The 2017 Rights Deal Discussion thread

[Bachars Beard]

So a 6 year deal to get to 2 billion but we lose a FTA game? Not exactly the best news for fans. Players and clubs will be happy.

 

[GOAUS!]

So a 6 year deal to get to 2 billion but we lose a FTA game? Not exactly the best news for fans. Players and clubs will be happy.

Lose a FTA game (Saturday afternoon) whenever a Thursday night match is played. Unless 10 pick it up.

 

[Gigantor]

There's an ambiguity in Caro's article. She opens by describing it as $2 billion over 6 years (or 333 mill per annum), but then closes by saying that it will run from 2017 to 2021 with an option to extend to a 6th year.

There's a big difference between getting $2 billion over 5 years and getting over 6 years.

Has Caro slipped up with her opening paragraph or is this actually $2 billion over six years (which is going to work out be worth a little less than what the NRL will end up getting per annum if they reach $1.7 billion).

 

[Experimental]

I hope the AFL force 7's hand by ensuring they play all AFL games on the main channel with the option to be simulast in HD on 7Mate.

Airing the AFL on 7 Mate is ****ing stupid and needs to be stopped.

 

[Our Game]

Did you mean RL or RU? Because RU as a product puts the boot into itself.

Sorry I of course RL
RU is dead in the water in OZ and the Wallabies are really only a NSW QLD combine so they dont represent the whole of the nation when there are usually few or no players from the 5 other states in their teams.

 

[aCunningPlan]

I hope the AFL force 7's hand by ensuring they play all AFL games on the main channel with the option to be simulast in HD on 7Mate.

Airing the AFL on 7 Mate is ******* stupid and needs to be stopped.

Why? It's still on telly and would be in HD! Sport should really be moved to the HD channels, it will be a cultural shift but it will prove to be a dramatic increase in viewer experience.

 

[Our Game]

Lets hope Caro is right! I cant watch the piss poor quality on CH 7 I only watch Foxtel for the footy So I dont care about FTA at all.

 

[Experimental]

Why? It's still on telly and would be in HD! Sport should really be moved to the HD channels, it will be a cultural shift but it will prove to be a dramatic increase in viewer experience.

Turns out there is going to be a bill in parliament in the coming month to allow HD broadcast on FTA main channels.

If that's the case, the footy should still be aired on the main channel and not 7Mate

 

[precarious]

So a 6 year deal to get to 2 billion but we lose a FTA game? Not exactly the best news for fans. Players and clubs will be happy.

Need to see the details, but the article seems to suggest the following situation for Melbourne:

12 rounds with 4 live FTA games
10 rounds with 3 live FTA games (except that if Anzac Day and Queen's Birthday weekends have no Thursday night games, there might also be four live FTA games those rounds, bringing the split to 14/8 perhaps)

The above compares with the current situation in which there are 3 live FTA games into Melbourne and 1 FTA game on delay.

Obviously the article leaves plenty of other details up in the air. As someone else mentioned, it will be interesting to see what has been agreed upon for the other states. Currently there are four and sometimes five live FTA games outside Victoria (five can occur when one or both of the local teams' games are Foxtel games).

 

[papabear]

It's a very interesting landscape at the moment. Potentially we will see Ch.7, 10 and Foxsports unite to ensure the AFL remains on their programming list. Ch.9 have clearly displayed that they are very Sydney centric with no visible room for market penetration into the Southern States.

Call it what you will, however, the AFL has phenomenal market penetration in its indigenous states compared to the NRL (Fact). Without Football the average sports fan will seldom watch Ch.9, as they don't offer much more than the cricket in summer. Likewise, Ch.7 lack for the penetration in the northern states due to a lack of rugby content.

Although Sydney has the largest market place for advertisers, forecasters estimate that Melbourne will in turn over take Sydney population wise within the next 40 years. At some point in time, and I don't think it will be 40 years, we will start to see a shift in the market place. Some might see this as ridiculous, however, it's less than 8 broadcast agreements away.

One way or the other, one of Australia's major sports is going to entertain the idea of going it alone (NFL Style), when that happens, the essential bickering between the codes will come to an end, as market penetration will eclipse the need for the size of potential market. Market forces are shifting, and it's only a matter of time before we see what sport is really worth.

When rugby league was getting shitty tv deals because they were half owned by media companies.

People who didn't like rugby league would say that is what it was worth. Now that Rugby League is becoming more independent and negotiating strong deals you are inferring that they aren't worth what they are getting paid.

As for the demographics, Sydney gets more overseas immigration then Melbourne, melbournes growth comes from people who want to sell up in sydney or buy into Melbourne because its cheaper. Those same people are more likely to watch league then afl, so there goes that theory.

Also if Melbourne ever did get bigger then Sydney you would hazard a guess that there real estate prices would follow. Thus, all real estate prices being equal will you have the same people immigrating from Sydney to Melbourne?? no.