Broadcast options for Australian Rugby

[Sir Arthur Higgins]

I feel like we are getting closer to a Champions League style comp each day. Waugh made some comments in the Roar article about Rugby Australia losing Crichton (could be from earlier) saying the way we get better is playing more varied teams e.g. South African.

If a champions league comes into play, do Stan retain the rights to stream it because it would likely involve Super teams. Or does that competition hit the open market?

I think this has to be on the cards.
South Africa kind of tied to Europe now tho
Personally I wouldn’t mind they do super rugby like the nfl - back to two conferences (aus and nz) play home
And away in conference and finals and that determines who is in the champions league and the second tier cup the following year. Maybe Japan is in as their star studded rosters would attract crowds and it’s usually exciting rugby. Could even throw a ticket to the super rugby Americas champs.

 

[Slim 293]

Point one - don't believe this, apparently Nine are preparing a giga bid for the NRL and Stan itself isn't going anywhere (assuming the Sports part can be ramped up or down now the infrastructure is there). Hypothetically Optus would also be in the mix. TBH I don't think Rugby Australia have the luxury of thinking two broadcast deals ahead lol

Point two - look no further than pubs. Impossible to get Super on these days in Sydney. Not saying it had or would dominate screens when the other codes are on but just the option of that visibility is so important

I would be flabbergasted if Nine/Stan acquired the full rights to the NRL…

NewsCorp has a massive stake in the game, and they will simply combine their resources with Seven, who are quite keen on Origin, if Nine try to take them on.

 

[Rebel man]

I would be flabbergasted if Nine/Stan acquired the full rights to the NRL…

NewsCorp has a massive stake in the game, and they will simply combine their resources with Seven, who are quite keen on Origin, if Nine try to take them on.

Seven can’t afford it with the money they have tied up in the AFL

 

[Slim 293]

Seven can’t afford it with the money they have tied up in the AFL

Not necessarily, as they’ve either lost or pulled out of the bidding for a number of sporting deals that have now gone to Nine, like the Olympics…

But their current interest in NRL is strictly Origin, but who knows where dealings will go if Nine try to go it alone.

Fox can’t afford to lose it.

 

[Slim 293]

But hey, Lachlan is now in charge…

And the guy is apparently a complete imbecile… so who knows?

 

[Rebel man]

Not necessarily, as they’ve either lost or pulled out of the bidding for a number of sporting deals that have now gone to Nine, like the Olympics…

But their current interest in NRL is strictly Origin, but who knows where dealings will go if Nine try to go it alone.

Fox can’t afford to lose it.

I agree with the second part, while the overall ratings are higher for the AFL the pay tv ratings always seem to be higher for the NRL showing Fox that it’s their most important

 

[half]

What I have heard from an Optus client is everyone is looking to what the Socceroo n Matilda's rate over the next six to eight months as their Paramount contract was only three years.

Meaning they may get both a big increase an more exposure if 7 or 9, grab the rights.

Just means more players in a crowded market

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I think this has to be on the cards.
South Africa kind of tied to Europe now tho
Personally I wouldn’t mind they do super rugby like the nfl - back to two conferences (aus and nz) play home
And away in conference and finals and that determines who is in the champions league and the second tier cup the following year. Maybe Japan is in as their star studded rosters would attract crowds and it’s usually exciting rugby. Could even throw a ticket to the super rugby Americas champs.

I've always wondered what a NFL-esque Super Rugby/URC would look like that spanned hemispheres. Essentially you'd have one based in the Europe/African time zone and another in the Asia-Pacific. The Europe/Africa Division would be the current URC plus two more to bring it to 18 teams. While SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) would merge with 6 Japanese teams to form the Asia-Pacific Division. Each broken into three 6 team divisions. In the Pacific it would be Japan/Aus/NZ. The Europe/Africa division would be split up in the same manner.

Home and away in division for 10 games. And one game against the other 12 teams in your division for 22 games in total. One united table. Top 12 final system to crown a Divisional Champion with the Top 4 having a bye week in the first week of finals while the next 8 play each other with the winners going through to the quarter finals. The Divisional Champions play off against each other to crown an overall Champion. With the final alternating between divisions year on year. All up it would run 28 weeks.

 

[Wallaby Man]

I've always wondered what a NFL-esque Super Rugby/URC would look like that spanned hemispheres. Essentially you'd have one based in the Europe/African time zone and another in the Asia-Pacific. The Europe/Africa Division would be the current URC plus two more to bring it to 18 teams. While SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific) would merge with 6 Japanese teams to form the Asia-Pacific Division. Each broken into three 6 team divisions. In the Pacific it would be Japan/Aus/NZ. The Europe/Africa division would be split up in the same manner.

Home and away in division for 10 games. And one game against the other 12 teams in your division for 22 games in total. One united table. Top 12 final system to crown a Divisional Champion with the Top 4 having a bye week in the first week of finals while the next 8 play each other with the winners going through to the quarter finals. The Divisional Champions play off against each other to crown an overall Champion. With the final alternating between divisions year on year. All up it would run 28 weeks.

Normally like your posts but this is a massive no for me

 

[PhilClinton]

@WorkingClassRugger a 28 week competition with a bunch of games against teams that no one has heard of before?

You okay?

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

@WorkingClassRugger a 28 week competition with a bunch of games against teams that no one has heard of before?

You okay?

