Ben Shepherd joins the NRL
Former Dentsu, Schwartz Media, and Chep executive Ben Shepherd has joined the National Rugby League as the organisation’s general manager of strategy and special projects.
Shepherd first started working for the NRL in February as a contractor, but has since joined the league on a full-time basis, in a role he described on Linkedin as “helping to maintain the NRL as the best sports and entertainment experience in the Pacific, and rugby league the most connected and engaged sporting community in the region.”
Prior to this, Shepherd acted as CEO for Schwartz Media for a ten-month stint from February 2024, was the chief investment officer for media at Dentsu for just over a year, and worked in various roles at Bain and Company, Chep, PwC Australia, and OMD.
Ben Shepherd
He joins the rugby league competition at an interesting time. The NRL is currently negotiating its broadcasting rights, with hopes to lock in a deal within the next few weeks.
The Australian Rugby League Commission’s chair Peter V’landys has been quite vocal about his plans to shore up the next deal before the start of the next financial year, despite the rights not coming into play until the 2027 season.
V’landys told News Corp in March he was holding out for “a record deal” saying he is looking for a payday bigger than the current $4.5 billion, seven-year contract the AFL has secured.
In addition, V’landys is hoping to copy the NFL’s current US broadcast rights structure, in which the bag is divided between a number of free-to-air, cable and streaming services.
He first floated this idea at the NRL’s annual general meeting in late February, telling stakeholders: “We have to look at all formats and that’s one of them. Ideally we’d like it all in the one, but if you look at the NFL and how they do it, and they’re very successful.
“We’ll analyse it and watch it. Whatever maximises our return.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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