The SMH is clearly getting desperate for pundits. They've gone and published a piece from a GAGR hack.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/foxtel-tantrum-reveals-true-worth-of-rugby-tv-rights-20200209-p53z46.html
Jealousy is a curse...
The SMH is clearly getting desperate for pundits. They've gone and published a piece from a GAGR hack.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/foxtel-tantrum-reveals-true-worth-of-rugby-tv-rights-20200209-p53z46.html
For a sporting code which has so little going for it and of such low value, News Corp is certainly expending a fair chunk of resources to argue that rugby should have stuck with Foxtel and not taken it to market for a competitive tender.
Never underestimate the need for Rupert The Undead to suck life out of anything until it's a dried-up husk. Makes Machiavelli look like Gandhi.
13% drop in Kayo subscribers at the conclusion of the World Cup. Imagine how much more that number would fall if it lost rugby all together. You can see Fox’s tactics they are trying to scare all the other bidders away and retain the rights at a lower price. You think of how many dollars they have spent trying to tear Rugby down over the past few months instead of marketing the upcoming season. I hope they work out a deal with 10 get some live games on FTA and they rest stays on Fox. It would help give so many more people access to the game and that’s exactly what we need.For a sporting code which has so little going for it and of such low value, News Corp is certainly expending a fair chunk of resources to argue that rugby should have stuck with Foxtel and not taken it to market for a competitive tender.
As reported in the Herald's media section on Monday, Rugby Australia will this week send out non-disclosure agreements to Foxtel, Optus, Amazon, Rugby Pass and Australia's three commercial free-to-air networks.
The agreements are the precursor to the sport's first open-market tender process for the broadcast rights to its club-to-Wallabies schedule until the end of 2025.
Not all those parties will sign and return them, but by week's end the ones who have are the ones that will be regarded as seriously interested in what the next five years of Australian and international rugby has to offer their businesses.
That Foxtel is on that list gives the lie to five days of furious speculation that the majority News Corp-owned pay television provider has walked away from the game it helped champion for the past 25 years.
That Optus is there too confirms its interest is real in growing its sport business beyond several levels of football. It does not guarantee a bid at the end of the process but it suggests, with former FFA director and new chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin at the helm, it is seriously weighing one up.
For a sporting code which has so little going for it and of such low value, News Corp is certainly expending a fair chunk of resources to argue that rugby should have stuck with Foxtel and not taken it to market for a competitive tender.
The SMH is clearly getting desperate for pundits. They've gone and published a piece from a GAGR hack.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/foxtel-tantrum-reveals-true-worth-of-rugby-tv-rights-20200209-p53z46.html
I honestly think the only reason the FTA channels exist is because the older gens can't be bothered to ween themselves off them (sounds familiar).
Nah mate. My fellow Gen-Y's (or are we millennials?) lap the reality tv shows up, to the point where I walk into the office to see organised betting on who's going to win the Bachelor/Bachelorette, Married at first sight, whatever cooking show is on.
When we renovated our house, the Sparkie asked me if I wanted a TV cable routed in our TV room. Had to tell him I haven't plugged in the cable in 10+ years.
Nah mate. My fellow Gen-Y's (or are we millennials?) lap the reality tv shows up, to the point where I walk into the office to see organised betting on who's going to win the Bachelor/Bachelorette, Married at first sight, whatever cooking show is on.
When we renovated our house, the Sparkie asked me if I wanted a TV cable routed in our TV room. Had to tell him I haven't plugged in the cable in 10+ years.
*MattReally poignant comment made in reply to mark Rowley’s article about castles handing of this broadcast deal and benefits of having genuine sports administrator behind this - have to agree that certainly seeing the benefit of this.
I would add that there should be a club rugby wrap at halftime in the NZ game or fulltime in that game. That'll be roughly 6-7pm and will be right at the time that your country clubs are heading to the pub for speeches and will make a good talking point for rugby in general.Everything I read about plans on packaging the rugby product (club game at sat 3pm, oz game in nz at 5pm and oz game at 7.30 sounds a well thought out strategy that having problems recognising this is a well thought out strategy coming from RA!!!
This might be showing my (lack of) age - but why the hell does anyone watch FTA anymore? Besides the odd bit of sport it's awful.
I honestly think the only reason the FTA channels exist is because the older gens can't be bothered to ween themselves off them (sounds familiar).
The ABC is better than any other single channel or source.
This might be showing my (lack of) age - but why the hell does anyone watch FTA anymore? Besides the odd bit of sport it's awful. Particularly when you can get just about any entertainment you want for very little money (or no money - let's be honest) online.
I think most of those issues you've identified are valid but relatively short term problems. Though, i suppose the broadcast deal is only for 5 years?It's easy and accessible. It's free. As much as certain people on here love their streaming platforms, there is still a great swathe of the population out there who dislike using the internet, let alone a streaming service.
There's a large number of people who turn on the TV at night and decide what to watch at that point.
The other factor to consider is pubs and clubs, many of whom might not even have Foxtel. Going to a more niche streaming platform will really hurt our ability to be on even in the background at the pub on a Saturday night.
FTA is not the panacea that many believe (as someone pointed out above, the A-League is a telling example), but it still has a bucketload of advantages over other options.