NEWS AFL TV Deal

[Super Freak]

The only thing that is Stronger is the viewership the actual TV payments are lower, that's what you call bad business.

The new TV deal is going to be bringing in more money than what it was pre-pandemic, more than what a lot of people in NRL HQ were expecting, the profits are bigger, they aren't burning through money like the previous administration was, viewership is increasing. Everything that actually matters is increasing.

Last time I checked, everything increasing is a good thing. I don't think any of you remember just how much of a shit show the previous administration was. The finances were a damn mess.

 

[Mustafur]

The new TV deal is going to be bringing in more money than what it was pre-pandemic, more than what a lot of people in NRL HQ were expecting, the profits are bigger, they aren't burning through money like the previous administration was, viewership is increasing. Everything that actually matters is increasing.

Last time I checked, everything increasing is a good thing. I don't think any of you remember just how much of a shit show the previous administration was. The finances were a damn mess.

Did you read the article?

The Nine Deal is literally less then pre Covid, and that was after they re-negotiated for 2020 due to less games.

He also Negotiated for a long term Fox deal in the middle of Covid(the weakest position to do it in), I don't understand how that was a good idea.

 

[Super Freak]

Did you read the article?

The Nine Deal is literally less then pre Covid, and that was after they re-negotiated for 2020 due to less games.

He also Negotiated for a long term Fox deal in the middle of Covid(the weakest position to do it in), I don't understand how that was a good idea.

I did read the article. Have you actually read up on the new broadcast deal?

 

[Mustafur]

I did read the article. Have you actually read up on the new broadcast deal?

It's easy to say you have read something without actually having done so, your comment is an example of that.

 

[Super Freak]

It's easy to say you have read something without actually having done so, your comment is an example of that.

The new broadcast deal which starts next year is an increase on the previous deals which is going to be bringing in more money than what they were bringing in pre-pandemic. That much has been shown..

 

[Mustafur]

The new broadcast deal which starts next year is an increase on the previous deals which is going to be bringing in more money than what they were bringing in pre-pandemic. That much has been shown..

The Foxtel is, the Nine isn't, it was $125 million a year before Covid(then dropped to $90 in covid) while the new deal is $115 Million.

It would of helped massively if both TV partners were signed at the same time so there is more competition, but what can you expect from this guy, sold the sport out for peanuts, the fact AFL will get more then 200 million per season then the NRL despite losing the Paid TV numbers big time is all you need to know.

 

[Super Freak]

The Foxtel is, the Nine isn't, it was $125 million a year before Covid(then dropped to $90 in covid) while the new deal is $115 Million.

It would of helped massively if both TV partners were signed at the same time so there is more competition, but what can you expect from this guy, sold the sport out for peanuts, the fact AFL will get more then 200 million per season then the NRL despite losing the Paid TV numbers big time is all you need to know.

The $125 million was including contra. The 9 deal is back to being what it was prior to the pandemic, $115 million with an increase in the contra ($15 million up from $10 million). NRL got more money from Fox when they extended the deal for 5 years because of the new team coming into the comp. They got more money from other sources, as well.

Overall, the broadcast deal is more than what it was pre-pandemic, it was a record deal. It's resulting in more money coming into the game with a focus on investments in grassroots and several other avenues.

All of the information is all there on google for everyone to see. The NRL is making more money, viewership is increasing, the finances have been brought under control, the NRL's profits are increasing, they're investing in assets, grassroots etc to secure the future of the game, they're bringing in another team with the aim of expanding to 18 teams in the very near future. These are all good things, but people are bitching that the game is dying.. No, it isn't. It's going to take more than a couple of rule changes and some players being treated favourably.

As for the gap between the AFL deal and the NRL deal. A lot of it is contra, and they also included the Telstra deal while the NRL didn't include it in theirs. The gap is exaggerated.

 

[broncos4life]

The game is in a stronger position than what it was before he took over.

I’ve assumed you meant stranger rather than stronger. Autocorrect gets the best of us all.

 

[Kimlo]

Source: SMH

‘Without the NRL, there’d be no Foxtel’: V’landys defends broadcast deal against AFL riches​

Andrew WebsterChief Sports Writer
September 9, 2022 — 5.45am

Few have trolled AFL more in the past three years than ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys.

