Foxtel will assist the National Rugby League in its global push, CEO Patrick Delany says, after signing a mega contract with Peter V’landys.
Foxtel has extended its 30-year history with the NRL with the signing of a landmark $5.3 billion TV rights deal, which includes Nine, on Tuesday.
Nine will retain the commercial rights and Foxtel will retain the right to televise every game except the State of Origin and the Grand Final.
Mr Delany told Sky News Australia that Foxtel’s owner, DAZN, offered unprecedented reach for rugby league as a sport.
“We’re going to go hard,” he said.
“I think the key to it is that you can’t fall in love with the sport unless it’s in front of you.
“With all of the subscribers we have, when we’re running live soccer, we can put also some rugby league in it and I think it’s going to take off in quite a few countries.
“It’s very difficult if you’re in a walled garden, which is what NRL was. When you put it in amongst all of your other things, I think you’ll go really well.”
Mr V’landys earlier on Tuesday touted the deal’s potential to broaden rugby league’s international appeal.
“The deal future-proofs the game for everybody… more importantly, it gives us the platform to grow the game, not only here in Australia, but globally,” he said.
“Part of the deal has been with DAZN – there are 400 million subscribers to DAZN that rugby league will be marketed to. The $5.3 billion over the seven years does not include that potential growth in the international market.”
Mr Delany said the seven-year rights deal was also important on the home front.
“The NRL is so important to us because our customers love it,” he said.
“Under the new deal, there’ll be more games as teams are added, we get all of those games, so (when the) 20th team is added, we’ll get 10 games, seven will be exclusive, three not exclusive and there’s a lot more.
“We’re going to have to chew really hard, look after all of our customers, keep them and gain some more customers.”
The new deal commences from the 2028 season.
It marked the largest negotiation in the sport’s 30-year rights history with the broadcasters.
Nine had submitted a lucrative bid to broadcast the available rights across free-to-air and their paywalled Stan streaming service – before it was ultimately rejected.
Foxtel and its Kayo venture will continue to broadcast each home and away and finals game – except the grand final – for the NRL and NRLW for the entirety of the broadcast deal.
Kayo now holds deals with the AFL, NRL, Supercars, Formula 1 and cricket alongside U.S. sports through ESPN including the NFL, NBA, NHL, and NBL.
NRL Chief Executive Officer Andrew Abdo said the deal offered the sport “certainty, flexibility and resources to pursue ambitious growth opportunities”.
“This agreement reflects the strength of rugby league today and confidence in where the game can go next.
“It is the result of years of planning, discipline and execution by the Commission as we positioned the game to maximise its value in a rapidly changing media landscape,” he said.
The deal also includes a clause for the provision of a 20th team in the competition.
The team is expected to be based in New Zealand, and join the NRL by 2029 or 2030.
“We have given a commitment to DAZN that we will look at an additional team in 2029,” Mr V’landys said.
It is understood Foxtel had, at one stage in negotiations, offered to work with Seven and Ten to simulcast the Origin series and grand final.
The Australian reported Nine threw in additional cash to keep Origin and the sport’s grand final.
Other players were also in the mix for up-for-grabs rights deals, Mr V’landys said, including Amazon.
“Up until late last night we were still negotiation terms of this agreement,” he said.
“Up until the execution of that contract, everyone was in play. I thank the other parties who have missed out. They have been good to deal with, especially Amazon – they changed the course of the negotiations.
“At the end, we have got the right format.”