Lol. I'm fine. It was just a thought in response to Shiggins 'NFL' comment. That said, it could actually be an interesting option for a Cup competition. Or a World Club Championship.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Normally like your posts but this is a massive no for me

I wasn't suggesting it as an actual option. Shiggins posted about a more NFL like set up and I just posted one way it could be done.

 

[noscrumnolife]

I've always wondered what a NFL-esque Super Rugby/URC would look like that spanned hemispheres. Essentially you'd have one based in the Europe/African time zone and another in the Asia-Pacific. The Europe/Africa Division would be the current URC plus two more to bring it to 18 teams. While SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific) would merge with 6 Japanese teams to form the Asia-Pacific Division. Each broken into three 6 team divisions. In the Pacific it would be Japan/Aus/NZ. The Europe/Africa division would be split up in the same manner.

Home and away in division for 10 games. And one game against the other 12 teams in your division for 22 games in total. One united table. Top 12 final system to crown a Divisional Champion with the Top 4 having a bye week in the first week of finals while the next 8 play each other with the winners going through to the quarter finals. The Divisional Champions play off against each other to crown an overall Champion. With the final alternating between divisions year on year. All up it would run 28 weeks.

One for the long-term future I think. There is so much growth in Club Rugby all over the world. Compare Club Rugby to Soccer, League, NFL, AFL (all sports which have been professional for much much longer). Expansion and growth is what makes those leagues far more successful.

I support a model like this, although think we have to focus for a while on getting ourselves right and the Wallabies humming before we start to properly grow our club game. It's why I don't support an Australian only comp as our first choice for subnational sides. The quality and potential in Pacific/Asian paced club rugby is far greater. We'd be going backwards at a time we want to move forwards.

 

[noscrumnolife]

@WorkingClassRugger a 28 week competition with a bunch of games against teams that no one has heard of before?

You okay?

Wouldn't necessarily be teams no one has heard before. Imagine if our franchises (if successful) had the opportunity to play Toulouse, Tigers, Leinster. That could only be good for Rugby, surely.

 

[molman]

Wouldn't necessarily be teams no one has heard before. Imagine if our franchises (if successful) had the opportunity to play Toulouse, Tigers, Leinster. That could only be good for Rugby, surely.

That's a big 'if'.... if successful against much better funded teams with a record of success?

I suspect we'd have the issue we have now of the Australian public turning off as our struggling franchises fail to win against teams that don't resonate outside the Rugby diehards. Not to mention it would just be an amplification of the current issue of the AU teams not winning anything. Add in poor timezones and well... just no.

A global club cup has some merit, but people ignore the existing issues of the calendar and also the fact that for Rugby, International Rugby is the product that people want to see more of. We do need in time something to give our players the experience of something akin to The European Rugby Champions Cup.

 

[Ignoto]

One of the biggest complaints we had with South Africa being in Super Rugby is, games would be in the dead of night when no-one can watch them.

How does Australian teams playing European teams help strengthen the Australian broadcast deal when it'll mean even less games can be watched in the Australian market at prime time.

 

[molman]

One of the biggest complaints we had with South Africa being in Super Rugby is, games would be in the dead of night when no-one can watch them.

How does Australian teams playing European teams help strengthen the Australian broadcast deal when it'll mean even less games can be watched in the Australian market at prime time.

Hence why we likely in time need an experience akin to the European Cup, but obviously something that serves our needs.

Something with timezones that potentially better align like Japan or a touring model where every other year it's in your timezone might be viable.

I will add that there are shifting trends around viewing habits and the notion of prime time. I'd be curious on the local viewership numbers of a range of non-local, non-primetime sporting products. EPL/Football, Cycling, Tennis, F1... etc.

 

[half]

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The above quote is part of a post I made on the previous page.

The article it came from was a business group looking into the future.

It SCREAMS, and YELLS, rugby issues.

Its a US analysis I agree, however we are a legacy league, and we have an old fan base,.

I have said recently its to late to start a National Rugby Competition, simply because we have let the professional competition slide to far, but more importantly we have let second and third tier competitions slide to an alarming point. Further our junior competitions compared to others is poor.

Meaning, we are not getting enough young fans, and the young fans as the quote says are into things other than legacy leagues.

Rugby in Australia today has passed the cross road, death by a thousand cuts is the road we choose, however without the young replacing the old Rugby is looking into the abyss.

Rugby's survival today needs to develop not a professional domestic competition, more it needs a national junior program aimed at 9 to 18 year olds.

 

[Adam84]

One of the biggest complaints we had with South Africa being in Super Rugby is, games would be in the dead of night when no-one can watch them.

How does Australian teams playing European teams help strengthen the Australian broadcast deal when it'll mean even less games can be watched in the Australian market at prime time.

Yeah, the timezone for viewing was an issue, but the 2 -3 week trip overseas where Australian media companies have few international correspondents meant that the teams dropped off the radar for news and reporting, people would forget the season was still running when their team disappears mid-season to South Africa and Argentina.

 

[Dan54]

Yeah, the timezone for viewing was an issue, but the 2 -3 week trip overseas where Australian media companies have few international correspondents meant that the teams dropped off the radar for news and reporting, people would forget the season was still running when their team disappears mid-season to South Africa and Argentina.

Actually on international comps , it interesting to hear Joseph say at end of Japan's WC campaign that he thinks they should be looking at international club comp ie super, as teams are just struggling with adapting to different styles.
Always hope that there could be something there to answer some probs, with good timezones etc.