In 2020, when the AFL relocated the grand final to rugby league stronghold Brisbane because of COVID-19 lockdowns, he told Channel Nine’s Today: “It’s like people going to an ABBA concert when they’re AC/DC fans.”

In 2021, when Fox Sports’ Matty Johns asked him about the rival code, he called AFL “such a boring sport”. Asked what he would watch if he had the choice between AFL or rugby union, V’landys replied: “The Flintstones.”
Last month, after announcing the NRL grand final would be staying in Sydney after his ugly battle with Premier Dominic Perrottet, V’landys said: “We wanted to give it to a city that needs a major football event, that’s why we’ve gone with Melbourne … Just kidding! Greetings Gil [McLachlan, the AFL chief executive] if you’re watching”.

The snobs at the AFL won’t even dignify V’landys by mentioning his name, nor rugby league for that matter, but you can bet they’re laughing deep into their Aperol Spritz – the official drink of the AFL, I’m told – after hatching a mammoth $4.5 billion, seven-year broadcast deal with Seven and Foxtel.
Since the AFL trumpeted the deal on Tuesday night, there has been widespread concern among rugby league powerbrokers about what it means for the future of their code.

ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys says rugby league has nothing to worry about after the AFL hatched a massive broadcast deal.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Specifically, they are concerned about the yawning gap between the AFL and NRL deals.
How wide the gap is depends on whom you ask, but figures being thrown around range from $100 million per annum to as much as $260 million per annum.

Comparisons between broadcast deals are often problematic, but more so this time because the new AFL deal is over seven years from 2025. The NRL’s new five-year cycle with Foxtel and Channel Nine (publisher of this masthead) starts in 2023.
The 18-team AFL also plays an extra game per week, although the NRL will add a 17th team, the Dolphins, from next year in a move that secured an additional $100 million over five years from Foxtel.
No matter how the NRL wants to spin it, the AFL deal is a serious blow. This column is only being written because of the legions of rugby league types – including those loyal to V’landys – calling to express their concerns. “Catastrophic” is how one club chief executive described it.
They identify V’landys negotiating a seven-year extension with Foxtel during the pandemic in 2020 as the moment the NRL blew it.
According to various sources, then NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg and his then chief commercial officer, Andrew Abdo, presented a paper to the commission in late March strongly advising against signing a new broadcast deal during the pandemic.

Every major sport in the world spruiks the value of new broadcast deals. Chief executives and chairs hang their hat on them. McLachlan will be dining out on the AFL’s for the rest of his days. Yet, the NRL refuses to divulge the number.
The figure I’ve been told – via NRL sources – is the Foxtel component is about $200 million a year from $185 million in the previous deal. Along with free-to-air, New Zealand, international and radio rights, the total deal is about $400m per year.

How did this happen? What about V’landys’ covert trips to Los Angeles to break bread with News Corp boss Lachlan Murdoch? The fact-finding missions to Amazon and Netflix to make sure rugby league was backstroking in cash for years to come?
When the free-to-air component with Nine was finally struck in December last year, clubs were told the NRL had wrung every available cent out of the broadcaster.

Evidently not: Nine (and Stan) threw $500 million at the AFL in the latest negotiations but still missed out to Seven and Fox.
“So what?” you might ask. “Who cares what the AFL got? Rugby league’s going great. Leave the Man of Golden Feathers, as Roy and HG call him, alone!”

Rugby league will forever be in V’landys’ debt for the dogged manner in which he navigated rugby league through troubled COVID-19 waters.
On his and Abdo’s watch, the game survived, it increased revenue, recorded profits and gave some of that money back to the players. The NRL even bought a bar on Caxton Street.

But the real concern is what the AFL can do with their recently acquired goldmine.
With a strong administration, financially strong clubs and world-class stadiums, there’s not much left to fix.
It means the AFL can heavily invest in expansion and development, aggressively taking on rival codes with typical arrogance and ruthlessness.
The monster AFL deal sees a further slipping of the V’landys crown, but I’m sure he’ll survive. He’s got enough supporters to make sure that happens.
But what ultimately suffers most is rugby league, left once again to make up the shortfall.

