Nine scores Bledisloe coverage for five years
Nine scores Bledisloe coverage for five years
ROY MASTERS
April 15, 2010
The high-rating Bledisloe Cup matches appear certain to have found a new home in Australian lounge-rooms, with Channel Nine likely to replace Seven as the broadcaster for the next five years.
Nine has already been confirmed as Australia's free-to-air broadcaster for next year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, with pool matches to be shown on Fox Sports, and the 2015 World Cup in England.
Fox Sports will continue televising Super 15 matches that involve Australia's five teams, including 2011 newcomers the Melbourne Rebels, as negotiations for TV rights to the SANZAR competition and Wallabies Test matches near completion.
While Nine values Bledisloe Cup matches, it also prizes the hype and ratings associated with the British and Irish Lions, who tour Australia in 2013. It has a sporting vacancy on Saturday evenings, with NRL broadcasting partner, Fox Sports, showing three matches of rugby league, Nine's main winter sport property.
The close relationship between Nine and Fox Sports, which also share coverage of Wimbledon and international cricket, including the world cup, is a significant factor in the deal, to be announced in three weeks.
News Ltd half owns Fox Sports and holds management rights, along with rugby union broadcasting rights in Australia and New Zealand.
Channel Seven, which is expected to televise Bledisloe Cup matches for the final time this season, was unhappy with a deal in which Fox Sports stole viewers by showing internationals at the same time, without advertisements.
Sources also insist News executives haven't forgotten the Federal Court action Seven owner, Kerry Stokes, took against News and others, claiming they had conspired to close his C7 pay-TV network. Relations between Fox Sports and the other potential free-to-air broadcaster, Ten, are poisonous.
News Ltd is expected to pay 30 per cent to 35 per cent more for the 2011-2015 rights, despite poor ratings for most Super 14 games during past seasons. But a change in the format of Super 15, with Australia's teams playing each other twice and the best-performed team winning a place in the finals, has encouraged News to pay more.
Furthermore, the draw will be scheduled in more viewer-friendly hours, avoiding scenarios, such as the Waratahs effectively disappearing from Australian screens for three weeks while playing in South Africa.
Australia's share of the SANZAR deal is expected to be $40m, signalling a jump in broadcasting income to the NRL, which has more games and considerably higher ratings.
While Tri Nations matches, involving South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, will continue, there are moves to include Argentina. The International Rugby Board will finance Argentina's place in a Four Nations competition from 2012 at $US2.5m for each of four years.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...0414-se4h.html
Channel Nine makes a $10m move for Wallabies
Channel Nine makes a $10m move for Wallabies
* James Chessell, Media writer
* From: The Australian
* April 15, 2010 12:00AM
CHANNEL Nine could soon be the free-to-air home of both rugby codes after the network emerged as frontrunner to broadcast Wallabies matches.
Nine already holds the rights to broadcast the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups alongside Fox Sports but it is understood chief executive David Gyngell has lodged a $10-million bid to broadcast Tri-Nations matches and home Tests featuring the Wallabies as well as a highlights package of Super 15 games in 2011-15.
The offer is less than the $15-$20m rugby wanted for the rights and comes at a critical time for a game that is trying to broaden its appeal to the viewing public. Ratings for Wallabies matches have fallen since Seven is believed to have paid about $17m for the last five-year deal. Bledisloe Cup games that were generating more than 1.5m metropolitan viewers in 2001 were lucky to get half that number in recent years.
Nine appears to be in the box seat given Seven is not involved in the bidding process and Ten remains frustrated that rugby officials and News Limited rejected a $US40m offer that included one live game of Super 15 game each week. News Ltd, publisher of The Australian, owns 50 per cent of Fox Sports.
James Packer's Consolidated Media Holdings owns the other 50 per cent.
Sources close to the bidding process said there was more than one interested party involved. Ten could still bid for the rights in certain circumstances although it is considered an outside chance.
The free-to-air rugby matches are being sold by Fox Sports, which wrapped up the rights to broadcast Super 15 rugby on pay television months ago.
SANZAR, the South African, Australian and New Zealand body that operates southern hemisphere rugby, had delayed the announcement while the free-to-air deal was negotiated.
Nine is the most logical buyer given it owns the free-to-air rights to the next two World Cups. PBL Media owns Nine on the east coast which includes rugby's biggest home markets.
The network also enjoys a good working relationship with Fox Sports, whose dealings with Seven have been tested during negotiations over new anti-siphoning negotiations with the Rudd government.
A revised anti-siphoning list of sports that are protected from direct pay-TV bids is being nutted out by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and the major media companies.
Gyngell will spend on a Wallabies Test less than half of the $500,000-$700,000 it costs Nine to produce a game of rugby league. The network also believes it can sell rugby sponsorships to high-end banking and insurance companies
Gyngell is a passionate rugby league supporter and is a former board member of the Sydney Roosters. Channel Nine and News executives declined to comment.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225853813464
