Latest news with #PeterVLandys
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Puts the competition's credibility at risk': Two teams blocked from making NRL finals
NRL boss Peter V'Landys has told Yahoo Sport Australia that a proposal for a 'Wildcard Weekend' that would radically alter the top-eight finals system is "not on the agenda" and probably won't be in the near future. The mooted plan appears dead and buried as both the NRL and clubs continue to show little appetite for change. A plan to give teams finishing 9th and 10th a crack at making the top-eight by taking on teams 8th and 7th respectively in a Wildcard Weekend was put to club bosses a number of years ago. Under the re-jigged format, teams in the top six would be warehoused for a week after the end of the regular season as the Wildcard Weekend played out. The winner of the two wildcard games would then join the top six teams for week one of the finals. If the current NRL standings were to stay the same at the end of the 2025 regular season, a Wildcard Weekend would have the seventh-placed Sharks taking on the Sea Eagles (10th) and the eighth-placed Dolphins going up against the Roosters (ninth). RELATED: NRL fans left fuming after Latrell Mitchell act goes unpunished Hammer blow for Sharks after star suspended for rest of season Graham Annesley had floated idea for 'Wildcard Weekend' The idea behind giving two teams outside the eight the chance to make the finals was to reduce the number of "dead" games over the closing stages of the season. Stats showed, on average, there were 23 "dead" matches – where one or both teams could not make the finals – each season. This impacted attendances, TV ratings and merchandise sales, costing clubs vital revenue. The NRL's head of elite football operation, Graham Annesley, told clubs at the time a Wildcard Weekend could help recoup some of those losses. "You often hear clubs (outside the eight) say mathematically we can still make it, but mathematically means you have to win every game," he said previously. "If you've missed the eight for multiple years, trying to get members to re-sign for the following year can be difficult. So if this is a way of keeping that engagement and that involvement from everyone associated with the game it is at least worth considering." Peter V'landys rejects idea for 'Wildcard Weekend' The clubs did consider Annesley's proposal but ultimately rejected it. And it appears there is still little support for the concept after it was raised again over the weekend. ARL chairman V'Landys told Yahoo Sport Australia: "It's not on the current agenda and I don't think it will be (in the near future)." One club CEO added: "There was a general feeling the season was long enough without adding another week to it. "And it puts the competition's credibility at risk if you have a team that finished 9th or 10th going on to win the title, as unlikely as that might sound. An eight-team finals system in a competition with 17 sides is about right." Proponents of the Wildcard Weekend could look to revive the idea when new franchises in Perth and PNG are added to the NRL over the next few years. The Perth Bears will enter the competition in 2027, while PNG will come in the year after. How an NRL 'Wildcard Weekend' would work Teams finishing in top six get the weekend off 7th v 10th - (Cronulla v Manly on current standings) 8th v 9th - (Dolphins v Roosters) Losing teams eliminated, winning teams secure 7th and 8th spots in traditional finals format
ABC News
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Sports boss Peter V'landys leverages powerful connections to resurrect Tropfest
Tropfest, once one of Australia's most beloved artistic institutions, is set to be revived by an unlikely alliance involving Racing NSW boss Peter V'Landys and a member of the Murdoch family. Its origins lie in a Darlinghurst cafe in inner-city Sydney, where young actor John Polson put on a special screening for 200 people in 1993. Over the following two decades, the annual Tropfest event rose in prominence, at its peak drawing crowds of almost 200,000 at its venue before abruptly ending in 2019 under a cloud of financial mismanagement. Now it's being relaunched, with the Tropfest Foundation quietly registered as a company on July 2; its principal place of business listed as Mr V'landys's Racing NSW headquarters. Mr V'landys is a director, and the other three directors named in the company extract reveal his web of high-profile connections across media, finance and film. The ABC can reveal that philanthropist Sarah Murdoch, real estate investor Richard Weinberg and actor Bryan Brown are also directors of the Tropfest Foundation. Brown has had a storied acting career and last year won a Logie for best supporting actor for his performance in the Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe. Ms Murdoch is a philanthropist and global ambassador for the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Mr V'landys is the CEO of Racing NSW and Chair of the Australian Rugby League Commission. He is linked to Ms Murdoch's husband, Lachlan Murdoch. Mr Murdoch is the chair of News Corp, which is the majority shareholder of the Brisbane Broncos, the NRL's richest team. Mr V'landys met with Mr Murdoch in the US a fortnight ago seeking to expand the NRL's global footprint and heaped praise on the media mogul, telling News Corp he is "such a nice person" who has "gone to another level in management worldwide". He described Mr Murdoch's influence at FOX as a "massive help" with the free-to-air US broadcaster airing the NRL's Las Vegas 2025 matches. Mr Murdoch holds the key to the NRL breaking into the US market. The Murdochs were seen alongside Mr V'landys at the NRL's inaugural 2024 Las Vegas venture last year. Ms Murdoch was recently pictured with another director of the Tropfest Foundation, Mr Weinberg. Both were involved in the Sydney screening of a documentary titled October 8 — Globalise the Intifada, which examines what filmmakers say was the "explosion of antisemitism on college campuses, online, and in the streets of America" in the wake of Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel in 2023. If you have any information about a story, contact Amy Greenbank. Mr Weinberg is the CEO of Terrace Tower Group and is married to the