its not misleading, get over it.

Too right birdie! Why not the whole stack – agree!

Yes, and that loss effect would be felt across their entire network

Beyond the propaganda they spew forth I dont think anyone seriously thinks they won’t maybe double the money currently paid – its just whats exchanged for it and getting to the point where both are happy It’s 220 out of some 700ish million each year for that nrl makes, in order to double it. I wouldn’t bet against seeing something more like 250-260. The nrl props up an entire pay TV platform. The pet. The real preference, that no one who knows the media took seriously

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News Ltd know they are screwed without NRL programming on their pay TV platform. They know with Dave Smith in control at NRL there is a chance they may lose NRL programming.

This is why there is a coordinated attack by News Ltd paid journalists. They want a change in leadership at the NRL. They want a leader who is able to be controlled, who will give up NRL rights for a song, a new Gallop.

Don’t believe a word of their lies.

It should be near the afl’s 266m a year. I am done with news after this apart from nrl games, even theri nrl shows are simply shows made for “them” and not us.

Great article.

I wont give my long prose, you people do not believe me when I do. I never mentioned how the sport would need to take this to a stalemate, did I? Thats because no one outside the commission would want such a battle if they had to prepare for it. Yet they have prepared and none of this is unexpected.

So here it is. We are here. We need steely resolve, do not melt now I reckon. Smiths a free thinker, so am I. I would have orchestrated this very same thing; and today they said we should have the former AFL CEO – I think he would have done the same thing as well. They paint Smith as a single person doing the rounds – that he acts alone – he has to run all this stuff past the commission and they have to sign off on it. channel 9 phoned fox and told them, and there were literally dozens of meetings and presentations. It was known.

Did I not say tv revenue would be going up and up and up in my article; was I not correct about the last deal? Have I not been pushing expansion, and have I not been saying more FTA?

So nrl makes about 700 or so for fox each year. Thats a lot of moolah. Smith has done deals that make these aussie sports deals look like peanuts.

News limited are going mental. This is only a good thing. It means they are very bothered. Do not worry about people’s gold fish brains. And news will be irrelevant in the future – for example because of such sites like this.

Dave Smith said 2 things you probably do not remember:

1 No one will go backwards in this deal
2. Its worth at least 2 billion, maybe more.

Both as good as done.
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Forget all the news stuff. The price fetched will be around 1-2-1.5 billion to my mind; it could even be more. Do not believe Ruperts words, no one did except the gullible. You see, much has happened to arrive here. There’s a very good reason ch9 said they were going it alone. Maybe you can work it beyond the surface-things like losing top 4 games and certain time slots. Its like this: 47 of the top 100 shows. With simulcasting, that will jump back up to 70-80.

You forget how big the sport is. Much dormant or latent support exists. Origin time is when it all comes out and nothing is close to it.

They will undoubtedly simulcast matches, and it will most likely be 9 matches with expansion. Thusdays and Fridays will be the new Mondays.

This whole thing is truly Orange is the new black.

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This is a part of my rugby league everywhere view.

Only in rugby league would a 4-games-live FTA deal be seen as negative. FTA tv is so very highly sought after, all codes would love it but so few are able to get it – it should be exploited for mutual gain. Control of schedule, advanced payment, non exclusive tie -in with Stan, there is nothing not to like; plus its a better deal than the AFL FTA deal.

Stop comparing yourselves to AFL.

Even if they did not sell to fox, they’d be ahead since they have more content to sell. But the truth is, its almost certain that fox will get the rights – and the anger? No status quo, sure, but they also realize they can’t leverage a partner, they need nrl more than the nrl needs them, and they simply HAVE to have it. There can be no excuses.

By the time you add in 1.2-1.5 billion you have a game that is worth some 2.0 billion – 2.4, over 5 years. Why? Because this is how much your sport is worth. 2 years is a long time not to blink, and nothing has really changed, its just all spooked fox real bad. People want seamless and lazyness means they dont want to goto a new thing if they dont have to.

And the price of this? A few months of fox whinging.

When I do things, I usually try to accomplish at least 3 things – you have to if you are to keep up on a landscape that is walked by a conglomerate. What this deal will do is reach the fans more.

And its come at a time when the new stadia deal in sydney (and townsville) are going ahead over 10 years. Coupled with more fans, wider reach, clubs will be able to get more sponsors. Foxtel only ever did things for itself for money, but now the NRL is doing things for itself for the fans.

