Where to for Super Rugby?

[Rugbynutter39]

How did SANZAAR convince their broadcast partners to pay the same for much less content?

How did Pulver/SAFA convince SANZAAR that the distributions should remain the same despite supporting fewer teams?

Both of these suggest to me that Super Rugby - and especially the "lower rating games" don't bring all that much money in the door - and it's actually the TRC that's the big money spinner.

I would suggest as tew suggested that left the same as recognising getting rid of teams will come with costs and hence why agreed

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[Omar Comin']

Ain't that the truth. A number of posters seem to overlook the obvious fact that if rugby could support a viable locally based television product, there would have been one years ago.

Oh c'mon, Australian basketball has a viable locally based television product. Including a game on FTA every weekend.

If the ARU had started a professional national comp in 1996 with say 10 teams, before the AFL and NRL became the behemoths they are now, the sport would be a lot better off in this country than it is.

 

[barbarian]

The Wallabies game consistently rates higher than the Boks game in NZ, and the attendances are stronger too. The fans that value it more are in the minority.

Where did you get this info? Not necessarily doubting it, just would like to see the actual figures.

We have a tough choice: go it with South Africa, controlled by a black supremacist government, and watch our code die a slow and painful death, or ride out and get some balls. The Bledisloe Cup is invaluable to the NZRU, SkySports and other related vendors.
.

I think we are in no position to drive a hard bargain with the NZRU. They are superior to us in nearly every facet, so just to say we could achieve a result by 'getting some balls' is pretty ridiculous.

Why would they want a competition where they watch their teams shit all over ours on a weekly basis? Their only decent competition comes from themselves, and the Saffers.

The NZRU want the ABs to be strong, and a Trans-Tasman comp just doesn't achieve that.

And we have a much greater reliance on the Bledisloe than the NZRU. We're locked into content deals with Governments, as it's pretty much the only sought-after match we own.

So we can shout at Steve Tew all we want, but he's holding all the cards. And if he tells us to get fucked, then we are stuck with a domestic-only product that lose us $50m plus in TV revenue each year, and so we'll lose all of our Wallabies overseas and be eaten alive by the AFL and NRL.
.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

So our master plan is:

1, Win Bledisloe
2, ....
3, Profit!

Excellent! That'll learn our Kiwi brothers

Only semi-seriously: it would be funny as hell to win the Bleddy back and then say "Yeah thanx fullahs we're off..". We're probably never winning back the trophy so that cunning plan will probably never eventuate. Bugger.

 

[Set piece magic]

You make a very valid point barbarian, I guess it's just frustrating that we are getting jammed so hard

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I guess we have to start beating the Kiwis a bit before the negotiations are a bit more in our favour. It shits me that we are being bent over but we don't really have a lot with which to mount a counter argument right now.

 

[Blue]

HTF did we ever agree to that? .

I think your wallah's boss got fair dunkum proper out-negotiated (that's not a word but you know what I mean).

Same reason this whole process is being botched...

 

[KiwiM]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/a...e/news-story/4a26b5922883039a217b751c88c6962b

THE ARU has opted to give the Melbourne Rebels and Western Force more time to mount their cases for Super Rugby survival beyond 2017.

“The ARU will undertake due process to ensure that both the Melbourne Rebels and Western Force are given adequate opportunity to present their business case before the Board makes a final decision on which team to be removed,” Clyne said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We maintain our commitment to reaching resolution on this matter as soon as possible, however the timeline that we initially anticipated of 48-72 hours will not apply.

 

[barbarian]

Has anyone heard a reason why the Sunwolves have been largely excluded from this whole debate?

I imagine it's a TV revenue thing, no? I'd love to know just how lucrative they are. It must be, to use a scientific term, 'fucking lucrative'.
.

 

[Blue]

It is also the country out of the 3 with by far the most room for rugby to grow.

Yet after many many years it has not. It is quite telling. It is not as if your average Australian doesn't like this game. He/she/it dislikes it.