billionaire heiress of the late Westfield co-founder John Saunders. He is also an entrepreneur who co-founded TV production company KarlinBerg Entertainment in 2020 with TV host Karl Stefanovic, who works for Nine Entertainment, which holds the broadcast rights to the NRL. Stefanovic and Mr Weinberg had reportedly planned to shoot a behind-the-scenes documentary on the State of Origin, an idea backed by Mr V'landys, but it did not eventuate. Late last year, Mr V'landys flagged his intention to re-introduce a film festival in Sydney. "There was a short film festival called Tropfest, and it used to give young artists an opportunity to show what they could do … so I thought I'd revive that and do a short film festival, but I want to call it The Airfryers," he said. It does not appear the name has stuck. All Tropfest Foundation directors were contacted for comment. A spokesperson for Tropfest said: "There are a lot of exciting things happening behind the scenes, and all will be revealed soon. "The next generation of this country's best and brightest screen talent should get ready. A new chapter is about to begin." An official announcement is expected within weeks.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Peter V'landys floats $3 billion change to Origin amid complaint from Karl Stefanovic
NRL boss Peter V'Landys has told Yahoo Sport Australia overseas streaming services risk being left behind in the "arms race" for subscribers if they ignore rugby league. It comes amid a spray from Karl Stefanovic about streaming services locking many Aussie fans out of popular sports. PVL's warning comes as the NRL prepares to ramp up negotiations with interested parties ahead of the NRL's next broadcast deal, starting in 2028. V'Landys has made no secret of the fact he is chasing a ground-breaking deal for the game on the back of strong viewing figures. He is hopeful of landing a $3 billion pay day for the code. The NRL's current free-to air partner, the Nine Network, is expected to again bid but there is uncertainty over whether pay-tv outlet Fox Sports will put its hand up. The company's new owner – UK-based DAZN – is yet to declare its intentions, while the likes of Prime Video and Netflix could launch bids. "If any of them want to have a presence in Australia they need sport and, in particular, rugby league," V'landys told Yahoo Sport Australia. "It's the most watched sport in Australia and growing in the Pacific and has unlimited potential for coverage internationally." Prime Video, which will become the home of the NBA in Australia next season as well as being the go-to destination for cricket's World Test Championship and major white-ball tournaments, is understood to be interested in adding rugby league to its growing sports catalogue. Prime's managing director of sports international, Alex Green, kept his cards close to his chest when asked if the streaming giant is interested in bidding for NRL rights. He told YSA: "I've been asked this so many times. We never discuss future rights. It's too hard to speculate. "We're really happy with our ICC package, and, of course, with the NBA coming that's where our focus is." The NRL has not ruled out splitting up the rights and packaging rep games and other marquee matches separate to regular season fixtures. "We have to look at all formats and that's one of them," V'landys said. "The jewel in the crown is State of Origin and there's other channels (interested). Ideally, we'd like it all in one package, but if you look at the NFL and how they do it - and they're very successful - we'll analyse it and watch it. Whatever maximises our return." While V'landys is hunting a record deal, he is also mindful of the need to keep fans engaged by offering both free-to-air and affordable streaming options. RELATED: NRL 'robbery' leaves fans incensed amid fresh fears for Roosters star Fans rage over 'ridiculous' Bunker drama amid star's horror blow Calls for immediate change amid apparent NSW rule breach Meanwhile, TV personality Stefanovic has unloaded on streaming services locking in Australian sporting content at the same time Prime Video is celebrating a huge audience surge on the back of its World Test Championship coverage. The Today Show co-host teed off after the Socceroos' secured World Cup qualification following a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Wednesday morning (AEST), claiming fans lost out due to the lack of free-to-air coverage. The match was only available to Paramount Plus subscribers. Using a streaming service is fast becoming a common trend for overseas events featuring Australian sporting teams, including Channel 9's own Stan Sport. But that didn't stop Stefanovic from letting fly in an early morning rant. He said of the Socceroos game: "The problem is we don't even know the game's on. These foreign-owned streaming services give no promotion to the game so the rest of us have to sign up for 25 bucks a month to watch our national team play in a World Cup qualifier. I'm blaming foreign-owned streaming services. They have to have something on free-to-air." While not responding directly to Stefanovic's rant, Managing Director of Prime Video Sport International, Alex Green, believes audiences are becoming more attuned to watching their favourite sporting code on a streaming service. Prime Video has exclusive rights to major ICC tournaments and finals until 2027, including the WTC decider currently being played between Australia and South Africa at Lord's. "We don't see ourselves as a barrier to people," London-based Green told YSA. "We think we're exceptional value. It's very easy to sign up to Prime to watch the cricket or try some of the other content. "We don't really see ourselves as this high-cost sports subscription service…we're much broader, much more accessible, much wider, much broader than that. Almost everywhere we've seen the reception being really positive. "The value, the access, the ease of watching on any device and also, just frankly, the way that we cover this, the way we deliver it is really good too." Prime's figures back that up, with a huge influx of cricket fans signing up for the Champions Trophy in March and strong numbers jumping on board for the WTC final. The award-winning series The Test proved the perfect entrée into Prime's expanded cricket coverage.
