OFFICIAL Foxtel to remain the home of Rugby League until 2027

[Unbreakable]

Fox League will remain the home of the NRL after the announcement of an extended broadcast deal with Foxtel until the end of 2027.

Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys and Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany reached the agreement after weeks of negotiations and comes hours before the restart of the NRL season.

The deal, which keeps live NRL on Fox League for an additional five years after the expiry of the current deal in 2022, is a massive win for rugby league fans and Foxtel customers who won’t miss a minute of the action.

The deal provides certainty for the next five years with an extended Foxtel partnership until 2027, and the next three years with Nine with the renewal of the existing contract until 2022.

In a media release on Thursday, ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys thanked both broadcast partners and said the agreement was a win for fans, the game and all partners.

“I want to thank Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany and Nine CEO Hugh Marks for reaching a broadcast agreement that puts the fans and the game’s future first,” Mr V’landys said.

“I am delighted to have worked with our long-standing partners Foxtel and Nine to reshape and resume the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership. It is significant that on one of the most important days in our game’s history, we have finalised the deal to ensure its future.

“Our negotiations were tough but always in a spirit of goodwill and shared ambitions for the betterment of rugby league. We could not have reached our May 28 restart ambitions without the teamwork and collaboration of our partners.”

The agreement with broadcasters continues the current structure:

- Foxtel will show all eight games every weekend - including five exclusive telecasts each weekend;

- Nine will continue to televise three games - Thursday and Friday nights, plus Sunday afternoon;

- The last five Saturday night games of each season will continue to be broadcast on Foxtel and on Nine in the build up to the Finals series;

- Nine will continue its exclusive coverage of the three State of Origin matches, to be held this year on November 4, 11 and 18.

“Foxtel is incredibly pleased to support the NRL through this difficult period and to have footy back on Foxtel this weekend, every round, every game, live and ad free during play,” Mr Delany said.

“This is a great outcome for footy, for fans and for players. It’s also a hugely important signal to everyone in Australia, and around the world, that we will get through these times, and we can keep players and coaching staff safe while we all enjoy the game.

“The agreement between Foxtel and the NRL extends our existing broadcast rights for a further 5 years and cements our position as the Home of NRL until 2027. It provides the NRL with the certainty to continue to develop the status of the game and gives fans the go-to destination for the best of NRL, all in one place.

“Being back on the field and back on air tonight doesn’t happen without leadership. I want to acknowledge Peter V’landys and everyone at the NRL and the clubs for their passion to get the game back. It’s been outstanding.

“We have also had incredible support from the New South Wales and Queensland Governments and from Prime Minister Morrison. It really has been a team Australia effort and it shows us all what can be accomplished through co-operation, even in the most difficult of times.”

The 2020 NRL season resumes on Thursday night with a blockbuster between the Broncos and the Eels, live on Fox League from 7pm.

Source: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...l/news-story/d3e7b04fb44bdc1451e130d74bbfdf75

 

[Unbreakable]

I don't know what Peter V'landys is being paid, but they need to double it.

This dude just gets shit done.

 

[Kimlo]

No figures being mentioned anywhere is pretty concerning. I hope he hasn't sold the game short. It's only a good result if the numbers are good. There's no value in long term security if it's a shit figure and the game has no chance of any increase for 8 years.

There's also no mention of the Digital Rights which I hope the NRL has kept.

Hopefully we'll get a bit more actual information soon.

 

[Xzei]

Make nine pay big at the end of 2022 the miserable *****

 

[jarro65]

I don't know what Peter V'landys is being paid, but they need to double it.

This dude just gets shit done.

I read somewhere that he isnt being paid very much at all.

 

[Kooly87]

I only hope we got a fair price. It's a bit scary that Foxtel have been quite literally gushing over V'Landys and his every move for months now. This is not an organisation that ever gushes over Rugby League administrators and yet V'Landys has been able to do no wrong it seems.

Months of nothing but glowing coverage followed by a new TV deal for Fox with not mention of the dollar figures just all seems a little unusual for mine.

 

[Kimlo]

I only hope we got a fair price. It's a bit scary that Foxtel have been quite literally gushing over V'Landys and his every move for months now. This is not an organisation that ever gushes over Rugby League administrators and yet V'Landys has been able to do no wrong it seems.

Months of nothing but glowing coverage followed by a new TV deal for Fox with not mention of the dollar figures just all seems a little unusual for mine.

