AFL overtaking NRL in QLD

[Badger17]

News limited owned the Storm until 2013 and tit is now owned by a business associated of the murchochs.

They have a got a very good run. More generally, the Storm have benefited from SEN's relationship with the NRL and so getting substantial access to the AFL audience and have had a decent run on channel 9 fairfax.

The Courier Mail actually got rid of all AFL writers at one point despite the game being objectively far more popular in Brisbane than League is in Melbourne.

You are completely wrong




The News Limited thinks it owns rugby league. Murdoch made a snide remark that one time when the NRL dared sign a TV deal without its approval. Hardly an argument against the NRL generally getting relatively favourable coverage by news limited.

Conveniently ignoring every point I made doesn't make me wrong.

The Storm were sold over a decade ago.

The Super League War happened, and without getting into a massive history lesson, News' behaviour during that time can at best be described as extremely morally questionable.

They are directly responsible for multiple RL clubs both here in Australia and in the UK folding (i.e. literally pulled the trigger), and for many more going bankrupt or being crippled. To make it as clear as possible, many of the clubs they are responsible for offing were reasonably successful (by the standards of the time), and could have continued to this day except for the fact that they didn't fit News' 'vision' for the sport.

News did abuse their position to underpay for broadcasting rights and actively suppress the NRL's growth in the post SL era, and you simply don't know what you're talking about if you're denying that.

Rupert's stunt in 2015 isn't the only example of them using competitors to undermine or attack the RL any time they stepped out of line either. Super Rugby owes it's existence to News being frustrated with RL and wanting to turn the screws for example. In fact the whole sport of RU, globally, only went pro when it did, how it did, because of the SL war and News being unscrupulous bastards.

The existence of a RL focused radio show, that nobody under the age 45 even knows exists, and hosted by two of biggest out of touch flogs in RL, doesn't change any of the above either. You're also truly delusional if you really believe that we couldn't come up with numerous examples of AFL associated media and personalities saying incredibly silly things about RL and the NRL as well.

So yeah, you'll have to excuse me if I'm failing to see the grand conspiracy when, if anything, News has done more damage to RL than any single entity on the planet other than arguably RU.

 

[The_Wookie]

Conveniently ignoring every point I made doesn't make me wrong.

The Storm were sold over a decade ago.

The Super League War happened, and without getting into a massive history lesson, News' behaviour during that time can at best be described as extremely morally questionable.

They are directly responsible for multiple RL clubs both here in Australia and in the UK folding (i.e. literally pulled the trigger), and for many more going bankrupt or being crippled. To make it as clear as possible, many of the clubs they are responsible for offing were reasonably successful (by the standards of the time), and could have continued to this day except for the fact that they didn't fit News' 'vision' for the sport.

News did abuse their position to underpay for broadcasting rights and actively suppress the NRL's growth in the post SL era, and you simply don't know what you're talking about if you're denying that.

Rupert's stunt in 2015 isn't the only example of them using competitors to undermine or attack the RL any time they stepped out of line either. Super Rugby owes it's existence to News being frustrated with RL and wanting to turn the screws for example. In fact the whole sport of RU, globally, only went pro when it did, how it did, because of the SL war and News being unscrupulous bastards.

The existence of a RL focused radio show, that nobody under the age 45 even knows exists, and hosted by two of biggest out of touch flogs in RL, doesn't change any of the above either. You're also truly delusional if you really believe that we couldn't come up with numerous examples of AFL associated media and personalities saying incredibly silly things about RL and the NRL as well.

So yeah, you'll have to excuse me if I'm failing to see the grand conspiracy when, if anything, News has done more damage to RL than any single entity on the planet other than arguably RU.

Rugby Union went pro in 1995 and Super12 started in 1996. Superleague was 1997 (even if its roots began in 1994), and the ARLC took over in 2012.

Youll have to excuse us for not joining in the pity party that has been the forever running saga that blames News Limited for everything since Superleague.

 

[Badger17]

This is an interesting take coz what I'm reading from you is staggering bias, which you're famous for in here being a league man.

I'm not a "league man", you're confusing my moderate position for bias because I'm not strictly adhering to the AFL party line and presenting you with information you'd prefer discount out of hand. You're no different than a political partisan.

The blokes on League Unlimited claim I'm an 'AFL troll' for the exact same reason that you're calling me a 'league man' right now. It's pretty funny actually.

 

[Badger17]

Rugby Union went pro in 1995 and Super12 started in 1996. Superleague was 1997 (even if its roots began in 1994), and the ARLC took over in 2012.

Youll have to excuse us for not joining in the pity party that has been the forever running saga that blames News Limited for everything since Superleague.

News Limited tried to buy the NSWRL/ARL's pay tv rights as early as 1993, but couldn't because the NSWRL had given them to Kerry Packer effectively for free as part of their broadcast deal with Nine in 1991.

Super League proper had been proposed behind the scenes by discontents at the Broncos at about the same time in 1993, and went into planning behind the scenes quickly after that point. Attempts were made by News and their supporters to takeover the league legitimately during that time, culminating in the original proposal for SL being presented to the ARL and clubs at a meeting in Dec 94/Jan 95, where Kerry Packer when on a famous rant where he threatened to sue anybody that signed with Super League, and the proposal failed.

At that point the ARL seemed to believe that SL had been put to bed and tried to move on, but behind the scenes News had a plan B and the war proper started in April 1995 when News and their supporters launched a clandestine campaign to sign clubs and players to join their rival league.

The intention was for SL to kick-off in 1996, but legal proceedings and a court order prevented that and it was delayed until 1997.

Very early on figures in RU in Australia and New Zealand were sounded out by News and Broncos representatives about their interest in working for SL, and the $$$ being thrown around spooked them. They were afraid that RU would be incapable of competing with the money on offer in RL if News got control, and probably legitimately so, but the unions, believing that SL was a pipedream, tried to ignore it in the hope that it would go away, which lead to another organisation (the name of which I can't remember for the life of me) popping up and effectively attempting to become RU's version of the SL. That organisation didn't get too far initially, but it did get the attention of the Unions outside of the pacific region and the WRB, and alerted them to what was happening.

Once the SL war went hot in 95, and the money actually started being thrown around, the WRB and members of what would become SANZAR quickly saw the writing on the wall and organise meetings straight away. In fear of RU losing it's top talent to RL the Union equivalent of SL had started trying to sign players to contracts in the same manner as SL was doing, but the Unions largely gazumped both them and SL itself by sending out a message to every player saying don't sign anything with anyone until you've given us a chance to counter offer.

They (ARU, NZRU, and SARU) then rushed together a proposal that would see the Super 10 provincial competition go professional and be expanded to Super 12, took that proposal to News, who, because of the legal proceedings in RL, were now aware that they were likely going to have a gap in their sport broadcasting for the the launch season of Foxtel, and made a deal.

SANZAR going pro, and to varying extents the RFL joining Super League and PSG launching a club in it, forced the rest of the big Unions to go pro as quickly as possible, or at least attempt to go pro, and the rest is history.

Not everything that's happened in RL since the war is News' fault, and nobody was claiming that it was, however RL's relationship to News is intrinsically linked to SL, the war, and the period of ownership in it's aftermath, and it's ridiculous to suggest that News has treated RL as anything other than a means to make money.