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Broadcast options for Australian Rugby

Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
That sure is one way to drive a wedge between RA and the anti-Castle brigade in Sydney clubland.........
 

sunnyboys

Bob Loudon (25)
Classic wedge tactic by Fox. Fox know that getting Sydney Club rugby at that price is VERY cheap content (especially if they lose the Super Rugby/Test bid). By blocking the bundling they can continue to low ball RA by claiming they are bringing no new content (Super Rugby content is dropping next year and there's a rumour NRC could go).
Giving up live FTA is a big sacrifice for SRU to make.

But Fox have attacked the weakest link in Australian Rugby - the relationship between RA, NSWRU, and SRU.

If RA walked away and went to Optus with Super Rugby/Test it could leave SRU with a comp locked away on pay tv - with a subscription base that will have fewer rugby fans as they leave to take up Optus Sport.
 

Ignoto

Peter Sullivan (51)
Realistically speaking, how big is there an audience to watch live Shute Shield in Australia? Most of the people that would watch their clubs play will by in large be at the games. You'll no doubt pick up some viewers who cant make the matches or want to watch the games, but, these games are for the Sydney market only. I have no affiliation to any Shute Shield club so why would I sign up for Kayo and watch these games? (I'd imagine most viewers outside of Sydney would have similar viewpoints).

Locking Shute Shield being a paywall seems like a great way to not introduce new viewers to the sport.
 

Micheal

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
Realistically speaking, how big is there an audience to watch live Shute Shield in Australia? Most of the people that would watch their clubs play will by in large be at the games. You'll no doubt pick up some viewers who cant make the matches or want to watch the games, but, these games are for the Sydney market only. I have no affiliation to any Shute Shield club so why would I sign up for Kayo and watch these games? (I'd imagine most viewers outside of Sydney would have similar viewpoints).

Locking Shute Shield being a paywall seems like a great way to not introduce new viewers to the sport.

25 year old Sydney resident here. Attended a GPS school. Have friends that play first grade in the Shute Shield. Die hard Tahs fan.

Zero interest in it at all. Probably get along to a game every 2 years. The standard isn't great, and definitely isn't what it used to be.

My friends are considered star players in their teams and they're hungover for half the games. The club cultures annoy me. It's elitist and entitled and definitely not grassroots, despite the label it assigns itself.

The entire things living on a reputation it built in the 2000s.

Would be stoked if it got more TV representation, but I won't be watching.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
I still find the theory that having one game a week on 7two or 7mate is doing anything substantial to drive interest in the Shute Shield or rugby more broadly as being wholly improbable. The ratings are minimal.
 

Micheal

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
A great point.

We want to grow the game and the competition. The aim here is reach.

I would bet the reach of every game on Fox Sports exceeds the reach of a single game on FTA.
 

wamberal

Phil Kearns (64)
25 year old Sydney resident here. Attended a GPS school. Have friends that play first grade in the Shute Shield. Die hard Tahs fan.

Zero interest in it at all. Probably get along to a game every 2 years. The standard isn't great, and definitely isn't what it used to be.

My friends are considered star players in their teams and they're hungover for half the games. The club cultures annoy me. It's elitist and entitled and definitely not grassroots, despite the label it assigns itself.

The entire things living on a reputation it built in the 2000s.

Would be stoked if it got more TV representation, but I won't be watching.



What is your definition of "grassroots"? Do you assert that all clubs are elitist? Or only some? There is at least one club that might deserve a spray like this, but it is not mine.
 

liquor box

Peter Sullivan (51)
I wonder if the TV rights include stipulations about the quality of the broadcast?

Would club rugby be in 4K or HD?
 

kiap

Steve Williams (59)
DT reporting Fox Sports is officially walking away from rugby next year.
Again, News Corp reporting on itself - what's not to love?

I'm sure some folk would be sad to see Uncle Rupe's ship depart from rugby's dock.

Others are quite happy to see Fox continuing to sink.
 

hoggy

Nev Cottrell (35)
There's nothing stopping Fox from doing a deal with the shute shield and maybe the Brisbane comp to telecast club rugby at a pretty minimal cost production etc.

It then walks away from the RA saving itself a broadcast deal cost. say $40 million.

It knows it will lose a substantial amount of rugby subscribers however the gamble is by providing club coverage it may keep some of the subscribers at a fraction of the cost.
 

Lorenzo

Colin Windon (37)
broadcast live a match of the round on a Fox Sports channel and stream every other Saturday game live on Kayo Sports, with dedicated camera crews at each suburban venue. The deal would come into effect in time for this season, which starts in April.
Appreciate that Fox probably doesn't have loads of spare bandwidth (on either sat or cable, probably), but structuring this such that subscribers of the full freight foxtel service get significantly fewer games a week than Kayo subscribers seems completely bizarre.
 

Rebels3

Jim Lenehan (48)
If Optus pick up Rugby content, to go with the EPL and Champions League, they would just need to add a few more sports to have a legit streaming service to hit the market, or as they will see it a service to attract new customers to their telco offerings. It might not be the worst thing to happen.
 
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