By Adrian Proszenko and Jonathan Drennan
The NRL is considering dividing up its top broadcast assets, including the marquee State of Origin series, and offering them to streaming services for the first time after declaring the game has become Australia’s top-rating sport.
At Friday’s annual general meeting, at which it trumpeted a $62.3 million operating surplus, the NRL claimed to have 10 per cent more eyeballs than the AFL after cracking the 200 million viewership mark for the first time in history.
It’s the fourth successive year the governing body posted a surplus since COVID, totalling $226.5 million over the period. There has also been a total revenue increase of $43.7 million to a new high of $744.9 million.
The NRL has long been in a battle with the AFL for the mantle of Australia’s top football code and the 13-man game has boasted a viewership victory. The NRL claims to have a cumulative match viewership over all competitions of 200.5 million in 2024 – comprising 186.8 million Australian viewers and 13.7 million from New Zealand – to post a total 8.6 per cent higher than the previous year.
But perhaps the most interesting figures are the direct comparison between the NRL and AFL competitions.
Over 213 matches, the NRL has 153.7 million cumulative viewers, 10 per cent higher than the AFL’s mark of 140.3 million over 216 matches. The code also claims to have 201,845 registered participants in club rugby league competitions, up five per cent on last year.
However, the AFL’s average game attendance of 38,344, according to Austadiums, is almost twice the 20,605 that the NRL posted last year.
Papua New Guinea will enter the competition as the NRL’s 18th team in 2028, giving the league an extra game to sell to broadcasters. The governing body declared a decision on whether a 20th team would be added – most likely in Perth – would be made within two months.
The Blues celebrate with the shield after last year’s epic series.Credit: Getty Images
Streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Paramount have shown an appetite for sporting content, prompting sporting leagues such as the NFL to divide its assets across a host of broadcasters.
Asked if a similar situation could occur in the NRL’s next TV rights cycle, ARLC chairman Peter V’landys said: “You’re a step ahead, that’s a possibility.
“We have to look at all formats and that’s one of them. The jewel in the crown is State of Origin and there’s other channels [interested]. Ideally we’d like it all in the one [package], but if you look at the NFL and how they do it, and they’re very successful, we’ll analyze it and watch it.
“Whatever maximises our return.
“There’s one important point which I need to make with broadcast, which a lot of sports don’t consider, and that’s the price point.
“We don’t want to make it unaffordable for our fans. We want to make sure whatever deal we do, that it’s affordable for the fan to buy a subscription because it’s a waste of time if you get all this money and your fans can’t watch your game.”
The NRL has made no secret of its desire to further its net asset base, which has grown by 24 per cent to $322.4 million. There has also been a conscious effort to help the game in England, by adding two English teams to this year’s Las Vegas venture and reviving season-ending Kangaroos tours to Great Britain. However, the Super League continues to struggle financially, prompting questions about whether the NRL would be prepared to purchase the competition.
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys.Credit: Kate Geraghty
“Never say never,” V’landys said. “That’s if they want us. The first thing is there’s always two people to an agreement. If they want us, we’ll certainly look at it.
“If they approached us, we’d certainly look at it. At this stage they haven’t approached us, but we’re a firm believer in having a strong game in England and we’re a firm believer in the international game
“You can’t have an international game without England.”
V’landys said suggestions the game was making a large loss by taking season-opening games to Vegas were off the mark.
“And let me dispel something that’s out there in the marketplace that’s very incorrect, and that is it costs us a lot of money for Vegas,” he said.
“This year there’s a possibility that we’ll actually return a profit on the Vegas venture. And if not, it’ll be a small loss.
“In previous years we’ve spent a lot of money launching the season with limited success with the launches.
“What Vegas has cost us is less than what would cost us to launch a season. And last year it gave us the momentum that continued on through the whole year, of attendances, record viewership.”
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