Foxtel’s partnership with rugby over as Nine and Stan take rights

Foxtel’s 25-year partnership with Australian rugby has come to a close, with Nine Entertainment and its streaming service Stan to be announced as the new home of the code.

Wallabies Tests and Super Rugby games will be shown on NIne or Stan

Foxtel’s 25-year partnership with Australian rugby has come to a close, with Nine Entertainment and its streaming service Stan to be announced as the new home of the code this morning.

Foxtel, who elevated the game into the professional era, investing almost a billion dollars into it, will no longer broadcast the sport.

Rugby Australia has agreed to a deal which will see games broadcast on free to air and behind a paywall on Stan.

Rumours of the deal were first revealed by The Australian on September 17.

It is understood it is a $30m a year, three-year deal.

Nine Entertainment Co, which owns Stan, is expected to announce the creation of Stan Sport on Monday morning.

Nine Newspapers are reporting there will be Wallabies Tests, the Rugby Championship and one game a week of Super Rugby on its television network under the new deal.

All other Super Rugby games, the Shute Shield and Hospital Cup will sit behind a paywall on Stan.

Commenting on Monday’s announcement by Rugby Australia, Foxtel Group chief executive Patrick Delany said:

“We have enjoyed a 25-year relationship with Rugby during which we have supported Rugby Australia during challenging phases as well as famous victories and great success.

“On the field performances and off the field challenges have seen a decline in Rugby’s popularity with fans over the past five years. In addition, the competitions that were offered for rights sales have changed markedly.

“While the Wallabies have always been non-exclusive to Fox Sports with every game on free TV as well, the new Super Rugby competition is very different with fewer games overall and fewer games involving Australian teams. While we would have preferred to retain rugby, we said earlier this year that we would maintain discipline in relation to sports rights — and we have.

“Rugby is now in a very different era. As Rugby Australia looks toward a renewal phase for the sport, we wish them well.

“Foxtel continues to be the go-to destination for fans of the most popular Australian and international sports, and the best production and commentary teams. Together with our commitment to women’s and under-represented sports, we remain the home of sport in Australia.”

It’s unclear what other sports Stan can secure for its new service, with NRL, AFL and cricket having signed multi-year deals already with rival networks.

Fox Sports has the rights to the A-League for one more season, so football is a potential target from 2022.

News Corporation, owner of Fox Sports, has held the rugby rights for 25 years, with the creation of Super Rugby and the Tri-Nations tournament between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa igniting professionalism that allowed rugby to compete with league as the dominant football code here in the early years.

But a lack of success by the Wallabies – they last won a World Cup in 1999, and the Bledisloe Cup in 2002 – and convoluted Super Rugby tournament saw ratings shrink dramatically over the past decade.

Fox Sports made a pitch for rugby last month, however it’s understood Nine’s offer – which is part cash, part contra – had a bigger cash component.

That is vital for Rugby Australia’s future, given the dire financial predicament the game is in, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in mass job losses and wage cuts for players.

Nine takes the free-to-air rights from Network Ten. Nine, who also broadcast the NRL, will now assemble a commentary team for the 15-man code.

Fox Sports have used Greg Clark as their primary caller, while former Wallabies Phil Kearns, Tim Horan, George Gregan and Rod Kafer have been regular panellists.

The relationship between RA and Fox Sports soured last year when former rugby boss Raelene Castle knocked back a $25m-a-year deal and took the game to the open market.

The coronavirus then forced the cancellation of games and while businesses scrambled, all broadcasters ceased talks.

That pressure eventually forced Castle to resign, and former RA chief financial officer Rob Clarke was appointed as interim chief executive.

Clarke has orchestrated the recent negotiations between Nine and Fox Sports.

The new $30m deal is significantly short of the existing $57m-a-year deal rugby has, but reflects the changing economic landscape for all sports.

Fox Sports said recently they would be scaling back their investment into non-marquee sports, of which rugby is one.

Stan Sports now needs an influx of rugby fans to become new subscribers in order to monetise their investment into the sport, and digital production costs to broadcast all games.