NRL's Pacific plan to pummel AFL in broadcast bonanza
ARL Commission boss Peter V'landys says rugby league's next TV rights deal could span up to 10 years, revealing a Pacific goldmine that will deliver broadcast billions to the NRL.
V'landys plans to kick off broadcast negotiations in July after the State of Origin decider and the ARLC chairman says the inclusion of Papua New Guinea will help the code clinch the richest TV rights deal in rugby league history.
V'landys will arrive in PNG this Tuesday to ramp-up the NRL's reconnaissance for the 19th team in 2028 and the next step is thrashing out a Pacific-infused broadcast deal that can blow their AFL rivals out of the water.
A third network has contacted the ARL Commission to formally express interest. Up to five or six bidders are tipped to enter negotiations as current rights holders Fox and Channel 9 face billion-dollar competition for the most watched code in Australian sport.
The NRL's last five-year TV rights deal was worth around $2 billion, including media rights in New Zealand, but V'landys has revealed the sport's next broadcast arrangement may be brokered for a longer term.
The NRL's current TV rights deal ends in 2027. The next cycle was tipped to run from 2028-32, but V'landys says he wants to formalise rugby league's new broadcast deal by season's end in a package that could deliver a decade of certainty.
That scenario would see the NRL smash their current broadcast haul with a potential fiscal TV rights bonanza of between $3 to $4 billion.
'It could be longer than five years, absolutely,' V'landys said.
Asked if the next TV rights deal could be seven to 10 years in duration, he said: 'Yes, it could be.
'We're having some off-the-record talks at the moment, but we plan to start very soon and it will certainly heat up in the next couple of months.
'I definitely want it finalised this year.
'Hopefully that's the case and it's certainly our ambition to do it.
'We want certainty and we know our clubs want certainty.
'Players also want certainty, because if you do a three-or-four year deal or even longer, you know what your revenues are.
'We haven't got to that level of detail yet, but this will be a record deal.
'We have a much more valuable product now, much more valuable.'
There are several variables that give V'landys confidence of broking the most lucrative broadcast deal in the code's 117-year history.
One factor is the emergence of new media streaming giants, with global tentacles, such as Netflix, Amazon and Paramount.
DAZN completed a $3.4 billion purchase of Foxtel in April and V'landys confirmed the world's leading sports entertainment platform will be a major player in upcoming TV rights negotiations.
'Of course they'll be keen,' he said. 'We're the number one sport in Australia.
Why wouldn't they be keen?
'I can confirm we've had genuine interest. We are confident there are several parties in the marketplace and I'm confident there will be more to come when we begin talks.
'We will get a lot more dollars now than we have ever gotten because of the hard work done by the players, the clubs and the NRL.'
Another significant factor is the expansion drive that will trigger the admission of the Perth Bears to the NRL in 2027 before Papua New Guinea's entry in 2028.
V'landys says PNG will not only represent a fresh spectator market, but open a broadcasting gateway that could see the Pacific eventually usurp Australia as the NRL's most lucrative TV rights powerhouse.
The NRL is exploring a cut-price Pacific subscription service to monetise the NRL's 19th team and the 10 million-plus Papua New Guinea fans who will back the franchise with unmatched tribalism.
'Papua New Guinea could end up, in 10 or 15 years, to be worth more in broadcast revenue than Australia,' he said.
'With PNG coming in, that is a massive arm that we have never tapped into, not to mention Perth.
'We're the most-watched sport in Australia, so we now should attract substantial offers.
'Our data shows 1.8 million people streamed the Papua New Guinea game against Australia's Prime Ministers XIII, which was an extraordinary number.
'By having a cheap subscription to watch (PNG and NRL games), we could attract millions of new subscribers in the Pacific.
'We're very mindful of pricepoint. We don't want to make it too expensive for rugby league fans to watch and support the game.
'We definitely want to get the most revenue, but at the same time, we don't want to make it unaffordable for our wonderful fans.
'The game has never been in a better place.
'This has been a planned strategy - and it will pay off big time.' Peter Badel Chief Rugby League Writer
Peter Badel is a six-time award winning journalist who began as a sports reporter in 1998. A best-selling author, 'Bomber' has covered five Australian cricket tours and has specialised in rugby league for more than two decades. NRL
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