Broadcast options for Australian Rugby

[PhilClinton]

To me this screams retreat and consolidate. Bit like RA recently... Few people picking up additional responsibilities for others shown the door.

Was talking to Michael Atkinson recently - he was originally a Stan Sports 'exclusive' commentator but then was asked to sign on with Nine and moved to Sydney a couple of years ago for a broader role as most would have seen.

This whole Stan/Nine consolidation has essentially been happening in the background for the last 2 years, no one at either organization is overly surprised.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

That's probably a positive move career wise for a guy like Atkinson. They see your talent and want it spread.

Not a bad place to land since they have the Olympics. He strikes me as the James Bracey backup. Could easily see Atkinson replace McArdle as lead host as much as McArdle seems a good bloke.

 

[Brumby Runner]

JR said that more content ≠ more subscribers in relation to Sky potentially reducing number of NPC games it broadcast weekly, you questioned this claim as it goes against what you believe people have pushed for Super Rugby.

But a large push for more Super Rugby content has been about the season length, not the quantity of games in the weekend.. hence my comment ‘longer season ≠ more games on same weekend’.

Any idea of how many subscribers cllose STAN at the end of the rugby season? Would a longer season keep a substantial number of subscribers on for another month or two? People on here have mentioned that they close their subscription when the rugby is over because they don't watch STAN for any other reason. Even one extra month of a reasonable number of subscribers, at $35 bucks each, might add up to a significant amount.

 

[Adam84]

Any idea of how many subscribers cllose STAN at the end of the rugby season? Would a longer season keep a substantial number of subscribers on for another month or two? People on here have mentioned that they close their subscription when the rugby is over because they don't watch STAN for any other reason. Even one extra month of a reasonable number of subscribers, at $35 bucks each, might add up to a significant amount.

Don t know the credibility of these figures, but Stan Sport churn is the highest of the sporting SVOD platforms in Australia:

Kayo’s retention rates have also risen, from 84% to 88%, ahead of the other sporting streamers, Stan Sport (77%) and Optus Sport (81%) https://mumbrella.com.au/kayo-and-s...he-australian-streaming-market-in-2024-827804

Churn rates naturally increase with cost of living pressure as well, so relying on 'loyalty tax' of subscribers not to unsubscribe at seasons end becomes less fruitful. Without rugby Stan Sport more or less transitions to a TVOD (Transactional Video On Demand) which is more akin to your old Pay-Per-View with subscribers only signing up for time limited events like Austalian Open and some of the UEFA tournaments.

 

[PhilClinton]

That's probably a positive move career wise for a guy like Atkinson. They see your talent and want it spread.

Not a bad place to land since they have the Olympics. He strikes me as the James Bracey backup. Could easily see Atkinson replace McArdle as lead host as much as McArdle seems a good bloke.

He also gets a heap of MC gigs here in Brisbane (and likely elsewhere) at some decent events, the type of stuff a Bracey or McArdle wouldn’t be out of place doing, so he’s definitely flying in those circles at the moment.

 

[RebelYell]

He also gets a heap of MC gigs here in Brisbane (and likely elsewhere) at some decent events, the type of stuff a Bracey or McArdle wouldn’t be out of place doing, so he’s definitely flying in those circles at the moment.

Hi Atko!