Channel 9 telecast rant

[Rabbir]

But they're the home of rugby league.

 

[Professor47]

Unfortunately that is the way it goes in Sydney. The irony is as someone mentioned - the coverage is actually BETTER overseas for expats! You CAN select which game to stream etc. The options are fantastic and they are in HD!
Obviously this all has to do with TV rights logistics etc.
However, IMHO Australia just gets bogged down when it comes to this stuff - there should be a proper internet service for everyone (paid) and they should have the option to watch the games through it - I'm happy for them to even put ads on it to provide more revenue for the game. Thank God they have the IPAD/IPHONE stuff happening but you SHOULD be able to select games.
/rant

 

[Professor47]

It's just sad you get better coverage overseas than in Australia. It's just another example of how poor the NRL is run on the administration side of things. I'm not trying to sound like a dickhead but honestly, straight up - the way the NRL administration run the game (and the way it has been run over the last 10 years) is downright embarrassing. It really is.

 

[hidethesuspect]

It's all about the money though. If they didn't allow Foxtel to dictate the terms (:D) they wouldn't get so much money. I would say a big chunk of Foxtel's market would disappear if we could get HD streaming online and pick any game we want without having to get Foxtel. I wonder how much that would be worth to the NRL in comparison the loss of revenue from Foxtel/Telstra. You would hope they worked it out and found that letting Foxtel/Telstra do what they wanted with the online component was well worth the angry fans. By that I mean the amount of money that Foxtel pays would outweigh the amount of money they would get from people paying for a season pass.

It's goes back to which is better for the game and probably an argument that has merits to both sides. At the end of the day I really don't give a damn about the loss of revenue. Allow me to stream any game I want any time in at least 720p. Allow me to stream it at any time for the entire season. If I want to go back and watch round 3 then I should be able to. I will pay up to $250 a year for that ability! I am thinking the next time the TV rights are up for auction we will see most of the changes we want.