ABC News
08-05-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Hard work to begin for Perth Bears NRL club, as clock starts ticking before 2027 debut
For rugby league fans in Western Australia and North Sydney, the announcement of the Bears' reintroduction to the National Rugby League is cause for celebration. It ends WA's near 30-year absence from top-flight league, following the axing of the Western Reds in 1997, and sees the North Sydney Bears colours and legacy continue on the west coast. But a 2027 entry into the NRL Premiership is a short runway for a professional club to get off the ground, with the primary concern that the club is competitive from the outset. That requires access to top playing talent, as well as the establishment of an administration to oversee the new club. "Everyone thought the (Redcliffe) Dolphins wouldn't be competitive, and they nearly made the top eight both years, and they're still competitive," Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V'Landys said. Peter V'Landys flew to Perth to announce the new side. ( AAP Image: Richard Wainwright ) "I'm very confident the Bears will be competitive in the very first year. " We're going to make sure that we're going to have the right infrastructure in place. " A head start and bizarre proposal One of the major advantages the Bears have over a true start-up is the access to the existing North Sydney supporter pool. "The NRL sees the opportunity to revive the Bears, with the structure being old and new, marrying up the North Sydney franchise and moving it to Perth for multiple reasons," former Bears player Billy Moore said. A large media contingent was on hand for the announcement. ( ABC News: Tom Wildie ) "The North Sydney Bears were evicted from the NRL in 1999. The club itself still existed, still had all the teams in the Junior League. "The Bears are fully functioning, but without being at that top level." Moore said the Bears will enjoy strong support when playing in New South Wales, which will effectively give the club a home away from home. Bears fans gathered at Norths Cammeray to celebrate their team's return. ( Supplied ) The Bears infrastructure of junior sides and talent pathways will also be a long-term benefit for the club. It means the competition for young talent will increase, which other NRL clubs are already considering. "The reality is we're a big region, a big rugby league heartland, and there's only so many (kids) that you can keep," Newcaslte Knights coach Adam O'Brien said. Photo shows A group of rugby league fans celebrate The Bears' return to the NRL is a just reward for the diehard fans who kept the red and black colours alive during a period in the wilderness. "We need to make sure we keep all the right ones. "If we want to be the National Rugby League, then getting over to Perth is a good step." V'Landys also proposed one of the stranger possibilities heard in professional sport — a player sharing agreement between the Western Force rugby union club and the Bears in the NRL. "We've had talks with with Twiggy [Andrew] Forrest in regards to the Western Force, and there's an opportunity here that may never have been done anywhere in the world," he said. "The two teams could be combined to a certain degree, and can use each other's players in specific matches. So we're going to look at that." It's hard to see that ever panning out, or Mr Forrest agreeing to it, considering the two codes are direct competitors, and players are their greatest assets. "We look at the things outside the square, and that's outside the square, and we'll look at it," V'Landys reiterated when asked about the suggestion. No other concessions V'Landys ruled out any salary cap flexibility for the Bears, which will be able to approach players from November for the 2027 season. Instead, the NRL is confident the investment from the WA government will be enough to fast-track local player development so the club can source the majority of its players from Perth within several seasons. The club now has to appoint a chief executive, which is expected in coming weeks, while the search for a coach has begun. The Western Force will share training facilities with the new team ( AAP Image: Richard Wainwright ) The Bears will play the vast majority of home games at Perth Oval, which is also shared by the Perth Glory and Western Force. V'Landys said he would like to see improvements to the venue, which was recently renovated for the FIFA Women's World Cup. WA Premier Roger Cook said there was no agreement for further work on the ground, though the government will build a $20 million high performance training centre, for league and union, in northern suburb of Malaga. The foundation for the new side has been laid. Now the clock is ticking on building it into a side that can compete on the national stage. The ABC of SPORT Sports content to make you think... or allow you not to. A newsletter delivered each Saturday. Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe Loading