 

[Kimlo]

Chat with the ARLC chairman​

V’landys was chairing a meeting of Kangaroos selectors when contacted for a response. He returned our call and this is what he had to say …
Andrew Webster: Is the AFL’s deal of concern to you?
Peter V’landys: No, not at all. What you’ve got to understand is this deal doesn’t come into effect until 2027 [sic], so it’s two years away. We will be negotiating our deal pretty soon to take us up to 2031. We set up the platform for AFL to be able to do this. If the game hadn’t started on May 28 [2020], and both the NRL and AFL cut their broadcast requirements to make Fox and Nine viable because they were in uncharted waters, they [the AFL] wouldn’t have the platforms to do what they’re doing. We’ve got a few things up our sleeves, which I can’t say too much about it, but the clubs have nothing to be worried about.

AW: Some are saying the difference between the two deals is as much as $260 million per annum. What do you say to that?
PV: No. Nope. And you won’t know until the annual accounts are put through because a lot of it’s contra. They’ve also added the Telstra deal, which isn’t in ours. But I’m not concerned because we will be negotiating. We did them a favour, now they’ve done us a favour. We will be maximising our rights now.
AW: Was it a mistake doing the deal with Foxtel during the pandemic?
At the time, Fox needed an asset on its sheet to continue its viability. If we didn’t come into play, there’d be no Foxtel.
AW: Isn’t that Rupert Murdoch’s problem, not rugby league’s?

If Foxtel coughs, all the codes catch a cold. If you haven’t got them in play, the other parties won’t be paying as much as they should because you need competitive tension. When COVID-19 hit, they were the only ones. If they went under, there was no-one else available.
AW: Is it right that Greenberg and Abdo presented a paper to the commission advising against it?
That’s not correct. Complete rubbish. I was chairman and that was never, ever discussed. Todd had left by the time we started negotiating with Fox.
(Abdo also told this column that no paper was presented. Various sources from the NRL at the time refute this but wouldn’t go on the record).
AW: Why can’t you divulge how much Foxtel paid?

There’s a confidentiality clause in all our agreements. What does it matter anyway? It’s the net profit that counts. It’s what you distribute to the clubs and players. We’ve distributed more to them in the history of the game. Our revenues next year are the highest they’ve ever been. You can’t take one aspect and then ignore the rest.

 

[Sproj]

You can’t take one aspect and then ignore the rest.

But clearly Vlandys can do this, just no one else can.

 

[Mustafur]

This is all I needed to hear.

According to various sources, then NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg and his then chief commercial officer, Andrew Abdo, presented a paper to the commission in late March strongly advising against signing a new broadcast deal during the pandemic.

@Super Freak How can you honestly say he is the savour, if his predecessor at least had the intelligence when it came to the exact thing that feeds the game oxygen?
This deal he has done is a disaster there is no way you can spin it.

AW: Was it a mistake doing the deal with Foxtel during the pandemic?

At the time, Fox needed an asset on its sheet to continue its viability. If we didn’t come into play, there’d be no Foxtel.
AW: Isn’t that Rupert Murdoch’s problem, not rugby league’s?

If Foxtel coughs, all the codes catch a cold. If you haven’t got them in play, the other parties won’t be paying as much as they should because you need competitive tension. When COVID-19 hit, they were the only ones. If they went under, there was no-one else available.

The nonsense about making sure Foxtel had something or it would die is total bullshit, they literally have AFL rights as well, and they could of went for a bid on the Champions league like Nine/stan did to take from Optus, and they could even do a shorter deal, there is a million options here for both parties to exist without being involved.

It sounds like he accidently admitted NRL is controlled by Newscorp.

 

[Sproj]

This is all I needed to hear.



@Super Freak How can you honestly say he is the savour, if his predecessor at least had the intelligence when it came to the exact thing that feeds the game oxygen?
This deal he has done is a disaster there is no way you can spin it.



The nonsense about making sure Foxtel had something or it would die is total bullshit, they literally have AFL rights as well, and they could of went for a bid on the Champions league like Nine/stan did to take from Optus, and they could even do a shorter deal, there is a million options here for both parties to exist without being involved.

It sounds like he accidently admitted NRL is controlled by Newscorp.

Exactly and of course no one cares about cricket in Australia either apparently. The guy just tries to justify his own stuff up.