If I have ever made you see how good the game is, then I am glad. Nothing I ever wrote on here was without purpose. The stalemate has been brought about, and there can be only one winner. Fox will not risk a $700m P.A product like rugby league going somewhere else and its subscriber base melt away (around 500,000 who get fox for RL mainly). On the flip side, the NRL has the ammunition and flexibility to create a deal that will offer value to them. Fox may be nasty by trying to pressure the NRL but they need value too.

Chalk this up to the commission – anyone such as them would have done this. The NRL is in the far better position, and you need to trust in the sport. This will probably be the last fox deal ever. Fox needs to heed its own actions and advice and go hard to nut out an agreement.

Whats done is done, and it makes me proud actually to see RL do this. Everyone will make a lot more money this way. But nerves are understandable. If you borrow a little more confidence you will have a better disposition over it too. At the end of the day the only things that matter is not the media – thats just for show – its the negotiating table, both parties desire and their creativity levels for gaps, and pure facts. These deals have so much process involved in them, and with the fans being given priority all over – no one can really mess this up, both sides.

This sport will be in front after/within 10 years in spirit, and then by 2030 this will be seen as the turning point. When have I been wrong in my overall game theory.

It’s just you… I’m happy foo’!!

Remember when I said they’d go up and up and up. Well maybe Patrick said that headline but I wrote the thing. I am legion.

That’s TWO rights deals now. Really enjoy your stuff cross coder.

Not 2020, lol – instead….2050.

Things are more linked than people may dare to think. The crowds, over such a long time, have added a further % increase on top of AFL clubs.

But look, crowds get shaven all the time – 4,000 across melbourne last year, its not the apples to apples, but I think it matters not these comparisons.

Just think, well, I think of it like this — that by 2050 RL will have swollen up and come over the top of other sports by a long margin. No one can feel or see it? Crosscoder mentions it nearly every day – plus dozens of others — that the game is chomping at the bit to be bigger. Not on the map, bigger – but all over. There’s a lot more growth from the sport to come.

Thats why I said it will come right over the top of other sports by 2050. Of all the games here domestically, NRL has the largest potential. Its finely balanced, domestic, state and national.

With nothing but rags the sport kept pace with AFL, even expanded into melbourne. I dont think people are making the comparisons properly, and of course the furby of “2020” is a bad one. Its more like 2050.

I call it “The Rugby League Century”. Get ready to stand in its shadow. Oh, that will rile some up.
But pretty much the truth. Though of course, dont let this stand to mean that you can’t enjoy your sports. I think the next century will also be a far more sporting-tolerant one.

Good read. The entire thing is ridiculous nonsense coming from a select few, and you’d have to think someone like kent would lap it up as it would probably be personal satisfaction to see it happen.

If they ever did this they would be dimming the lights on the rugby league world and before long they would blink out completely. I dont believe it will happen, and I think whats being done in club land is petty; their antics bore me.

Irrespective of the above, I think the NRL should stage something, they should scrap several sydney teams in the east primarily, then offer one licence. This could get the clubs onside with the masses. It would be their only outlet for tradition, and several clubs would be supporting this ‘New Conglomerate’. In this way the fans can see what they have lost=appreciation/media coverage/angst/hope, can rationalize sydney a bit, and get a great new sydney team mixed in with the old ones. The cut teams would be roosters, cronulla, Manly, st george – you’d use st george jersey and the team would predominantly play on sunday in the afternoon.

So its retro-traditional-modern. It should be RL-fan catnip if its impetus is brought about in just the right way; something parrallel and greater – its not murder of clubs, its just a big chrome coating for their joint entity.

Maybe…..but sydney needs a lot of work, and its not melbourne – if the afl situation had to happen today instead of in the 1980s/90s, they would not be able to do it due to costs. This could be sydney’s best chance at elite club level. Bring it back to 5 teams.

well said, its pathetic, and Smith is not a villian. Alex could be milking it now for all its worth – instead I probably see it all as everyone involved being exploited to gain nine some viewers.

The 60 Minutes name is at its lowest point too.

Stalin was that man?

Seriously? This is worse than 60 minutes

Wayne Lovell said it best. Its tiresome coming on here to the same brain dead issues. Whingers. The schedule is fine. Just some players want to do less for more in the wrong way – the way that don’t make you money

I think rob9 had the best solution.

