Broadcast options for Australian Rugby

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Right the way back to cable TV having it all in one.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Starting this year they have the exclusive "Super Saturday" matches, as well the two on Sunday... so potentially up to six or seven exclusive games in some rounds.

But they'll also now have their own separate broadcast/commentary team for every match they share with Seven.

It has me questioning it's worth though and that's a big step from the set and forget.

I use to watch everything Rugby wise and NRL but life is in the way more now and I probably only see 2 maybe 3 games a week these days and more likely to pay to watch the Tahs and another Aus side in the Rugby and happy to see what FTA might have for League....

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Sports streaming wars erupt as Disney+ gets serious

The media giant is adding major sporting chops to its streaming platform Disney+ in a move that could reshape the future of rights negotiations in Australia.

www.smh.com.au

Media giant Disney is entering the sports streaming market in Australia, moving its existing coverage of the top American sports leagues, including the NBA and NFL, to its streaming service Disney+.

In a bid to capitalise on the growing popularity of the world’s most popular sports leagues, Disney will add ESPN to Disney+ at no extra cost, dealing a blow to Foxtel’s one-stop sports shop Kayo.

Yet with Foxtel raising the cost of a Premium Kayo subscription to $40 per month in January, a Disney+ subscription comes at a significantly lower price point of $13.99 or $17.99. However, a price hike at Disney+ is likely at some point this year, this masthead was told.

Foxtel shares the rights to broadcast the NRL with Nine, the owner of this masthead, which holds the free-to-air component. The league is preparing to begin negotiations for its next contract from 2027. Both will face a fight to renew their current deals, with a bidding war expected to include global streamers.

While News Corp did not report Foxtel subscriber figures in the final quarter of 2024 due to the sale process being under way, it lost 16 per cent of its subscribers in the final quarter of 2023, after the AFL and NRL seasons ended.

Whilst not Rugby related you can draw lines between it being a good thing Rugby Stays on Stan and not Fox/Kayo. This is a big hit to them and I will be someone looking at cancelling it if I can't watch US sports. Would we have wanted to be on a platform with likely more opt outs than ins? It's an NRL and AFL platform now.

Will it be ESPN or ESPN+ is the question.

 

[Wilson]

ESPN, but the P stands for plus

 

[liquor box]

Hopefully all ESPN channels will be included.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I ask because MLR is now in ESPN+

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

You watch much of it? From what I've watched over the past few years it's very average and I'd rather give the views to Premier Rugby in Sydney and Brisbane on Stan.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I've been following it since before it was MLR. During its beta year when it was called the Major Rugby Championship. I tend to watch 2 or 3 games a round. The overall standard from the first season to now is actually pretty remarkable.

I enjoy club Rugby but MLR is easily better these days. Look at the Drua trial. The Drua cycled through the full squad. And so did LA. A team that will be competitive in MLR this season but not the top of the league.

 

[KentwellCup>ShuteShield]

What was the score?

 

[JRugby2]

Exclusive Saturdays will probably be the sole reason people keep their kayo subscriptions this winter. Once the NBA moves I can't see people sticking around for $40 a month. Especially since Cricket is now free to stream. Even if you hate the commentary team - $160-240 is a lot to pay over summer for a redundant platform.

 

[Adam84]

Interesting that the Waratahs vs Highlanders on Friday night will be the FTA(NineGem) Broadcast match this round, which is a shift from standard when it's the Saturday 7:30pm game.

Given Nine also have the NRL All Stars on Saturday, and the Waratahs will draw more on FTA then the Saturday Match(Force vs Moana) it makes sense. Would have been good to bump it onto Nines primary channel though.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Good to see Rugby at least getting a seat at the table and not bumped completely due to the All Stars game.

Friday is the key night so hopefully it's not a 18/15 all pens game as you might get the regular TV watcher just chuck it on because your'e home with nothing else on.

 

[LeCheese]

Well, first week’s done and Stan’s seems to have upped their product yet again.

Really liking the greater access after the Tahs game inside change rooms and having players mic’d up. The new Atko Knows Inside Line show could be a winner too.

And boy am I glad they got Matt Burke! Such a refreshing but familiar voice of reason and logic.

 

[Reds Rick]

Re the Inside Line show, if it’s anything like the podcast with the same name they had last year it will be be a cracker

 

[John S]

It'll be interesting to see if they podcast it as well like they do with Between the Posts.

 

[barbarian]

Super impressed with Burkey. Unsure what commentating he's done in the past, but the bloke is a natural. Love the tone of his voice.

 

[Wilson]

He used to be part of the coverage team when channel 10 had the tests (was in fact a commentator during the last Lions tour of Australia), but I think it's largely down to just over a decade as a (sports) news reader - nothing beats that night on night repetition.

 

[LeCheese]

He's incredibly easy to listen to. I really like that they've slipped him straight away into a core role commentating alongside Maloney. The two seem to work well together. And it means less monotonic dribble from Goog!

 

[Wilson]

If I never hear Harrison say "It's this thing called ...." again it'll be too soon.

 

[John S]

I'm pretty sure I physically zoned out whenever Goog was talking - there's only so many "Googisms" a man can take.