Is Foxtel boxed into a corner on sports rights as video streaming takes hold?

In a week of big news in the sporting rights space, Marc C-Scott looks at the Nine/NRL deal and asks what implications it will have for the likes of Foxtel and Telstra. 

The Nine Network this week secured the broadcast rights for the NRL, in a five year deal to start from 2018. This has removed the possibility of Foxtel and Ten establishing a combined bid for NRL, although the AFL rights are yet to be confirmed.

The deal will see Nine pay A$185 million annually for the NRL rights, which some argue will see Nine not place a bid for the new AFL rights. The amount Nine will pay could be lower if the NRL allows pay simulcasts of games, although Foxtel has not yet confirmed its interest.

Former NRL adviser Colin Smith was unimpressed, saying the rights deal announced by Nine and the NRL was disrespectful toward Fox Sports, a long-term broadcaster, and left them with “crap content”. He says the the public announcement of the deal, before “ever going to market properly”, could make it more difficult for the NRL to secure a deal with Foxtel.