Maybe when the NRL redo liscences they can ask for joint ones at some stage. The next agreement’s will be more sophisticated

keep up your good work too

hehe, no…….

but i DID enjoy what he wrote 😛

My naive, gullible, cute little munchkins….. allow me….

Get a job JC.

I dont mind this attempt to do something about the problem. Im not sure anything will work however. Its history and tradition.

I would do a many pronged attack on this issue. Cut the roosters. Honestly they offer little.

Also geography means squat. These days if the NRL can penetrate melbourne/perth, it can penetrate areas of sydney without elite teams.

One would not need north south east west, just a club based round there. Natural attrition, knocking a rooster on the head.

During origin only 30,000 people across 6 teams showed up. Thats dire. 5,000 fans each in a city of 4 million!?

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So, rip the bandaid of the roosters off. Why do we discuss this, its too much work for thought. Let the NRL sort it out. Cronulla is another one.

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face it, sydney is “lame”. But the core teams would be bulldogs, souths, st george/Penrith, Parramatta – then Penrith/St George on the next down. And maybe Manly on the next down.

What to do with those on the next-down? Semi-move them. Manly to do the central coast run, and St George play most games out of illawarra. Just sneak it upon them. haha for a more permanent move in 10 years time.

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The logic? lol. sweet logic. So, bearing in mind geography is increasingly irrelevant, if a crowd turns up for parra at ANZ, and a crowd turns up for bulldogs at ANZ, there is little difference. There’s more ways to cover a city these days than there were in the past – you don’t need an elite team presence in the area, when the NRL can have systems in place. Sure, an elite team is more visible – thats why the NRL/clubs are a team themselves.

Good stuff JC, they need to keep origin largely as it is, and build around it.

Why change it? Like you say there are just too many keyboard warriors out for blood. What I would be doing is replicating Origin except with a mid year tests window. For 1 out of 3 origin rounds I would use it for GB v NZ test, and then the winner of that would play Australia later in the year. We have ANZAC NRL so I do not think we need an anzac test. Then later in the year, you have the AUS V NZ test on MID WEEK! Yes! MID WEEK!

What makes origin work is mid week, mid-year. We need to be playing at least 2 test matches mid year (1 oz v nz and 2 GB V NZ) for now.

The NRL season will be reduced anyway, and roster management made easier with a salary cap and lower tier re-structure, all in good time.

But I agree, too many keyboard warriors. Then, one will need to factor in a world club challenge into the calendar and end of season test matches (eg Four Nations).

We need to move down the road of Origin and Test football while balancing club. If there are only 20 NRL rounds, or 22, you have more of a chance of putting a couple of those on stand a lone weekends (but not all).

I am of the opinion that in time there will be less whining with all the changes. The NRL is probably too important atm in relation to the bigger-stage games. When those games happen, they need to take precedence.

I also think knock out finals would be a good thing – it takes away an extra two games while delivering more immediacy. I am of the opinion that we should accept less money to make a better year/structure. But not at the expense of changing things if it means a stand alone weekend has people watching other sports instead. So in my outline there may be 5 weekends of interference (3 origins and 2 test rounds — tests on thursday nights perhaps or Friday) but we won’t be stopping the NRL for that.

They can elevate other things. For 3 rounds I am sure enough can be mustered up thats not NRL club football to have people watch. The clubs think they are rugby league. Its a bit silly imho.

My view. And we know how right I am. Almost exclusively. Its probably over for Union, its never stood up against league when its all unfettered and unhindered. Even so…..rugby is a brand, its popular, and its unchanged, and its a good contest often, but not always. League is at a point where its got its own brand and as such ‘way’. Solidified.

So regarding that: I dont like it when I pick up a product (made in Asia) and its got an extra letter added to make it look like the ‘real deal’ product from a country like Germany.

No one does. It could be that asian factory pumps them out as good as the German one. But this is branding. Situations this happens – audio equipment from cords to headphones, to speaker systems, cars.

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League did not come from Union as such. The two rugby’s share a common ancestor instead. Fine – that ancestor’s name has been tarnished. Lets get away from it as far as is sensible.

I think they should change the name to NRL Aus, NRL NZ, NRL GB. And have the World NRL.

