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Broadcast options for Australian Rugby

Adam84

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
With most sporting contests, you have to care who wins to enjoy watching usually.
I watch NRL games that I don’t really care who wins, but I watch to see how some of the Queensland origin players go, and play fantasy football with mates.

If there were some Wallaby players in kiwi teams and vice versa, I might actually give a crap about watching them
 

liquor box

Greg Davis (50)
I watch NRL games that I don’t really care who wins, but I watch to see how some of the Queensland origin players go, and play fantasy football with mates.

If there were some Wallaby players in kiwi teams and vice versa, I might actually give a crap about watching them
I have never played fantasy football, maybe this is the key, RA and NZRU put together some ridiculously lucrative fantasy competition that all sports fans would want to play and maybe the ratings would come to the sport. Maybe it is an untapped marketing tool, maybe a big cash prize each week and consolation prizes of Bledisloe tickets each round.
 

Adam84

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
I have never played fantasy football, maybe this is the key, Rugby Australia and NZRU put together some ridiculously lucrative fantasy competition that all sports fans would want to play and maybe the ratings would come to the sport. Maybe it is an untapped marketing tool, maybe a big cash prize each week and consolation prizes of Bledisloe tickets each round.
Fantasy Football is the only reason I watch 95% of NRL games, because its a bit of a social tool for playing with, and against mates.

It needs consistency in the way the actual Super Rugby competition is run though, in terms of when teams are named and how the data is provided. Just have a look at how much data is available and presented well on NRL.com compared to any of the Super Rugby sites. Even down to injuries, NRL lists all injuries and estimated return dates, whereas it's a bit of a mystery for many of the Super Rugby teams.

It also works hand in hand with the general exposure of the game though, if there isn't critical mass in the articles and news coverage of the teams, and articles/updates on players injuries, then it's going to make it even more difficult for the casual fan to engage with a fantasy comp.
 
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Jimmy_Crouch

Ken Catchpole (46)
Fantasy, gaming and betting. All avenues to enhance engagement. Simple things like injury lists and naming the teams at the same time have impacts to that. WR (World Rugby) should dump a heap of cash to get a good game out
 

Rugbynutter39

Michael Lynagh (62)
I agree RN, when you think about it who was the journalist, and how bad some of figures were, and how out of date. Then when Hamish was asked he wasn't going to say no, as it's almost exactly what he said when the Super pac series was agreed on, he said then it was for 2 years and maybe look at it again then, it was discussed on the site then. So as you say like a hell of a lot of these things, it starts of as media thing and takes a life of it's own.
After thinking on it if Rugby Australia were going to leak stuff would they do it through Fox, or Nine? Still we will see in a year or two.

Yeh Dan really as you say this was the position going into super rugby pacific and with renegotiations and PE deals basically saying all options on the table which of course is nothing new.

I am on the fence in some ways with either of two options which is a super rugby pacific competition with more open borders policy to secure and grow the footprint. Or a domestic competition (including ideally the drua) with a champions league invoking nz and possibly Japanese sides (and of course MP (Moana Pasifika) and drua).

I don’t believe the current super rugby pacific model is the right model as the best model to secure the future of rugby in oz or the region (Asia PAcific). But I ain’t going to debate these models or bang on about it much more as we all know this has been done to death. Just got to wait and see what happens
.

I think NZRUs and RAs position may increasingly be influenced by the PE investors behind them when this is all in place (Cvc etc). Where will end up I don’t know but be surprised in 5 years If we’re still stuck with same super rugby pacific model currently in place.
 

Dan54

Tim Horan (67)
Actually be interested where PE goes, with South Africa there are reports they want to have a controlling interest in it, or want to appoint their own chairman of board or some such thing. Also reports they are getting a leery of tying money into rugby boards with financial climate like it is.
 

Dan54

Tim Horan (67)
Interesting to hear opinions on Breakdown last night on Super changes etc. Apart from being a bit pissed with Hamish for going to press in week of final (which as I said previously I not convinced he did, andwas a media beat up), the general feeling was it was just a chest beating exercise etc and as Mils Muliana says must make MP (Moana Pasifika) and Drua think great we have joined comp now Aussie want to take it away. JK was very correct in one statement, RA is pissed that NZR get $91 mill from sky, and(it's not all bloody super money anyway,test, NPC, College rugby are also popular here) why aren't they making bigger deal themselves? By the way they all thought the comp should get bedded in and then tweaks to improve it.
I see the point of being a bit pissed off for both MP (Moana Pasifika) and Drua, going to make it harder to attract players who may just think well should we go back there for maybe a year or sign in a more stable comp like Japan or Europe (though we know they would just probably play in the NZ comp anyway). Will also I imagine make it hard for long term sponsorship deals etc. Also if will Aus players sign for long term with doubt, and I mean if Aus is going to have another couple of teams as he says, there will be quite a bit less money to go around?
From what I understand both Drua and MP (Moana Pasifika)'s tv money comes out of NZR's tv money, so nothing would be saved there, and if Drua went into Aus comp would be more money needed?
And to add with Rennie saying don't do it, should Hamish etc tell him to toe party line if they really serious.
Hamish may have to be a little careful if they don't follow up with it, you know the story of the boy who cried wolf!!
Just a couple of thoughts after hearing and reading a few things over weekend.
 

