australia’s broadcast revenue via their Fox Sports deals.
In a statement to the ASX, Foxtel’s controlling shareholder News Corp flagged cuts to the broadcaster’s spending on “non-marquee sporting content” due to a beastly financial loss of $417 million in 2018.
Although News Corp didn’t clarify what sports it considers “non-marquee sporting content”, the NRL, AFL and cricket are central to Foxtel’s future financial health, leaving rugby union and soccer as two major sports looking most vulnerable by likely cost-cutting at Fox Sports.
With rugby’s broadcast deals to expire at the end of 2020, negotiations have only recently kicked off on the next cycle of Super Rugby and Wallabies Tests.
The news would’ve been sobering for Rugby Australia boss Castle, who during her tenure has been unable to find ways to spark a stagnant code that is beset by falling crowds and below-par TV ratings.
Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle. (AAP Image/Daniel Munoz)
RA signed a five-year $285 million broadcast contract in 2016. That was a 148 per cent increase on TV revenue from the previous media rights deal of 2011-2015.
Castle and her crew at RA HQ might struggle to replicate their most recent deal, while the bumper increases achieved by other sports seems far-fetched for rugby.
That’s a fiscal pain that will hit RA hard given broadcast revenues are so crucial to any sport’s bottom line these days.
But Castle might struggle to remain in the top job for the TV negotiations if reports regarding Folau’s contract are true.
For someone big on inclusion, it seems Castle and her contracting team neglected to include a key clause about social media manners in Folau’s $4-million deal.
The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday made the claim that in the four-year contract Folau signed on October 10 last year, Rugby Australia had failed – despite the angst that his social media posts had caused a few months earlier – to insert a clause that would make the current saga less grey.
After realising their mistake, Castle apparently met with Folau in London in November, as the Wallabies prepared for their final spring tour Test against England, to try to get him to sign the additional paperwork.
Folau palmed that offer away. And even though there was apparently a handshake agreement between Folau and Castle and with some padding in the form of RA’s code of conduct, it means that the current case is less cut-and-dried than it could’ve been.
That is, if Folau had signed the updated contract, RA would’ve felt much more confident in booting Folau out of the game for his “Hell Awaits” “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters” post.
Israel Folau (Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
The upshot is that the clause oversight might cost Rugby Australia big time – the type of coin that a financially-strained governing body can ill-afford to bleed given times are tough, and probably getting tougher.
“Castle and her executive team, including head of player contracting Nick Taylor, will not escape scrutiny for their contributions to the crisis that has gripped the code since Folau’s April 10 Instagram post condemning gay people to hell,” Georgina Robinson wrote in the SMH.
There’s a chance that RA might have to pay out the full $4 million to Folau, and there’s also the possibility that a settlement could cost a million-plus.
Any seven-figure amount wouldn’t be a good look for an organisation that cut the Western Force from Super Rugby in mid-2017, largely to save money.
Whether Folau is sacked, suspended or fined, Castle might have to face questions over why she failed to ensure the biggest player contract on the books wasn’t more watertight. Handshakes and goodwill unfortunately won’t get the job done.
JollyGreenChemist
Roar Rookie
To answer the question in the headline, I certainly hope not. And I hope she takes Cheika with her.
Kick n Clap
Guest
Go Scomo- The Liberals, a Prime Minister loves the Sharks and good Old Rugby League. Man of the people, not the “G n T brigade”.
Kick n Clap
Guest
International Rugby competitive; When the All Blacks win every time.
Kick n Clap
Guest
Stillmissit, When you live in a “Glasshouse don’t throw stones”? We’ve just found out one of Tah players was slumped drunk ,behind the steering wheel of a car near Ruggar HQ. And what about the Reds player who ambushed and stormed a Public Government building namely Police station a year or two back? We all know that not all young men who play AFL,RL , Cricket and Football in the world are always squeaky clean, but the “Holly than know approach” needs to dropped in RU circles. That’s the game biggest problem. The silly bigoted Elitist values, in fact hinder the game. You guys think your better, but in fact your not!!
amband
Roar Rookie
have you read what he signed?