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Its not perfect. But branding is branding. It will still be ‘RL.’ You just will gloss over what the RL means.

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Next thing. ‘Aussie’ is cute. It makes people stand up and go ‘yeah – those aussies….’ Its a foot-in. The NRL has moved rugby league forward more than anything else over time. Let rugby have its base in Europe – let NRL have its base in the Asia-Pacific.

Our road is a new road – time and time again a sport has taken on the world from europe mainly, and this is not a conquest thing we are on about – this is a survive on the same level thing – so it may be our sport will need 2 power bases, one in europe, but the main one in the asia pacific or at least take its new name from there.

***********

I have zero problem with the NRL brand. Its the pinnacle of ‘rugby’. NRL. Everyone knows and understands that.

**********

The world body should adopt the use of the brand “NRL”. The RFL can in time become that, or they can just change to it already – but in the least they would play under the higher umbrella of a world body called World NRL. Or World RL.

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We probably should make it happen. One culture. One brand, one mindset, one direction: giving purpose and meaning, and enthusiasm collectively.

lol

The author leaves his real position hidden and confounds us.

Listen to you lot, though…. Ok then. Go back to your one camera angle at a distance with no zooming. Such a camera-angle will be determined by the height and size of the stand only, no preferential positions. There would be one commentator, almost zero replays, no side line commentators, no crowd shots. There would be a white outline score box in the corner (at most) but perhaps it would just appear/reappear after any score change. The commentators would stick to simply saying players names and keeping us abreast with the general play. Little insight, and no dawdling away from rugby league topics.

You want that? YOU DO!…..said. no. one. ever…

….you don’t. The author was trying to tell us something I think….

There’s a reason they don’t do that – its because we’ve all sat through thousands of hours of this stuff over the years, decades, since the 60s and by the matches end (over time) we became bored.

If anything people need to take in more live sport. Live action is way better than any commentated actions any day.

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The coverage needs to be pulled back though and focused a bit better imo. But its not dire.

Well said, Steve.

I’d like to point out I had already come up with a [more perfect] perfect season, that included pre season international club>origin-period> then after season club games. You guys can all check it out in my history. Its no different in some ways to others, and I do like your proposal so much, I think they should look into it.

Its always nice when different things line up like that. I think people would really enjoy it once they saw such a thing play out pre/mid/end season, multi-layered competitions; it’d need to be done right and I think they’d have an excellent chance in doing that

— Of course, its all helped greatly when people take into account that Perth and Melbourne will be bigger rugby league cities into the future, plus rest of NZ, so they will have more cities to play this expanded league structure in….and they will be shortening the NRL rounds a bit, I’d say, helping that as well.

****** —- If they can spread more content out away from sydney and brisbane (inc qld/nsw perhaps), they will get good crowds over time. And that is what many people fail to see, in tandem with reducing NRL rounds. *****

Plenty of room for Origin and tests, plus world club, ect.

We can do this season schedule a lot better I think. Also in my proposal were knockout finals, and the league winners being slightly different. Of all those ideas I liked knock out finals the best. As well as more immersive competitions over the season. Knockout finals because we can’t even sell out the ones we have now plus other reasons.

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I think that both Origin and tests can be popular all at once. I do not buy this whole one can thrive at the expense of another. It won’t be too many more years before we see the big test matches get 2-3million viewers I think.

As a movement Test football is gaining considerable momentum in the modern league world. Its not like origin happens either when test matches are on.

The transition will be subtle, and the effects moreso. We’ll all be engrossed in them so much. There’s room for both.

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Perhaps a magic weekend could world, it would have to be at Perths new stadium, or the melbourne cricket ground or Adelaide oval. Im not a fan of it and I do not see how it can benefit the league here. BUT I remain unconvinced of my convictions in regards to others; it could be just the thing the people of adelaide or perth may desire.

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Im all for the season structure evolving. Pretty sure Origin will become separate, and another package would be world club championship. We need to work both of those. We need to make the calendar more inclusive of the world of league, and less NRL. As to that end the stars are aligning. All the work behind the scenes – for example, allowing more flexibility in squads and levels, and rotation, all the things that help facilitate are more dynamic and diverse, even focused competition, is happening.

The big problem with the sport is some fans think its broken. Its always been a work in progress. I’d have to say within 10 years the sport will be miles ahead of where it is now. Its probably ascending to the next level right now, or this year has busted through it. Come 2017 onward, thats when I will be measuring the sports goodness.

