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Seven keen for NRL

Discussions continue over NRL for 2020 with reports Seven is interested in matches.

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I reckon we can rule out any likelihood of this ever happening….

Reports today suggest Seven has reached out to the NRL about the potential of acquiring matches.

It follows a war of words from Nine to the code about mismanagement and comes ahead of CEO Hugh Marks meeting with Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany and ARLC chairman Peter V’landys to renegotiate the broadcast deal for 2020.

Chatter suggests Nine wants games to resume when there are crowds and is not keen to resume this year, which will net it a multi-million dollar cost saving.

The (Nine-owned) Sydney Morning Herald reveals Nine is expected to outline its desire for exclusive games and a willingness to part ways with the Thursday night game. It also wants exclusive games on Friday and Sunday.

But FOX Sports is not expected to agree to sacrificing the entire collection of weekly matches, basing its subscription service around an ‘‘every game, live and ad-free’’ sell.

The Herald claims Nine’s current tactic is to stall and drag on negotiations for as long as possible so they have less content to pay for…..

The ARL Commission has announced the NRL is planning to restart the competition on May 28 and even plans on a full three-game State of Origin series.

Federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck described those plans as “a bit ambitious, to be frank.”

19 Responses

  1. I just can’t see Channel Seven getting the NRL in so many ways..
    Nine & Foxtel will come up with a solution like always and if Nine aren’t interested in Thursday Night Footy then Foxtel can have it exclusively like other matches on the weekends, I assume Nine & Foxtel can swap a Thursday Night Match for with a Saturday Night Match.!

    Now that will be interesting..

  2. “Seven keen for NRL” just like I am keen for a new BMW 7 but there’s just one thing in the way, $$$$$$$$$$$$ – of which both 7 and I don’t have enough.

  3. Ha ha – perhaps Seven can print some old fashioned Footy Cards ( with chewing gum ) and start selling them in Newsagents to help fund the deal…for a station worth about 100 million in total these days I’m about one Powerball win from taking over the whole shebang and putting on some decent programming !
    What a joke and what Delusion-Land does James and Co live in these days ? ( Oh probably the same one that green-lit Pooch Perfect and paid Rebel more than one millions dollars to host it .)

  6. Don’t rule out ABC doing the NRL! They broadcast the Saturday afternoon game for many years in 70s, 80s and 90s.
    Their coverage of game was highly regarded then

    1. Ruled it out. There is no budget remaining to throw 10’s of millions each year at a local sport. They’re already crying poor with discussion of closing down a channel.

  7. This is the perfect time for both 9 & Fox to merge broadcast – similar to 7 & Fox with AFL
    Only have different pre / halftime & post game panels (No adds during play for Fox)
    9’s ratings would improve dramatically together with cutting costs.
    Origin would be on 7’s wish list

    1. I don’t think Seven and Foxtel don’t run their broadcasts together for AFL? Fox just pulls Seven’s feed before ads get inserted when they’re sharing a game. Then sometimes Seven pulls Fox’s feed and inserts ads for certain games that Seven only has the rights to in some states. Nine’s ratings wouldn’t go up either if it was done like AFL is. Not sure if it would cut costs either but I assume Fox pays Seven some money to pull their feed for those games.

  8. As a rugby league fan, I find all the speculation about what may or may not happen rather boring. Fox Sports has numerous shows each week where they sit around and just speculate. However, being completely hypocritical, I would love for nine to completely walk away from the game and the FTA rights move to channel 10 with them just taking the Fox Sports feed and commentary directly.

  11. They’d work well for Seven in AFL States it’d be on 7MateHD when Thursday AFL is on and vice versa in NSW and Queensland, would really be interesting “if” they got the lot next round of rights would imagine combined figures for NRL on 7 and 7MateHD like they do with AFL now. Plus the usual Blockbuster Movie they use as filler when the AFL is on for 7 or 7Mate depending on which State could then just be on 7Flix instead and the extra Home and Away episodes they do in AFL States would then happen in all States.

    It would kind of bring there schedule into line much more.

  13. If Nine won’t pay for restarted Comp all bets are off. Maybe Ten who broadcast along time ago before it went to Nine will be interested. Ten News is reporting daily on the talks and speaking in person to the Chairman during these. CBS loves NFL in the states, not much in Tens stable for Sport and for the right price.

    1. They (10) are already in a push to get Rugby Union from 2021 onwards to go hand in with he other Rugby Australia games they show (World Cups, Super 8’s, 10’s etc), so I don’t think they’d want to sour any of those discussions by talking to League (even just one game).

  14. Good “put up or shut up” move from Seven. Was half expecting CBS/TEN to do it first.

    Nine has the same problem as the NRL. Whereas NRL blows all the money it gets from TV, Nine barely makes any money off it either. Every cent Nine scrapes up from sponsors seems to go straight to NRL in rights money.

    Let the NRL implode and then Foxtel set up it’s own Super League 2.0 has about a 25% chance and rising every day I reckon.

    1. The NRL isn’t going to implode seeing they got a $250 million loan and they have not been blowing all their money seeing it was reported they had $70 million in savings.

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