The NRL is reportedly just days away from announcing its richest ever TV rights contract, which may include the return of a midweek footy show.
The NRL is reportedly at the very final hurdle of locking in its richest ever TV deal, according to multiple reports.
The league’s TV rights have been on a rollercoaster since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the game is reportedly about to land on steady ground with a free-to-air rights deal worth up to $600 million set to be announced this month, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Monday Nine was prepared to offer a deal worth up to $115 million per-year on a deal which runs for five years, from 2023-2027.
The Australian reported the NRL wants a deal worth up to $120 million per-year. The report claims Nine is being forced to pay top dollar because interest from rival networks Seven and Ten have pushed the price up.
The deal coincides with the introduction of the NRL’s 17th team — The Dolphins — entering the competition in 2023.
There is reportedly a sticking point in the final negotiations with the NRL and Nine haggling over the return of a midweek footy show.
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The Daily Telegraph reported Monday the NRL wants the league to add a midweek show on top of the 100% Footy show screened on Monday nights.
The return of a midweek footy show comes after years of watching the NRL’s Footy Show die a slow death following the departure of veteran host Paul Vautin.
Fox League has enjoyed strong interest in its own magazine shows, including NRL 360 and the hugely popular programs hosted by Matthew Johns.
The Daily Telegraph’s David Riccio told SEN’s Mornings with Vossy on Monday, the NRL expects Nine to increase its coverage on the free to air network beyond its live match coverage.
“That is what the NRL want Nine to do. They want Nine to do more with their coverage outside of just the live element of game coverage,” Riccio said.
“So expect to see more from that point of view from Nine’s coverage.”
Riccio said NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo is negotiating new additions to Nine’s weekly rugby league coverage.
“In his ideal world, he wants rugby league on the television seven days a week,” he said.
“If Nine are going to invest in the NRL at up to $600 million, they have to go beyond the live element each weekend. You can bet your bottom dollar that other programs are being discussed.”
A new agreement with Nine would follow last year’s announcement of a long-term rights agreement with Foxtel to continue its coverage through to the end of the 2027 season in a deal spruiked as a billion-dollar boost to the game during its Covid-19 cost-cutting crisis.
The combined deals represent the NRL’s richest ever TV rights agreement.
Nine’s negotiations come after the league and the network went to war last year over suggestions the NRL had misused its funds as Nine threatened to walk away from the game.
Now the situation is almost back to where it was before the start of the pandemic.
The new agreement with Nine and Foxtel will reportedly continue to divide the weekly schedule across three live games for Channel 9 per week and all eight games live on Foxtel’s Fox League.
The Australian reported Seven and Ten even discussed the possibility of sharing the rights. But Seven’s decision to walk away this month means Nine and the NRL only have to work out the final details before an announcement is made.
The deal is worth significantly less than the amount the AFL will continue to receive through its agreement with free to air broadcaster Seven and Foxtel’s Fox Footy, with the league announcing last year it will receive $946 million over the 2023 and 2024 seasons.