Rugby Australia's new cash TV deal could mean less exposure

Rugby is at risk of becoming the only sport in Australia not to have its premier men’s competition on free-to-air TV, after officials prioritised the cash to retain top players.

Rugby Australia trumpeted a new five-year broadcast deal with the Nine Network on Wednesday worth up to $215 million, an increase of more than 30 per cent on the last agreement.

That total value could reach up to $240 million if the Wallabies and Super Rugby sides meet performance incentives.

But the deal has come at a risk, with no contractual obligation for Nine to place a Super Rugby Pacific match on free-to-air each week, as was the case in the last deal.

Instead it is now possible all matches will be behind a paywall on Nine’s streaming platform Stan, doubling down on the previous arrangement.

Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh said his organisation had made a deliberate call to prioritise its product over guaranteed free-to-air exposure.

Wallabies flyhalf Noah Lolesio became the latest big name to leave Australian rugby this week, joining the exodus to cashed-up overseas clubs.

Australia have also dropped from second in the world rankings after the 2015 World Cup to eighth, desperate to improve ahead of the home World Cup in 2027.

(L-R) Maddison Levi, Phil Waugh and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.
Phil Waugh is flanked by Maddison Levi and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
“You get the balance between value and exposure, and clearly we’re in an environment where it’s hugely competitive to keep talent,” Waugh said.

“Ensuring that the value and the economics work to be able to keep our talent in this country (is important), so we can put a product out onto the field that people want to watch and want to engage with.

“Most households now across the country have streaming platforms and so we don’t think it’s a shift away from behaviour.

“It’s how we get the balance right between value, how we put the best product onto the field and ensuring we’ve got the economics to have a sustainable game.”

Rugby had prioritised exposure in their previous broadcast deal, after severing ties with Foxtel to have Tests and one weekly Super Rugby game on free-to-air.

Currently, both the NRL and AFL have at least three regular-season games per round on free-to-air TV, with the rest exclusive to Foxtel.

The A-Leagues has at least one game on Network Ten with all others on Paramount+, while the NBL has a similar set up between Ten and ESPN.

Cricket shares its international and domestic content between the Seven Network and Foxtel, while netball is the only major code entirely behind a paywall.

Waugh said he remained hopeful some Super Rugby matches would be moved to free-to-air, while Test matches and a weekly club rugby game in Sydney and Queensland will be broadcast on Nine.

“We’ll work with the Nine executive to ensure we get the balance right between what’s behind the wall and what’s in front of the wall,” Waugh said.

“There’s no contractual obligation for Nine to put it on free-to-air.”