Super Rugby may not be headed behind a paywall despite Rugby Australia’s new broadcast deal agreeing to Stan exclusivity

Rugby Australia is lauding it’s new broadcast deal - but what does it mean for fans? And how much is the extension actually worth? We’ve crunched the numbers inside.

Super Rugby fans could yet be able to watch games on free-to-air, despite the one game a week agreement being scrapped in the new $215 million broadcast deal between Nine and Rugby Australia.

At present Nine is contractually bound to show one Super match per round on their free-to-air channel, but the new agreement has removed that clause, leading to natural speculation the competition will be shown exclusively behind a paywall on their streaming service, Stan Sport.

There is still a chance Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii could be seen on free-to air. Picture: Dave Rowland/Getty Images

However, insiders say there is still an appetite for some Super Rugby prominence on free-to-air, and there has been no concrete decision made to put the entire competition on Stan.

Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh said removing the free-to-air clause from this deal helped get RA the uplift in value, which is necessary to retain key talent amid a competitive global market.

Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh and Nine CEO Matt Stanton, two pivotal players to the deal. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

“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.

“And so ensuring that the value and the economics work to be able to keep our talent in this country, so that we can put a product out onto the field that people want to watch and want to engage with, and so we’re striking the balance between value and exposure.

“Most households now across the country have streaming platforms and so we don’t think it’s a shift away from behaviour, we just think it’s how we get the balance right between value, how we put the best product onto the field and ensuring that we’ve got the economics to have a sustainable one.”

With RA having $5 million superstar Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on its books until at least the end of 2027, as well as recently signing Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson, Matt Faessler, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Lachlan Lonergan to long-term deals, the 30 per cent increase in the new broadcast deal will help pay for their top targets.

Removing the free-to-air clause for Super Rugby will no doubt be used by Stan to drive new subscriptions, but that could come at the expense of exposing the players and the tournament to a bigger audience.

Queensland Reds’ Lukhan Salakaia-Loto in Super Rugby action this season. Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

“There’s no contractual obligation within the agreement, the way that we view rugby in this country is how do we ensure that we’re producing a quality of product that we’re putting on the field that everyone wants to be watching?” Waugh said.

“And I think that the relationship that we have with Nine is very constructive. We’re very optimistic around the journey that Nine’s on, around greater integration across their platforms, and so we need to ensure we’re putting a product that we’re very proud of, Nine’s very proud of and then we’ll work through with their executives around is that free-to-air or is that on Stan, but we need to ensure that we’re driving value to Nine and to Stan.

“We’ll work constructively to put a product out onto the field that’s attractive and 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, and there’s no contractual obligation for Nine to put it on free-to-air.”

The new broadcast deal includes the possibility of RA earning an additional $25 million over the five years if the Wallabies and Australian Super teams win key games including the Bledisloe Cup and World Cup.

A dejected Allan Alaalatoa looks on following the Bledisloe Cup loss to New Zealand in 2024. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images

“We’ve got to have the confidence that we’re going to perform and so I think that actually having an incentivised program is helpful because we are confident that we are on a journey of progression,” Waugh said.

“Is it going to be standard practice going forward (for other sporting broadcast deals)? It’s a new concept but we do understand in our market, the Australian market which is probably more competitive than every other market in the world, performance and winning matters.

“Other spectators can watch so many different sports sio we need to be performing, we need to be winning, and that will ultimately drive value to Nine.”

Originally published as Super Rugby may not be headed behind a paywall despite Rugby Australia’s new broadcast deal agreeing to Stan exclusivity