Telstra, NRL in marketing blitz for online traffic

Rugby league is plotting a marketing blitz with Telstra as part of a subscription drive for its live streaming app.

Rugby league is plotting a major marketing blitz with digital partner Telstra as part of a subscription drive for its live streaming app.

The push coincides with the start of a battle between the main commercial broadcasters for control of the rights to show National Rugby League on television.

Speaking exclusively to The Australian, NRL marketing boss Lewis Pullen laid bare rugby league’s big ambitions for its digital pass in a move that could lead to new competitive tensions with commercial networks and subscription-TV provider Foxtel over the value of the TV rights.

“There’s going to be a real push by Telstra with the digital pass, and I am confident that is going to lead to even greater growth over the next couple of months,” Mr Pullen said. “It shows Telstra’s commitment to the product.”

Sports bodies have been hedging their bets in the digital space to maintain profitable free-to-air and subscription TV partnerships. Because the value of sports rights lies in the allocation of access and level of exclusivity provided to broadcasters, any attempt to open up a direct avenue with fans via apps risks jeopardising the value of lucrative TV rights. Mr Pullen said the digital pass, which ­enables fans to watch every game on multiple devices, had increased subscribers a moderate 15 per cent year on year, despite a low level of promotional activity.

But that could be about to change if the marketing ­campaign ignites subscriber growth. However, Mr Pullen ­dismissed suggestions the digital pass poses a threat to TV audiences, upsetting broadcasters as the code prepares to engage in high stakes talks over a new rights deal.

“The data we have got ­indicates the consumer has an insatiable appetitive for more content,” he said. “So rather than cannibalise, if you do it well, they just consume more of it.”

Since joining the NRL from Qantas two years ago, Mr Pullen has turned the heat up on the more progressive Australian Football League as the code sets new digital records.

Mobile growth for its mobile video traffic is up 95 per cent on the previous year after hitting more than 30 million video views across the 2014 season, with individual videos reaching more than 3 million fans at a time on the NRL’s Facebook account.

With 1.5 million downloads, more than 25 million minutes of live NRL action has been viewed via the NRL digital pass, compared to 20 million for the AFL, although its season started two weeks later than the NRL.

“If you track it across the day, fans are engaging with the NRL through all parts of the day using different devices so the challenge for us is to deliver the right content at the right time,” Mr Lewis said. “We’re working through a complex content plan on a daily basis to make sure we are maximising our reach and engagement.”

In 2013, Telstra signed a sponsorship and digital rights agreement with the NRL worth more than $100 million, extending the six-year, $90m deal it signed in 2007. Still, media analysts believe the NRL’s exclusive online and mobile rights are undervalued.

Mr Pullen, who will play a key role in the NRL’s rights negotiations, says they will fetch a higher price as the free-to-air broadcasters eye additional digital content to attain more scale.

“In a way the new deal will put a value on what we’ve done in terms of building and growing the game,’’ he said. “I’m driving the digital piece and of course the digital rights value will be interesting as part of the whole package.

“Based on what we’ve seen in other codes, the growth in the value of digital, and the increase in the level of consumption it has definitely become more valuable.”