Squeeze on to lift revenue as Super 14 expands

Squeeze on to lift revenue as Super 14 expands
Eddie Jones
May 23, 2009 12:00am


SUPER rugby keeps getting bigger as the drive for more revenue in Australian and New Zealand markets intensifies.

Whether the southern hemisphere's showpiece provincial series can recapture the fans it has steadily lost since a peak just after the turn of the century remains to be seen.

One big positive of 2011's Super 15 format is that more local derbys will be played. These will be fierce and should provide good spectacles.

Competition between the provinces to progress to the finals from their conference will be fascinating. There will be no hiding which team is the best and worst in each country.

The later season start should bring better quality rugby, as heat will be less of a factor.

But the season is long and broken. Interest will be hard to maintain and player workload is a secondary consideration.

Look at how George Smith might fare in Super 15. If he plays two pre-season trials, 16 home-and-away games, two play-off games and 14 Tests, he's up to 34 games.

From that, you can presume some stars will be rested from Super 15 games to ensure they play a maximum of 30 games.

I thought the idea of increasing Super rugby was to increase depth but Australian Rugby Union boss John O'Neill has made it quite clear that it is purely financial.

He has suggested a new team - the Sand and Sushi Surfers as a working title - will include Pacific Islanders and perhaps Japanese players for a possible base on the Gold Coast.

Queensland needs another team that can help encourage local talent to stay in the fastest growing region in Australia.

Former ARU boss Gary Flowers' weak promise to the Melbourne Rebels that they would have the next team, unopposed, is likely to rear its ugly head.

Planning is the key to success so the quicker the decision on the fifth team, the more set-up time there will be to get it right.

Wallaby coach Robbie Deans has done a good job in his opening squad selection. He has identified raw potential with Ben Alexander and Pek Cowan among the props.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...003411,00.html

They play more games in Europe each season, so why would you have to rest players here it would be just a better class of Rugby being played for longer periods that all. Remember most players go back to local rugby and international after the Super 14s.

Eddie really is a "Glass half empty" guy :S

"But the season is long and broken. Interest will be hard to maintain and player workload is a secondary consideration."

Really...more interupted than the Heineken cup?

That next rights negotiation will be extremely difficult, I reckon. It's not as if there are multiple TV operators falling over themselves to get them. Unlike the AFL. It's been mentioned here that Fox even owns the rights to the name "Super Rugby" (?)

If you look at the deal the NRL has, it's about 40% less than the AFL's current deal at $780mil. The NRL is wanting to get equal share in it's next deal as they have equal audience numbers. Problem for them is the NRL and Foxtel are 50% owned by News Limited. So who won the Super League War - probably the AFL.

Rugby may have a similar problem unless another media player is interested in Super 15. It may get a bigger dividend, but will it cover the extra costs for another Aus franchise and will the ARU get a more equitable split?

"But the season is long and broken. Interest will be hard to maintain and player workload is a secondary consideration."

And a 'Bye' doesn't break the season? On the contrary, a sometimes vital break to mend injuries.

I get the impression he's not in favour of a Victorian based team... On a positive note he has acknowledged the wisdom of Peks inclusion...albeit as 'raw' potential.

I've heard the AFL are after about $1 billion in there rights negotiations after the current deal ends. Good luck to them. One way to Super 14/15 to reach more people would be for One HD to have the rights to show replays of games later the following week. This would allow Fox to have the live rights and instant game replays and say One HD have replays from Tues/ Wed....This is one way the amount of revenue from TV could be increased. One other major benefit that Fox / News Limited bring to the table is the online and newspaper coverage....