Broadcast options for Australian Rugby

[Braveheart81]

It's up to over 825k now apparently.

At present. Yes. Optus Sport is just a Soccer broadcaster. But that doesn't mean they'll only ever be that. We don't know what they have planned down the line and as a telco they much like their customer base also have a significantly greater commercial base to draw from.

One thing that is clear is that the major telcos are much larger businesses than our media companies and the premium ones (Telstra and Optus) are trying to transform themselves into being more than just a pipe service because that area is highly competitive.

They have money to spend and potentially care far less about how many new customers that spend creates in the short term at least.

 

[Strewthcobber]

It's up to over 825k now apparently.

At present. Yes. Optus Sport is just a Soccer broadcaster. But that doesn't mean they'll only ever be that. We don't know what they have planned down the line and as a telco they much like their customer base also have a significantly greater commercial base to draw from.

Visibility will be interesting. I would like to think the smart move from both RA and Optus' perspective would be to actively seek a commercial FTA partner as a means of driving interesting in 1) the competition and 2) the platform. It's a stated ambition of RA's to achieve FTA exposure and would allow Optus to drive its offering to a wider audience.

OPtus allowed SBS to broadcast some of the EPL for the initial phase of their rights period. That seems to have disappeared this year with the second round of rights

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

One thing that is clear is that the major telcos are much larger businesses than our media companies and the premium ones (Telstra and Optus) are trying to transform themselves into being more than just a pipe service because that area is highly competitive.

They have money to spend and potentially care far less about how many new customers that spend creates in the short term at least.

It'll actually be interesting to see how Telstra fares in this. They've tied themeselves to the Kayo platform which while currently more diverse (though features a lot of content that's more filler than anything else) is about $10/month more expensive. If Optus start expanding their offering it will be interesting to see how things sit in the future.

 

[Micheal]

One thing that is clear is that the major telcos are much larger businesses than our media companies and the premium ones (Telstra and Optus) are trying to transform themselves into being more than just a pipe service because that area is highly competitive.

They have money to spend and potentially care far less about how many new customers that spend creates in the short term at least.

For a mature company like Optus in a saturated market like telecom, retention is the biggest driver for growth as there are no untapped customers, and switching costs are high for the user, meaning that an offer must be exceptionally compelling for them to switch providers.

Given that - Optus is buying rights not to gain new fans, but to keep up with competitors and ensure that their current base doesn't leave.

Look at my post above. I use Optus to stream the EPL, and I'm cheering about this. The value proposition just got a lot better for me in an increasingly crowded market.

As a result, I'll be scrapping my Foxtel subscription, and Telstra loses out from that, being large shareholders in Foxtel.

Optus 1 - Telstra 0 on the Micheal scoresheet.

 

[Dctarget]

Fuck Foxtel & Rupert & Newscorp, honestly so insidious. I'll admit I like and enjoy Kayo, it's very handy and well priced. But Rugby in Australia is dying & sticking with Foxtel sure ain't gonna fix it. Take a gamble, it's one of the last chances we have left. Rugby is a great sport and fantastic to watch, maybe have some more faith that younger people exposed to it via Optus might like it. The market of people using Foxtel to watch rugby is oversaturated, Optus presents such a better venture.

 

[Dan54]

I still wondering how this all plays out! I have read from Newscorp sites that Foxtel and RA are probably parting ways.
Is it a fact or Newscorp(foxtel) playing the pressure game in negotiations!
Just wondering is all.

A little similar to what happened with NZRU and Sky before the contract?

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

OPtus allowed SBS to broadcast some of the EPL for the initial phase of their rights period. That seems to have disappeared this year with the second round of rights

Could be argued they achieved the goal of driving awareness and interest in the platform. Which is what the deal with SBS would have been all about from their perspective. It would, I imagine be very similar for Rugby. But I suspect it would require a longer time frame to witness a level of growth that would be considered satisifactory.

 

[Dan54]

Fuck Foxtel & Rupert & Newscorp, honestly so insidious. I'll admit I like and enjoy Kayo, it's very handy and well priced. But Rugby in Australia is dying & sticking with Foxtel sure ain't gonna fix it. Take a gamble, it's one of the last chances we have left. Rugby is a great sport and fantastic to watch, maybe have some more faith that younger people exposed to it via Optus might like it. The market of people using Foxtel to watch rugby is oversaturated, Optus presents such a better venture.

Actually that is not too stupid Dc, I got Foxtel, but close to ditching anyway, only got it for rugby, I actually wondering if we going to go way they do it a lot in NH and pay TV may just become more irrelevant!

 

[Wilson]

I'll take our numbers over News any day.

I think the 33k they quoted was an average across the weekend, assuming that includes the SA/Argentina games it doesn't seem all that bad

 

[Braveheart81]

I would certainly ditch Foxtel if rugby disappears off it. The value proposition has been getting worse and worse because we watch more shows on other streaming platforms and then the NFL removing Red Zone from ESPN Australia was significant.

If rugby moved elsewhere there wouldn't be a compelling reason for my household to keep Foxtel.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I think the 33k they quoted was an average across the weekend, assuming that includes the SA/Argentina games it doesn't seem all that bad

The games featuring our teams playing in more favourable timezones averaged 52.3k for the weekend. So, yeah. I think if whoever wrote the piece being cited used the 33k as their evidence for the decline in interest then they aren't telling the whole story.

 

[qwerty51]

You can buy an illegal IPTV service for $10 a month which has SkySports UK and SuperSport (SA) - and every single PayTV channel in the world. TV rights just aren't valuable any more. Almost everyone is on the NBN and could handle an IPTV service. Then there's those illegal free streams which are even in HD now and as long as you have an adblocker can still watch anything. No one's paying big dollars for subscription TV any more.

What happens to the SANZAAR deal if RA can't get a broadcaster, who's doing the production costs for Aus games. Come on RA - fuck them off.

Anyway, the point still stands, Super Rugby is the dud product here and that has to go first.

 

[Dctarget]

Can someone in the know explain BT Sport to me and how the English system works? Do they have so much money because it's a dominant sport in a strong economy with a large population?

 

[qwerty51]

What's there to know? It's just another PayTV broadcaster

 

[Dctarget]

What's there to know? It's just another PayTV broadcaster

So is rugby in England not on free-to-air?

 

[Micheal]

Can someone in the know explain BT Sport to me and how the English system works? Do they have so much money because it's a dominant sport in a strong economy with a large population?

If you're asking why the RFU has so much money, it's because they own Twickenham.

They bought it in 1907 and I assume -- as with any infrastructure with a public use -- they get support from the UK government to maintain and renovate it.

They then lease it out, don't have to pay leasing fees etc.

Imagine if the ARU owned Suncorp, and had owned it since 1907, and leased it to the NRL twice a year to play SOO.

We'd be in a very different position.

 

[qwerty51]

Which rugby? Six Nations are on BBC. Super Rugby is on Sky, Top 14 is only on French TV now. Prem Rugby is on BT. RWC is on ITV, EPRC is on BT, Pro14 is on S4C.

BBC, ITV, S4C = FTA

 

[qwerty51]

If you're asking why the RFU has so much money, it's because they own Twickenham.

And guess who owns Murrayfield, Principality and the Aviva? Now you'll understand why the Home Unions are so cashed up.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Can someone in the know explain BT Sport to me and how the English system works? Do they have so much money because it's a dominant sport in a strong economy with a large population?

BT's platform is quire similar to that of Optus Sports. Though more extensive in terms of content.

 

[Strewthcobber]

What's there to know? It's just another PayTV broadcaster

Why aren't they going broke though?