JRugby2
Ted Thorn (20)
For better or worse - rugby will remain on PayTV forever. The business model for popularity needs to evolve into new content areas to make fans want to pay for these subscriptions and go to games.You’re spot on. The short season and limited access on pay TV are definitely hurting rugby's visibility and fan engagement. With only a few months of competition and limited opportunities for fans to watch live games, it’s no surprise people are drifting away. More accessible and consistent rugby would keep fans more connected to the game and the clubs.
As a side - We can probably expect to see more NRL and AFL go behind a paywall too with the overall decline of FTA leading to the reduction of ad-revenue for networks (or at least their share relative to the entire competition in the event of expansion).