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THE Wallabies lost 75 per cent of their audience on free-to-air television inside a month but ARU boss Bill Pulver is confident the nosedive won’t have “any negative impact” on rugby’s next broadcast deal.
Having contentiously backed the expansion of Super Rugby, the ARU admitted their long-term financial security relied on substantial growth in revenue for their next TV deal, and Pulver told Daily Telegraph in April he was targeting a $40m-per-year package similar to Australian soccer.
Negotiations are underway but the hopes of expanding FTA coverage — with potential Super Rugby exposure — may have taken a hit in recent weeks, however, when initially strong ratings for the Wallabies on Channel Ten fell off a broadcasting cliff.
After almost one million FTA viewers saw the Wallabies draw with the All Blacks in Sydney on August 16, only an estimated 250,000 tuned in nationally to see Australia sneak home against Argentina on the Gold Coast on September 13.
Though up against NRL and AFL finals, the five-cities figure was a meagre 187,000 and was also beaten by Saturday night movies and ABC crime shows.
“Any drop-off concerns me, but obviously there are different circumstances behind every game. It’s Test matches against New Zealand compared to Test matches against Argentina,” Pulver said.
“And there are different environments too for every game, in terms of what competitor sports are on air. But overall, I think the trends have been pretty good for us.”
Along with Channel Seven, Ten is considered the network most likely to purchase rugby rights when the next deal kicks in 2016.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby/b...-1227065783619