Fox Sports has been a great ally to the fortunes of Rugby Australia, but after 25 years they have decided not to put in a live bid for the next broadcast rights. The blame must lie squarely at the feet of Rugby AU.
Unfortunately, CEO Raelene Castle has been left as the scapegoat for a decision that had been signed off by her board.
Channel Ten was the only serious free-to-air network that put their hand up, having history with the sport, so the question must be asked; why Rugby AU did not accept the Fox offer when it was made and before the rights went to tender?
The answer must be that they thought they would get more financially by going to market and they also wanted to open the game to a wider audience – one which they could not penetrate behind the Foxtel paywall.
Reports are that Optus is the only serious bidder left, which has ongoing implications for the game.
Optus Sport has been a success story for those who follow the English Premier League, with subscription growth at 15 per cent for the past six months for a subscriber base of 825,000.
This play by Optus was plagued by technical issues and a backlash from Fox Sports subscribers, who lost their sport, but after a second renewal of the rights, the EPL is clearly working as a business plan.
At $15 a month to watch the sport you follow, over-the-top (OTT) broadcasting is the best deal in sports – and a model that is here to stay.
If Rugby Australia do go with Optus, they will be getting on the cheap and at far less than Fox was willing to pay. With production costs running at $10 million per year, this cost will be built into the rights. The paywall will get higher to jump over as the percentage of rugby watchers prepared to move phone companies or pay to watch the game is arguably a lot smaller than rusted on EPL supporters.
With no Super Rugby FTA coverage, what have Rugby AU gained by leaving Fox and not coming to an agreement with Ten?
From the outside, the potential move to an OTT platform will be a winner for Optus or a failure for rugby and also sets the tone for other sports’ ambitions for building their own networks.
Mark Scarfe
Roar Guru
Rights talks are on hold while we are in the situation. I do believe that Optus put in a low ball offer.
Malotru
Roar Rookie
This armchair critic, completely agrees about a tender process, standard practice after all. But I believe that Foxtel (much as I hate the organisation and the coverage) is the best option, certainly for me, but given the current global situation it is doubtful in my mind that Foxtel will want to touch it. Where we live the NBN is so unreliable we've had to go for wireless, and that outside of midnight to six am is dreadfully under-powered. Faithful I wish I had a solution, but my view is that this state of affairs has been coming for a long time. PS I am also 100% certain that RC didn't make this decision. So all in all I am with you.
Faithful
Roar Rookie
I am 100% sure she didn’t just make this decision on her own. Perhaps you should take your hate glasses off and see the decision with an objective lens – the other option is to stay with Foxtel. Anyone who has any sense of business knows that a tender is part of best practice in any business. What other option or solution can you offer Uncle Eric (other than being an armchair critic)?
Malotru
Roar Rookie
Tell me something I didn't already Faithful. My single point is that RC isn't, or definitely shouldn't be the arbiter of all ARU decisions.
K.F.T.D.
Roar Rookie
Thanks
BT
Roar Rookie
All good mate. Just be careful with the Murdoch media articles. They have history when it comes to bullying negotiations through the media; Rugby League copped it with their negotiations a few years back. Look up an article by the AFR which explains the process quite well (while taking a humorous swipe at the Daily Telegraph’s illiterate editor hiring policies).
Mark Scarfe
Roar Guru
Thanks for your comment but I neither work for the Tele nor have a vested interest. Its my first article and hoping to get better as I do more. Thank you for your feedback.
Mark Scarfe
Roar Guru
Thats fine but we are talking about rugby union and those other options won't have it.
Mark Scarfe
Roar Guru
NEP group are a huge multinational broadcaster company that all stations use for all the tech, cameras, staff etc. They are one option and there are others. If Optus win the bid it would build the approx $10m production costs into the bid offer.
BT
Roar Rookie
I saw the title, I was interested, I was keen to learn. Then I get an article that seems to be written by someone from the Daily Telegraph; off topic, devoid of fact and understanding about bidding processes. Now, I’m also no expert but as far as I understand, the situation is this: The fact is, there have been signing by companies to join in the bidding process which has not yet begun and was extended by a week for parties to get their bids in order. Once it starts, it will be negotiation time. Foxtel, or more to the point, the Murdoch press, have been telling everyone it’s not working and no-one is bidding. That’s because it would be silly to bid before the process and show your hand to the competition who would be able to wait until the process starts and could trump you if they were keen. Foxtel says they will not sign the NDA tables by Rugby Australia. All I can say to this is: we’ll see. Skirting the topic of the article, what if Optus win? Well, for people like me, I’ll be going to Fetch TV. I am one of the lucky recipient of the Labor government’s FTTP NBN. Streaming anything is of no issue to me. I also live in the bush, so Foxtel has been a mainstay for a number of years. But I am young enough to evolve with the times and as far as I can see it, unless something drastic changes, Foxtel is dying. They, or once again the Murdoch press, fought against the NBN because it would disrupt their profitable business model, decided not to evolve, and were disrupted anyway. It seems inevitable that streaming services will take over. So what if Optus win? Well, you’ll get a streaming service for the Rugby, specifically the Rugby, and a game a week on Free-to-Air, as this was one of the commitments from the Rugby Australia board. Is this bad? I cannot tell you, but it will be interesting to see if the subscription base grows for Optus by a substantial margin because if it does, we will be able to link it to the acquisition of Rugby. And that will tell you the value of Rugby.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Yep, I was so frustrated when Foxtel lost the rights to the EPL! :angry:
Cadfael
Roar Guru
It will get worse for Foxtel. Super rugby goes dormant after this weekend (Tahs and Brumbies game on, ags game cancelled). If the coronavirus issues get worse, we could see both the AFL and NRL competitions abandoned.
Jacko
Guest
Chris I understand what you are saying....Kayo has lots more content than optus....But if it loses rugby then it wont have the content I want to watch, so its pointless me having it as I dont watch all the other stuff. A million shows i dont watch for $25 a month is far less value than the one show I do want to watch for $15 a month
Jacko
Guest
Christopher if Kayo does not have the rugby then it makes no difference what else they offer. I have had Fox since it started for the rugby and if they dont have that then I will go elsewhere to get it. Fox is a major rip off but the only place I get my rugby.
Brett McKay
Expert
Respectfully Mark, that's not the way you wrote this article. You start with a base of (incorrect) assumptions, and offer opinions and hypotheticals from there.
Brett McKay
Expert
I'll stand corrected DA, but I believe it was extended to close either midnight Friday or midnight tonight. Either way, this article was written beforehand.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
The same reason they did with NRL and cricket then signed - the less the can procure a sport for, the more money they make.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Why are they playing hardball with rugby then? Yet their ratings for AFL & NRL absolutely smash what super rugby: an exclusive pay TV product, gets. Even with a massive FTA component, AFL & NRL still dominate Foxtel ratings.
Simon
Guest
Despite what this article says, it was actually horrible for the EPL in Aus to go behind Optus. Of the 16 people I was in a fantasy league with up until 2 years ago only 1 still watches the completion. I reckon the majority of their numbers are casual viewers who occasionally click on an article of highlights because it’s jammed down their throat
Faithful
Roar Rookie
Mark, it doesn’t matter what the title of your paragraph is, your first paragraph makes a statement (which is based on what facts?) and an accusation that RA has failed. There is no propositional question in that paragraph. Also, FOXTEL is no ally of Rugby. If they were, wouldn’t Foxtel promote the game? Wouldn’t they support them in their various media channels (Daily Telegraph, Websites etc) Wouldn’t they help it grow? In the last 25 years, all FOXTEL has done with rugby is the opposite. It’s time for change.