The NRL has reached an agreement with its broadcast partners to restart the season on May 28 after the governing body presented a take-it-or-leave-it proposal on Friday afternoon.
A day after describing the NRL’s May resumption plan as ‘‘premature’’, free-to-air broadcast partner Nine softened its stance and will now support the proposed date, avoiding a potential courtroom showdown. It is likely the season will run for about 17 weeks, plus four weeks of finals and an Origin series after a potential October 4 grand final, although that is yet to be confirmed.
Nine chief executive Hugh Marks.Credit: Louie Douvis
“The meeting was extremely amicable,’’ ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys said on Friday night. ‘‘We are all united that the 28th of May will be our starting date. The meeting was a very positive one and we now have a starting date, but the length of the season will be confirmed next week.’’
It’s understood Nine wants clarity around the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup, and the potential postponement of the tournament scheduled to be played in Australia in October and November, before finalising the length of the season. Cricket Australia boss Kevin Roberts, however, has indicated an answer may not be given until August.
Nine chief Hugh Marks spoke with V’landys after the statement criticising the May restart date blindsided the ARLC chairman on Thursday night, and wrote to him again on Friday before the meeting. Marks’ tone was far more conciliatory than Nine's recent public announcements.
The NRL perceived Nine’s comments as a negotiating tactic in discussions about a potential three-year extension.
A frustrated V’landys set the scene for the day ahead on Friday morning when he fronted Karl Stefanovic on Nine’s Today Show and labelled the comments as alarmist rhetoric and scaremongering.
He declared Friday was ‘‘D-Day’’. He then summoned interim NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo to Racing NSW’s Druitt Street office in Sydney’s CBD for a three-hour meeting to map out a schedule that would pacify the contrasting desires of both broadcasters.
Marks arrived 15 minutes early. Foxtel boss Patrick Delany, driving his silver Mercedes, turned up at 3pm sharp. Nine walked into the meeting wanting to play just another 13 rounds, enough for every team to face each other once. Fox, desperate for content to fill its sport-less sport channels, was happy for the competition to last 22 rounds with a grand final in November.
Channel Nine CEO Hugh Marks, ARLC chairman Peter V'landys and Foxtel boss Patrick Delany. Credit: Louise Kennerley, Getty Images, James Brickwood
V’landys alluded to a 17-round season on a phone hook-up with the 16 NRL coaches just two hours before Delany and Marks arrived at his office.
Nine’s comments had clearly angered the chairman, who until then had been playing nice with the free-to-air network in the hope of finding common ground.
Suddenly the gloves were off. What began as a negotiation on Friday turned into an ultimatum. Nine had argued that the NRL was in breach of contract when it pulled the pin on the season in March, because no one had forced it to postpone it.
It’s why the NRL took great interest in its statement on Thursday regarding the health and safety standards of the community.
But neither party wanted this to turn into a legal battle, but that’s exactly what could have happened had Nine walked from yesterday’s meeting unwilling to commit.
Now it has been sorted, the next roadblock comes in the form of various governments looking to stamp their authority on the NRL’s comeback plans.
For now, rugby league is back. Again. Until it isn’t.