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Broadcast options for Australian Rugby

Strewthcobber

Strewthcobber

David Codey (61)
Should add that prior to 1996, the local FTA rights deals were ludicrous. Kerry Packer got the rights to the ARL for $1million in 1990.

There was no broadcast revenue from the terrestial stations. When union gets offered $555m by News in 1996, everyone thought PayTv was going to wipe FTA off the planet, like it had in the USA

Didn't happen like that!
 
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Adam84

Adam84

John Eales (66)
The point of even mentioning 1996 was to debate this sentiment that this is a one off sugar-hit, chasing the dollar over FTA exposure has been going on for decades.. Acting as though this is a one-off ignores the actions of the past.

Arguably that horse has now bolted with market penetration anyway, we’re confined to a niche sport given the financial state and consumer base. FTA today as a mechanism for market penetration isn’t as valuable as it was 15-20 years ago given the rise in choice of SVOD services and digital channels.

but even in its current state, getting 50-150k on FTA is still far better for growth of the game then chucking it behind a paywall..
 
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Wilson

Wilson

John Eales (66)
Hypothetically, if we had secured an FTA deal for all of super (or at least all the games involving Australian sides), would that be more of a positive indicator for Australian rugby, or a negative one for FTA?

There's obviously a lot of different ways that could shake out and most of them come down to money, but where we are right now it's hard to see us getting a lot of benefit out of FTA for super rugby (or FTA getting a lot out of it). Particularly not when Stan is an enthusiastic supporter of the game, the likes of which we haven't seen since at least the early 2000's with Fox. I do think this would be a very different discussion if we had an all (or largely all) Australian product to offer, whether that was at super level or NRC equivalent.
 
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Tomikin

Tomikin

Michael Lynagh (62)
Adam84 said:
The point of even mentioning 1996 was to debate this sentiment that this is a one off sugar-hit, chasing the dollar over FTA exposure has been going on for decades.. Acting as though this is a one-off ignores the actions of the past.

Arguably that horse has now bolted with market penetration anyway, we’re confined to a niche sport given the financial state and consumer base. FTA today as a mechanism for market penetration isn’t as valuable as it was 15-20 years ago given the rise in choice of SVOD services and digital channels.

but even in its current state, getting 50-150k on FTA is still far better for growth of the game then chucking it behind a paywall..
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Free-to-air, though, was a much more penetrating proposition in 1996 than in 2025. Most people have streaming services these days; it's just how the world is.

I think we needed to have it back then, but now it's not so big of a deal (still important). We just need to use our money wisely. Hopefully, 9 will play the Big Oz games on FTA so we get some exposure.

Or when I win the US lottery of a billion dollars, I will make it work :).
 
PhilClinton

PhilClinton

Paul McLean (56)
Tomikin said:
Free-to-air, though, was a much more penetrating proposition in 1996 than in 2025. Most people have streaming services these days; it's just how the world is.
Click to expand...
Absolutely but it’s also fair to say Stan Sports is the most niche product in the
Oz market when it comes to content and then relative price point. If rugby was on Amazon Prime it’s a different proposition. That is why I think having the FTA piece baked in does become important for accessibility.
 
WorkingClassRugger

WorkingClassRugger

Michael Lynagh (62)
PhilClinton said:
Absolutely but it’s also fair to say Stan Sports is the most niche product in the
Oz market when it comes to content and then relative price point. If rugby was on Amazon Prime it’s a different proposition. That is why I think having the FTA piece baked in does become important for accessibility.
Click to expand...

A quich search suggests It's the 4th most subscribed service behind the big 3. Ahead of Kayo, Binge, Paramount+, Hayu, Optus Sport etc.
 
KOB1987

KOB1987

John Eales (66)
I found it bizarre that Weekend Today (i.e. Ch 9) didn't even mention the Tahs/Chiefs game in the sports rundowns. I was only watching till about 8, maybe it got a run later - but still.
 