amband
Roar Rookie
quote " Will Raelene Castle survive the Folau scandal? " Hopefully not, and that goes for the board too. Give the sponsor the flick, get another who has a CEO who keeps out of social issues and politics
Neil Back
Roar Rookie
Mate, now you're arguing against yourself. I made the sole point that you were claiming consequences in the gay community that you had absolutely no basis to make, and furthermore your opinion flew in the face of those that had the right. You completely ignore that, and now you're an expert on drug and domestic abuse instead. You seem not only very opinionated but also confused. Nowhere is that better illustrated than your analysis of faith to an atheist. Faith to a christian has a completely different meaning; most easily described as belief without sufficient evidence, in fact often in the face of contradictory evidence. Or as Hebrews 11:1 might put it " Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith to an atheist is most typically described as 'trust or confidence in a person or thing'. More specifically that means a scientific method that produces repeatable and dependable results. Most importantly it features a peer review system which positively promotes testing and revision, or rejection - something fundamentally absent from religious faith. Pay attention stillmissit ....I can change my mind given new and better evidence. If Jesus Christ or the second coming wandered down my street, I would become a believer. It matters not what evidence you put in front of religious faith, they wave it away. The claim that the atheist and theist share faith in a similar way is a charlatan claim and a deflection at best, the product of a weak mind at worst.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
Read the full R Castle interview here https://www.rugby.com.au/news/2019/05/17/castle-interview No one should comment on Castle until they've read this interview. After doing so myself the only error I can see is that in 2018 RA should have signed Folau to a 1 yr contract - not 4. I don't think that's a sacking offence for Raelene and it was not 100% her decision.
Double Agent
Guest
I find it hard to believe that young gay people are following Folau's instagram account which apparently is dominated by his Assemblies Of God church stuff.
Fat Toad
Roar Rookie
Elsewhere, I asked if anyone at Castle’s ARU had read Machiavelli’s The Prince, as I thought that it provided some obvious lessons about how this mess could have been managed better. Now to move onto the next strategy bible, In The Art of War, Sun Tsu points out that it is important that there is a strong separation of roles between the political and the military. The King must not interfere with tactics and discipline within the military. When the king interferes with the military there are bad results. Castle should have pointed out this to QANTAS and any other sponsors that they are welcome stakeholders, but decisions about how the ARU is run and in particularly player management are solely the purview of the ARU. If the sponsors interfere with player discipline there are bad results. When the players are not all in behind their leaders there are bad results (ten or more years of them now). I do not expect that Castle cut of the heads of any QANTAS concubines, but she could have taught the same lesson. But, if the ARU want sponsors and to be able to pick and choose them, one of the first things they need to do is start to win and regularly, at the moment they would be luck to win a meat tray.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
They jumped ship from him only though.
Dunning Kruger
Roar Rookie
It's at least as likely that the sponsors are looking for a reason to jump ship from a code that is nearly dead in the country. That isn't Falou's doing.
Kashmir Pete
Roar Guru
legal advice may = / = common sense advice
Ralph
Roar Guru
".. no legal position can be constructed by a contract clause" Very melodramatic.
Ralph
Roar Guru
That is not how the law works. Contracts rarely get any shorter, vague or less precise.
Kashmir Pete
Roar Guru
Kiwi But of the parties you (don't?) mention, only Twiggy Forrest has any real money. KP
Kashmir Pete
Roar Guru
Perhaps, that fining Folau $250k, and advising him the same will happen on any similar media controversy surrounding him, is likely to cost him a further $250k, would have been far wiser proposal, for RA to put to its panel, than termination?
Kashmir Pete
Roar Guru
Markus I'd say the 'free speech' brigade on this forum, is rallying to defend entitlements of other Roarers to express diverse views, in face of mindless undisguised hate. That's why word hypocrisy came up regularly early on, before mocking of it... KP
Danny McGowan
Roar Rookie
No Still, where did I say I thought he should be banned from the sport around the world, noone including the Aussie rugby board have said that, he has only had his contract terminated with RA etc, that is not a ban from playing either around the world or here as far as I know, I assume he can still play as an amateur in Aus, and can play professionally anywhere else. If a NZ or French team wanted to pay him they could!!
Ruckin Oaf
Guest
Folau only has to say it was true at the time. Well not if was an inducement to enter into a 4 year contract. It would be interesting to know what was put in writing between the parties before the contract offer.