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I imagine a time when rugby league will have a 2-pronged weapon to draw in the wider community – origin and tests. Its not that far away.

For nearly 20 years this organization has been accumulating filth. Its only the US part thats been swooped upon through a now old and tiring (and increasingly lax in his hiding) blazer.

Sepp will probably get back in, the fifa vote is nothing more than an exchange for patronage and winks of favors to be fulfilled.

Thats the only reason Sepp is still there.

However, the entire organization is now undergoing change. This has effected the entire sport, its not just “fifa”, this has affected the entire sport all the way down the ground.

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Lets make one thing clear though — Sepp is responsible for little of Fifa’s success over the years (however, some, of course, though most of that in the earlier years of his tenure), though he did grow in experience over time — world football was always headed to be big. It didn’t need Sepp, and if anything he has held the organization back. For instance, the world cup probably should have been held in the states an extra time by now, and once in Australia – and should have been back to England.

In terms of finance fifa was always going to be rich – it didn’t need Sepp….and everyone needs him to go.

Unfortunately, unless there is a vast sea-change before tomorow, he’ll stay on because he is unassailable in the nod/wink/patronage world.

However, during his tenure – I do expect the hierarchy to come crashing down if he does not die before hand. The Americans have busted it open, and he has enemies everywhere.

Could be worse. Could’ve been mangina. Ha

So I have been going over many of the things about this in other places. Reading your article it inspired in me that I could see a time when test matches were as big as origin.

The people across the country will clearly watch rugby league, and therefore tests. Just imagine a time when the passion of origin is seen in a test. Some they cannot, I accept that. But I can. I can see test match audiences at least doubling, and for the final of some four nations tournament at some stage, grabbing 4M viewers. 10 years from now, maybe 15. But I think its coming.

Thats above origin, but origin would still be a decent game, though I hope it never drops to city-country level!

dont worry mate, its absolutely futile this attempt at picking a team. There’s no way they will beat us.

I don’t think they are or will try to favor one competition over another. But with tests potentially being paid for they will be more prominent. I think it won’t end origin at all, but sure the competitions will exist on their merits more easily. Does international football make the domestic leagues suffer? Not really. So the article was great, but the conclusions some are drawing are not correct. Both will be fine for as far as I can see

These articles are fantastic. Great stuff!

So, recently I have tried to put some sense into another stadium thread somewhere else. They had no idea, the poor guys.

At this other place I decided to see, along with my own preference of what I think is a great attendance stadium, what some thought of the stadia I chose. They did not seem to register with them. They picked their own version based on aesthetics alone! lol. Whats the use of a stadium that looks good but is not good to watch in? And whats the use of one that demands you come to the game, yet begs you to stay home – because you get there and remember your creature comforts at home or some such….

Such an obvious distinction to miss when you don’t answer the right questions. I think some new stadia have not answered these questions.

In short, I think its a design problem. Wifi may be important, but its not the focus. I think sometimes what a designer (who is probably the club boss in america) prefers is not what the fans actually want.

Regarding the ‘make it unique’ thing – the NFL has suffered in crowds for making it too like home, and not enough like home, in various places at various points. People will goto stadia if the desire outweighs the price they forgo to stay at home. Its opportunity cost.

Transport – makes a bad stadium automatically better.

A viewers stadium – whatever stadium they get will need to 100% about putting as many seats as close to the field as possible. Won’t be hard at all if its within 50-70,000.

A convenient stadium – it should not have a big screen above the south stand that distracts your view of the game, though it may have one in the center above the half way line; wifi won’t change a damned thing, but short ques will.

Price – maybe it does need a terraced area – lets face it, one of the most popular stadiums in the world has one. Its why football fans here crave such a thing (the terrace with convertible seats). Its needs to be rectangular in shape on the inside too, ala suncorp. Its just not thought of because people are distracted by all the nonsense things.

Solution, they just need suncorp close to transport in sydney somewhere. Maybe a spot or two will have terraced convertible seating for cheap seats. It should have a center-line suspended tv screen. With the remaining money they can pump into corp facilities. Simple. If it has those ingredients, it can’t go wrong.

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The people in the other thread on another site were imbiciles. EVERY comment I read here was sensible and on-point with an IQ of possibly 110 points higher than there. Thankyou.