Rugby Australia risk 'killing the sport' with next rights deal

The next rights deal for Australian rugby is shaping up as make-or-break for the code as one prominent broadcast consultant has warned that Rugby Australia could end up “killing the sport”.

“What you can’t do with this is adapt the ostrich management style,” Colin Smith of GMS told Sydney Morning Herald.

“If Rugby Australia don’t do their homework on what Super Rugby competition is in the best interests of Australia and its broadcast partners, then they’re going to end up killing the sport.

Current rights holder Fox Sports are thought to have less money in the coffers after their record-breaking $1.2 billion deal to secure cricket for the next six years in Australia.

“I think [Fox Sports] will want rugby but it’s not necessarily going to be a significant increase if there’ll be an increase at all,” Smith said. “A whole lot of money was taken out of the system with the cricket deal and with massive increases in the deals for AFL and NRL, while they’ve clearly overpaid for football.

“There is more downward threat for Rugby Australia than there is upward pressure. The question is how do [RA] reinvent the [Super Rugby] model to make sure it’s attractive, to bring back fans and eyeballs and therefore encourage broadcasters to pay.”

Viewership has arrested it’s decline in Australia this season, with a return to four teams seeing modest increases in reported viewership figures. The Waratahs vs Stormers round three clash drew an audience of 102,000 while numbers have weakened since the start of NRL and AFL seasons. The oldest Australian rivalry, the Waratahs vs Reds, attracted 61,000 viewers last week. Overall, their has been a four percent uplift over eight rounds.

SANZAAR Chief Executive Andy Marios added “it’s certainly been a lot more positive than in 2017” and that the continual downturn looks to have finished. He’s “reasonably happy so far, but there’s still a long way to go in the season.”

SANZAAR is understood to be considering a new operating model following its strategic review which looked at the future of Super Rugby, considering a wide range of factors including expansion. Whether the planned future aligns with Rugby Australia’s national interests will raise the debate over whether Australia should go breakaway from the current competition.