Adam84

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
Interesting to hear opinions on Breakdown last night on Super changes etc. Apart from being a bit pissed with Hamish for going to press in week of final (which as I said previously I not convinced he did, andwas a media beat up), the general feeling was it was just a chest beating exercise etc and as Mils Muliana says must make MP (Moana Pasifika) (Moana Pasifika) and Drua think great we have joined comp now Aussie want to take it away. JK was very correct in one statement, Rugby Australia is pissed that NZR get $91 mill from sky, and(it's not all bloody super money anyway,test, NPC, College rugby are also popular here) why aren't they making bigger deal themselves? By the way they all thought the comp should get bedded in and then tweaks to improve it.
I see the point of being a bit pissed off for both MP (Moana Pasifika) (Moana Pasifika) and Drua, going to make it harder to attract players who may just think well should we go back there for maybe a year or sign in a more stable comp like Japan or Europe (though we know they would just probably play in the NZ comp anyway). Will also I imagine make it hard for long term sponsorship deals etc. Also if will Aus players sign for long term with doubt, and I mean if Aus is going to have another couple of teams as he says, there will be quite a bit less money to go around?
From what I understand both Drua and MP (Moana Pasifika) (Moana Pasifika)'s tv money comes out of NZR's tv money, so nothing would be saved there, and if Drua went into Aus comp would be more money needed?
And to add with Rennie saying don't do it, should Hamish etc tell him to toe party line if they really serious.
Hamish may have to be a little careful if they don't follow up with it, you know the story of the boy who cried wolf!!
Just a couple of thoughts after hearing and reading a few things over weekend.
Unsurprising a bunch of kiwis are telling Australian Rugby what’s best for it, again.

All I hear from across the Tasman are criticisms for trying to do something new, yet no ideas on how to solve the issues which exist. When there’s some ideas on how to actually improve the ‘competition’ rather then scrambling to defend something which clearly doesn’t work, then they might get more ears.
 
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Wallaby Man

Trevor Allan (34)
Interesting to hear opinions on Breakdown last night on Super changes etc. Apart from being a bit pissed with Hamish for going to press in week of final (which as I said previously I not convinced he did, andwas a media beat up), the general feeling was it was just a chest beating exercise etc and as Mils Muliana says must make MP (Moana Pasifika) (Moana Pasifika) and Drua think great we have joined comp now Aussie want to take it away. JK was very correct in one statement, Rugby Australia is pissed that NZR get $91 mill from sky, and(it's not all bloody super money anyway,test, NPC, College rugby are also popular here) why aren't they making bigger deal themselves? By the way they all thought the comp should get bedded in and then tweaks to improve it.
I see the point of being a bit pissed off for both MP (Moana Pasifika) (Moana Pasifika) and Drua, going to make it harder to attract players who may just think well should we go back there for maybe a year or sign in a more stable comp like Japan or Europe (though we know they would just probably play in the NZ comp anyway). Will also I imagine make it hard for long term sponsorship deals etc. Also if will Aus players sign for long term with doubt, and I mean if Aus is going to have another couple of teams as he says, there will be quite a bit less money to go around?
From what I understand both Drua and MP (Moana Pasifika) (Moana Pasifika)'s tv money comes out of NZR's tv money, so nothing would be saved there, and if Drua went into Aus comp would be more money needed?
And to add with Rennie saying don't do it, should Hamish etc tell him to toe party line if they really serious.
Hamish may have to be a little careful if they don't follow up with it, you know the story of the boy who cried wolf!!
Just a couple of thoughts after hearing and reading a few things over weekend.
So you agree that not committing to a competition creates instability, kinda like implying that 2/3 of Australias franchises shouldn’t exist any more creating contracting and commercial instability because as you mentioned players won’t choose there for the uncertainty. See it works both ways.

Also interesting that Ian Payten in a tweet yesterday said Aus proposed the Champions Cup format last year to NZ, so we can maintain a domestic comp and then have kiwi involvement, but NZRU rejected it. I guess that would of meant some form of Japanese inclusion.

Personally think Hamish trying to either get more money or force NZ hand to a better format for Aus needs, so we can get that better TV deal
 

Dan54

Tim Horan (67)
Unsurprising a bunch of kiwis are telling Australian Rugby what’s best for it, again.

All I hear from across the Tasman are criticisms for trying to do something new, yet no ideas on how to solve the issues which exist. When there’s some ideas on how to actually improve the ‘competition’ rather then scrambling to defend something which clearly doesn’t work, then they might get more ears.
No not telling Aus what to do, more disappointed with timing and how it will affect Drua and MP (Moana Pasifika). I said a lot of rest of thoughts were mjine ,ie like contracting players etc, and the problems associated. Not saying they should or should not do anything.
 

Dan54

Tim Horan (67)
So you agree that not committing to a competition creates instability, kinda like implying that 2/3 of Australias franchises shouldn’t exist any more creating contracting and commercial instability because as you mentioned players won’t choose there for the uncertainty. See it works both ways.

Also interesting that Ian Payten in a tweet yesterday said Aus proposed the Champions Cup format last year to NZ, so we can maintain a domestic comp and then have kiwi involvement, but NZRU rejected it. I guess that would of meant some form of Japanese inclusion.

Personally think Hamish trying to either get more money or force NZ hand to a better format for Aus needs, so we can get that better TV deal.
Of course Hamish is trying to get more money, I have no problem, just saying throwing hand grenades in press might just be causing colateral damage to Drua and MP (Moana Pasifika), which obviously isn't RA's problem I guessing.
But I just wondered why it's all done in public , but maybe it's a cultural thing, in Aus it's maybe felt better to do these things in press and in NZ it's considered better to just talk to each other? When NZR were asked about it there answer was as usual we don't surmise things in press.
And I be honest only with Drua and MP (Moana Pasifika) getting damaged is what concerns me.
 
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