Foxtel owner's French crisis on NRL's radar as it kicks off broadcast bidding war
The NRL is keeping a close eye on a breakdown in relations between pay TV provider Foxtel's new owner – DAZN – and France's top football competition as it gets ready to seek its own multibillion-dollar broadcast rights deal.
DAZN, which took control of Foxtel this month, is locked in a dispute with France's top-flight football league after a majority of clubs voted to prematurely terminate the league's broadcast contract with the UK-based sports streamer.
The stoush is being closely watched by top NRL executives, a senior NRL source with direct knowledge of the matter, who did not wish to comment on the record, said.
The NRL will now take its next rights package to market, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys confirmed on Sunday, after approving last week an expansion bid in principle to include an 18th team, in Perth.
While the dispute between DAZN and France's premier football league does not directly affect Foxtel, it has put the NRL on notice as it looks to vastly increase the value of its own media rights deal this year to apply from 2028 onwards.
The NRL's top executives, V'Landys and league chief executive Andrew Abdo have sought to position the NRL as the larger and more valuable competition compared with the AFL.
It took representatives from several Australian media companies, including Nine, News Corp and Seven, to its season launch in Las Vegas in March.
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