I think the ceiling is much lower here in Aus that you think.

 

[Blue]

Has anyone heard a reason why the Sunwolves have been largely excluded from this whole debate?

I imagine it's a TV revenue thing, no? I'd love to know just how lucrative they are. It must be, to use a scientific term, 'fucking lucrative'.
.

Some undocumented agreement to give them X years leeway I would imagine?

 

[Slim 293]

Has anyone heard a reason why the Sunwolves have been largely excluded from this whole debate?

I imagine it's a TV revenue thing, no? I'd love to know just how lucrative they are. It must be, to use a scientific term, 'fucking lucrative'.
.

I imagine so......... RWC 2019, and all that............

 

[Omar Comin']

Barbarian, why would leaving Super Rugby threaten the Bledisloe Cup? This is a crazy assumption, not only because it would hurt NZ as much as it'd hurt us, but because NZ should be happy for us to leave Super Rugby! It'd give the NZRU everything they want. No opposition to a Super Rugby model involving limited local derby's and they can play a lot more matches against South African teams.


The big card the ARU hold over the NZRU is the fact that NZ is a small country with a small economy and that Australia is the only large economy anywhere near them. It's a pretty big card. The reality is their professional structure would fall over without us. Ours may be hurt pretty badly without them too, but rugby is already on its knees in Australia so we have less to lose.

 

[Blue]

Stop being nice to Steve Tew (who has treated us like pure shit, and is a nasty man), and come ready to negotiate and stomp on their heads.

All good and well but your foot soldier does not fill me with much confidence.

From the outside it seems like he is being kicked around like a football at Bulls practice.

 

[Set piece magic]

barbar, pulver was saying the sunwolves where included due to being economically lucrative, which I believe is code for even though they don't get that strong attendances, the market in Japan is ^3 whatever Australia is, so only a small percentage of people have to watch for them to get really good ratings.

I would love to be able to get ahold of more foreign ratings so we could understand. They are probably in a locked cupboard in St Leonards

 

[Benaud]

Has anyone heard a reason why the Sunwolves have been largely excluded from this whole debate?

I imagine it's a TV revenue thing, no? I'd love to know just how lucrative they are. It must be, to use a scientific term, 'fucking lucrative'.
.

Most of the chat in the press conference was around the world cup. I'd just about bet my house they are one of the teams to go in the next 2021 cull.

 

[drewprint]

Has anyone heard a reason why the Sunwolves have been largely excluded from this whole debate?

I imagine it's a TV revenue thing, no? I'd love to know just how lucrative they are. It must be, to use a scientific term, 'fucking lucrative'.
.

If we're being forced to cut a team, while the Sunwolves get to stay for purely financial reasons, I hope the ARU are pushing like hell for some extra kind of compensation. We'll sure need the cash considering the almost inevitable legal action from the cut franchise.

 

[barbarian]

Barbarian, why would leaving Super Rugby threaten the Bledisloe Cup? .

I didn't say that. I said that if we get into a situation where we burn our bridges with the NZRU (as Spikhaza suggested) then we'd be up shit creek without our most lucrative product.
.

 

[KiwiM]

barbar, pulver was saying the sunwolves where included due to being economically lucrative, which I believe is code for even though they don't get that strong attendances, the market in Japan is ^3 whatever Australia is, so only a small percentage of people have to watch for them to get really good ratings.

I would love to be able to get ahold of more foreign ratings so we could understand. They are probably in a locked cupboard in St Leonards

Their average attendances at games in Tokyo would have to be one of the highest in the whole competition

 

[Set piece magic]

A hunt around for super rugby ratings in japan has been elusive, but found this snippet

Tournament organisers World Rugby revealed that Japan's historic upset win over two-time Cup champions South Africa has had a significant impact. More than 25 million people in Japan tuned in for the Brave Blossoms' follow up win over Samoa, setting a record for a national TV audience for the sport.

25 million people shits on anything Australia / Nz can generate so I imagine even with the smaller team it still gets ratings high enough to justify inclusion easily