Yep the media on all ends was hammering greenberg and they're all gushing over V'landys and now we've locked in a very long term deal (longest ever?) with no real clue what it actually entails.

I'll call it a good deal when I see figures but the cynical part of me says he's well and truly sold the game out to make a quick buck and move onto his next role. Organisations will usually yell loud and proud if they sign a good deal, there's not a single mention of $ values anywhere, it's not even implied that it's a good deal. Nothing other than it's now 5 years long and it's been renegotiated, obviously not upwards.

 

[Sproj]

Yep the media on all ends was hammering greenberg and they're all gushing over V'landys and now we've locked in a very long term deal (longest ever?) with no real clue what it actually entails.

I'll call it a good deal when I see figures but the cynical part of me says he's well and truly sold the game out to make a quick buck and move onto his next role. Organisations will usually yell loud and proud if they sign a good deal, there's not a single mention of $ values anywhere, it's not even implied that it's a good deal. Nothing other than it's now 5 years long and it's been renegotiated, obviously not upwards.

Makes me wonder if a sell-out was included as a sweetener to getting the game re-started so quickly. This will be very interesting pudding.

 

[Kooly87]

Makes me wonder if a sell-out was included as a sweetener to getting the game re-started so quickly. This will be very interesting pudding.

We may well have had to cave a little long term if it meant we didn't have to write off the season altogether. I guess it's similar to the Government borrowing heavily long term to ensure we don't have a complete disaster in the here and now.

Honestly, I'm ok with that if that's what V'Landys and co have decided to do and I could appreciate the reasons why, but just be transparent about it and explain it to the fans in an honest manner, rather than have Fox act as a cheer squad for months on end so that people are more inclined to just blindly accept V'Landys can do no wrong.

 

[Sproj]

We may well have had to cave a little long term if it meant we didn't have to write off the season altogether. I guess it's similar to the Government borrowing heavily long term to ensure we don't have a complete disaster in the here and now.

Honestly, I'm ok with that if that's what V'Landys and co have decided to do and I could appreciate the reasons why, but just be transparent about it and explain it to the fans in an honest manner, rather than have Fox act as a cheer squad for months on end so that people are more inclined to just blindly accept V'Landys can do no wrong.

Let's wait and see the details and then compare that to the AFL for example who may have waited two to three weeks longer to get re-started but may have managed better overall. V'landys has so much positive media at the moment it concerns me a LOT.

 

[Unbreakable]

 

[Sproj]

That doesn't sound great does it?

 

[Kimlo]

That doesn't sound great does it?

It's not good but it's not as bad as I was expecting actually. That's about 45M a year less than before which is about 2.8M less per team average. Salary cap looks like it's going to need to be cut.

Still nothing about digital rights mentioned.

 

[Foordy]

So the last $1b+ deal was for how many years?

1.9 billion over 5 years

 

[Kimlo]

If the NRL is smart, this is their future, just as NBA League Pass delivers to the world by subscription.

Absolutely, it's one of the most important things and Fox/Nine were trying hard to take control of it. I want to know if the NRL has retained ownership because a lot of money can be clawed back through that avenue at least.

 

[Foordy]

If the NRL is smart, this is their future, just as NBA League Pass delivers to the world by subscription.

i really hate the NRL's live pass app ... among other things it is a pain that the screen is limited to 8 or 10 inches

 

[Kimlo]

i really hate the NRL's live pass app ... among other things it is a pain that the screen is limited to 8 or 10 inches

That's part of the Foxtel deal. I believe it's specifically part of the agreement that the NRL cannot broadcast past a certain quality or on anything that's not strictly a portable device. It's pretty bad but it's good when you're desperate and need an NRL fix.

 

[The Strapper]

This deal has one massive cloud hanging over it.
That is the viability of Foxtel itself. To put it bluntly I do not know (and I don't think anyone else does) if Foxtel itself will be around in 7 yrs time.
The have a high cost base compared to their competitors like Netflix and have been bleeding subscribers. I know this will come back to some extent when the covid crisis passes but I just don't know about their long term prospects.
When you consider they have been around 25yrs and have about 5 million viewers whilst Netflix has been around 5 yrs and has about 12 million viewers it doesn't look good.
I accept that V'landys has to take the money now but I think the NRL need to have a plan B in case Foxtel falls over and the deal with it.
Off course what a plan B looks like is anybody's guess.