NRL broadcast deal: Historic $1.8b contract with Fox Sports, Nine Network, Telstra

THE NRL, Fox Sports, Nine Network and Telstra are understood to have sealed a historic $1.8 billion five-year rights agreement that confirms the game’s future until the end of 2022.Amid marathon talks that went through Wednesday night and well into Thursday, the commission finally signed off this afternoon on the purchase of the Saturday night game by Fox from Nine for $35 million a year, or $175 million over the full five-year contract. This figure was reached after exhaustive haggling between the two parties.News Corp’s global chief executive, Robert Thomson, flew in from the US overnight to finalise the deal that sees Fox retain Super Saturday, with three games to run that day culminating in the Saturday night game.In a first for the game, there will also be a Friday 6pm game to be screened on Fox Sports,as revealed by the Telegraph earlier this month.The Friday night game has been a key component for Fox, which would televise those matches from Auckland and Queensland. This will ensure games held in the earlier time slot would also attract a crowd, because arriving early for matches on a Friday night in Sydney would be too difficult in peak hour traffic.As part of the deal, Fox Sports will launch a 24 hour dedicated rugby league channel in 2017.

"Can't really blame him. Moving away for the same coin and same length of contract, especially with all this head knock stuff going on.
We can't be going to court and on one hand saying a contract has to mean something and then on the other hand be…"

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Mitchy November 26, 2015 at 2:22pm

Good work. Thanks Chief.

Fox needs this as with no EPL next season things were not looking good. Love my super Saturday, and Friday at 6pm is good;
Eel for life November 26, 2015 at 2:24pm

i may be a bit behind the 8 ball but how did Fox have to purchase the rights for the Saturday night game from channel 9?

Channel 9 never aired any games on Saturday. I dont get it.
- The Offside Eel > Eel for life November 26, 2015 at 2:34pm
  
  Nine bought the rights to all the games then sold them to fox.
- Ricky > Eel for life November 26, 2015 at 2:37pm
  
  The new deal that Nine signed meant that they received a Saturday night game from Fox to broadcast on FTA.
  Fox were none too happy about that, and so, in their deal, they've bought it back from Nine.
Snakey - Sack Dylan Brown November 26, 2015 at 2:43pm

So no free to air on sat night like the nrl announced?
- Ricky > Snakey - Sack Dylan Brown November 26, 2015 at 2:44pm
  
  Not for 2016, that's for sure.
Glenn Lifetime Eel November 26, 2015 at 3:09pm

This is well down on AFL $2.5b 5 year deal! Previous deal done by NRL we were on par or better than AFL.
- Ham Sammich > Glenn Lifetime Eel November 26, 2015 at 3:12pm
  
  AFL deal is for 6 years.
- est_88 > Glenn Lifetime Eel November 26, 2015 at 6:16pm
  
  Rupert Murdoch played the nrl on that one, the afl is not worth 2.5.... he did it to prove a point and good on him i say! This was a bad move on behalf of the NRL, thanks Dave Smith, Todd Greenjewberg, Richo and John Grant may as well chuck in David Gyngall even though he is no longer CEO of nine! What a brain trust no wonder the game suffers.
Micka November 26, 2015 at 3:13pm

what an absolute joke, so not only do we not get a free to air saturday night game like we thought but we lose a friday night one????

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NRL broadcast deal: Historic $1.8b contract with Fox Sports, Nine Network, Telstra

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