ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys says an expanded NRL competition could see Monday night football return

It’s been almost a decade since the NRL has seen consistent Monday night footy action – but ARLC chair Peter V’landys says that could change as more teams enter the competition.

Three networks are serious players for the NRL’s TV rights as ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys revealed Monday Night Football could return as part of an 18-team premiership.

V’landys is entering one of the busiest phases of his chairmanship, with the ARLC boss set to formally announce the Perth Bears as the NRL’s 18th team next week, before sitting down for high-powered negotiations on the code’s next broadcast deal.

The return of the Bears, and Papua New Guinea’s entry in 2029 as the 19th team, positions the NRL perfectly for a record TV rights deal tipped to be worth north of $3 billion dollars.

“We have a much more valuable product now,” V’landys said.

“I’m confident the hard work will pay off with a record deal.”

The last scheduled Monday night NRL game was between the Eels and Dragons in Rd 25, 2016. Picture: NRL Photos

MAD MONDAY

Monday Night Football is a premium product in the NFL and V’landys said MNF could return to the NRL from 2027 onwards.

The pending admission of the Perth Bears will give the NRL nine games per round, and V’landys says the extra match could see the code expand its weekly schedule from Thursday to Monday nights.

The NRL staged Monday Night Football for a decade from 2007-16 before axing it from 2017 amid concerns over player workloads and short turnarounds.

But V’landys says the addition of two new franchises by 2028 could lead to the resurrection of a Monday timeslot, with Perth’s time zone giving League Central some scheduling flexibility.

“That (Monday Night Football) is certainly an option,” he said.

“The problem you would have is it makes it very hard on the turnarounds, because if you play on a Monday night, you could have a shorter turnaround.

“We would have to be careful with how the draw is put together so that teams aren’t disadvantaged by the turnaround.

“It’s not impossible, but it makes it more complicated. Having said that, another night of rugby league would be great and Monday night would be perfect for it.”

CQ Capras players Michael Waqa and Tom Farr take photos for the enthusiastic crowd at a pre-season trial game against the PNG Hunters.

20/20 VISION

V’landys said the code’s gradual march towards a 20-team league would also give the NRL scope to reduce the number of rounds and help promote international football.

The NRL currently has 27 regular-season rounds but there is a view the season is at least a month too long, especially if the code is serious about the growth of the international calendar.

Prior to the formation of the NRL in 1998, the Winfield Cup and ARL premierships were played over 22 rounds.

A 20-team competition, in conjunction with Monday Night Football, could see the number of rounds cut back to 19 or 20, creating more latitude for State of Origin and Test football.

“If we went to 20 teams, that’s the beauty of it, the scheduling,” V’landys said.

“Everyone could play each other once and it reduces the number of rounds, so you have more time for State of Origin and internationals.

“We are very keen to grow the international games and fewer rounds takes some of the workload off the players.

“It’s not just about expansion.

“It’s also about having the premium format for the competition and in years to come, not in my time I’d say, you could even break the NRL into two conferences.

“Nick Politis (billionaire Roosters chairman) deserves all the credit for this.

“It was his vision to go to 20 teams.

“Nick said at an AGM, ‘If this sport is fair dinkum, we need to go to 20 teams’.

“And he is 100 per cent right. We are working towards that slowly. There will be some risks, but there will be huge rewards as well.”

TV RIGHTS

V’landys was tight-lipped about potential bids, but this masthead can reveal existing rights holders Fox Sports and Channel 9 officially have competition for the NRL’s TV rights.

A third network has contacted the ARL Commission to formally express interest.

Up to five or six bidders are expected to take seats at the negotiating table, with V’landys piqued by the emergence of new media streaming giants, with global tentacles, such as Netflix, Amazon and Paramount.

The NRL’s next broadcast deal will span 2028-32 and V’landys revealed he will kick off talks after Magic Round with a view to formalising the code’s richest ever TV rights contract later this year.

Fans may be moving to streaming services to watch footy if the price is right. Picture: Mark Nolan/Getty Images

“We’ll start talks in the next few weeks,” he said.

“There’s a lot of options at the moment. I can confirm we’ve had genuine interest.

“We are confident there are several parties in the marketplace and I’m confident there will be more to come when we begin talks.

“This will be a record deal. We have worked very hard to get our supporter base up. We have gone from 100 million viewers to more than 200 million viewers.

“We have a much more valuable product now, much more valuable.

“We will get a lot more dollars now than we have ever gotten before because of the things we have done to get to where we are.

“That’s not just the NRL’s hard work. It’s the clubs and the players. They will be rewarded. Everyone has worked hard together, they have a game that is the best in the world and naturally we want to make sure we get our financial returns on that.”

The AFL were applauded for their $4.5 billion deal, struck in 2022.

But V’landys won’t be short-changed. The ARLC boss will head to the negotiating table armed with key metrics that show the NRL is a superior TV product to the AFL.

Last year, the NRL and NRLW was the most watched sport in Australia with 186.8 million viewers – 38 million more than the AFL and AFLW.

“We won’t take a backward step on broadcasting,” he said.

“If we sold our rights back then (in 2022), we wouldn’t get anywhere near the deal we will get done now. This has been a planned strategy – and it will pay off big time.”

Vegas is turning into a money-spinner for the NRL. Picture: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

SIN CITY BONANZA

The NRL’s bold venture to launch the season in Las Vegas has not been without its critics. Even some club NRL bosses have privately questioned the concept amid fears the huge logistic exercise has cost the NRL millions.

But in a major revelation, V’landys says Las Vegas will turn a profit in 2026 in a huge shot-in-the-arm for a concept aimed at making incursions into the American gaming and TV market.

“Vegas has turned into a Magic Round as well because next year, we’re probably going to make a $1 million a year out of Vegas, probably more than that,” he said.

“So it’s not only turned into one of the great promotions, but it’s a money spinner. People who say Vegas is losing all this money, it’s nonsense.

“It will just get bigger again next year and we’re not finished with Vegas just yet.

“This is a five-year deal and the proof is in the pudding. The ratings alone and fan support from England this year shows it’s been a great success.”

Originally published as ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys says an expanded NRL competition could see Monday night football return