PhilClinton

PhilClinton

Paul McLean (56)
Major Tom said:
Binge would be because it’s attached to Kayo. It’ll drop down now that it doesn’t have HBO. I don’t know of anyone with Paramount?
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Paramount is actually unreal - some of the best shows I’ve watched in ages - Lioness and Landman specifically. We just have it as an additional subscription through Prime though.
 
Braveheart81

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
Dctarget said:
Was aimlessly flicking through radio stations and heard about Declan Meredith’s signing on Triple J’s news bulletin, nearly crashed with shock. I haven’t listened to JJJ in about 10 years but surely they’d never have rugby news?
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Someone at the station thought it was related to Meredith Music Festival and it got put in the list of things to read out by mistake.
 
LeCheese

LeCheese

John Hipwell (52)
Dctarget said:
Was aimlessly flicking through radio stations and heard about Declan Meredith’s signing on Triple J’s news bulletin, nearly crashed with shock. I haven’t listened to JJJ in about 10 years but surely they’d never have rugby news?
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I've not listened much in the past 6-12mo, but they'd chuck some rugby news in the bulletins a couple of times a day. It was fairly prominent during the Eddie saga, World Cup, and fallout that ensued.

There's not-insignificant coverage of Aus rugby happenings on ABC News proper (website and radio) too. We love the national broadcaster.
 
Sword of Justice

Sword of Justice

John Solomon (38)
Dctarget said:
Was aimlessly flicking through radio stations and heard about Declan Meredith’s signing on Triple J’s news bulletin, nearly crashed with shock. I haven’t listened to JJJ in about 10 years but surely they’d never have rugby news?
Click to expand...
I believe the newsreaders are all reading off the same script on the hourly bulletins at the ABC and are often the same newsreaders simulcast across different stations.

My guess would be that the person putting the script together had no idea about sports and just took a look at their press releases that day and did a lucky dip or otherwise confused the two rugby codes (real and league).
 
T

The_Wookie

Chris McKivat (8)
After a solid increase in 2023, Free to Air viewing started strongly in 2024, with Round 1 delivering the highest performing Free to Air game since Super Rugby Pacific began in 2022, with the NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds delivering an average audience of 173,900 viewers. The second highest performing match was another local derby, the NSW Waratahs v ACT Brumbies in Round 12, delivering 136,800 viewers. Despite the ACT Brumbies again making it through to the semi-finals, the season average on Free to Air was down 9% on 2023.

2024 saw Stan Sport’s coverage of Super Rugby continue to evolve, with more in-broadcast innovation and a 50% increase in weekly rugby shows delivering greater engagement from subscribers.

Test Season 2024 saw the return of traditional afternoon Test rugby, to offer more family friendly match times across the season, and drive stronger ticket sales and attendance in stadiums. The highest performing Wallabies Tests were against Wales, delivering an average Free to Air audience of 512,200 for the first Test, with the second Test delivering an average audience of 464,300. A successful return to an afternoon fixture for Bledisloe Cup in Sydney delivered an average audience of 440,000 on Free to Air.1

Club Rugby The 2024 Shute Shield season saw Eastern Suburbs win the premiership for the first time in 55 years, beating Northern Suburbs in the Grand Final. Of the 7 games available on Free to Air, Shute Shield saw an increase of 9.5% on 2023, with the highest performing game being the Grand Final. In Queensland, Hospital Cup Free to Air ratings were stable on 2023 performance with one less game broadcast due to a clash with Olympics broadcasts. The highest performing game was Round 1 featuring a clash between GPS and Bond University

 
dillyboy

dillyboy

Colin Windon (37)
Anyone know if Stan streams fine overseas?

Will be in Bali (well Nusa Lembongan) for the Reds v Blues game so hoping I can just stream it on one of the kids tablets...

Alternatively anyone know a pub in the area that'll be playing the game (were staying in Hai Tide)
 
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