- Peter V’landys threatens NRL’s broadcast partners
Footy fans have lashed the NRL for not giving them a choice on television provider for Sunday’s grand final, as the game stands to potentially ditch both Channel Nine and Fox Sports.
The decider, won by the Brisbane Broncos over the Melbourne Storm, had a reach of 6.4 million Australian viewers on Channel 9 – an audience record.
However footy fans could only watch the showpiece event on Channel 9 or its streaming services, with Fox Sports locked out under the current television deal.
That went down like a lead balloon for viewers who have grown used to Fox Sports presenters and the Kayo streaming app during the season.
‘Channel 9 is just horrendous to watch the Footy. