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Does anyone know whether the new Broadcasting rights for the super 14 has any chance of being won by a free to air TV station?!?!? or have fox got it in the bag and are just ironing out the cost ...
Personally I think free to air super 14 would be great for the game of rugby and would definitely increase its exposure and lure more people to the sport.
But am I dreaming to think that Channel 1 will buy the rights for all super 14 matches ...
My understanding is Foxsports have first tender rights as the incumbent broadcaster. They’ll have first dibs on making an offer on the expanded S15 for 2011...
However its well known that the current ARU CEO John O'Neill is eager to have some S15 games go to free to air but it’s unlikely that Foxsports will pay a premium and not get exclusive live broadcast rights for most of these matches… Fox will likely be the largest hard cash contributor to finance the increasing costs of Super Rugby...
They do have the option to on-sell the rights to another broadcaster though (like they do with Supersport in South Africa). I don't know if anyone in Australia has the money to throw around for the tv rights to all of the games though.
From memory they used to do a 'game of the week' on channel 7 in the eastern states - waaay back in the mid 90s - so maybe that's a possibility?
Ah yes beige, that old chestnut....
It's very unlikely fox will part with the rights to any live games; Channel 1 HD may have the $ to buy some games off fox to replay. It's a catch 22 in a lot of respects in that the money pay TV puts in floats the whole comp, but at the same time it hinders growth in places like Perth by not having any matches on free to air TV.
I reckon If some S14 games were on free to air , even if only replays, there would be a chance that curious viewers ( those without foxtel) would see a game and be hooked.
Lets hope not, its bad enough watching other sports on free to air with adverts every 5 mins and you usually miss something crucial
Sadly Ian Frkberg is doing the deal again and it will be presented to News for their offer
Don't waste your time with ONE HD , they have a disgraceful budget of only 20 Million to buy sport rights ...with most of that blown on the IPL.
Unless News onsell a game LIVE on Channel 9 on Saturday Nights ( Super 15) with a replay on Sunday afternoon of a different game , we will get on FTA coverage
At least RUPA want FTA Coverage around Australia of the Wallabeis and S15 which is a nice change of mood!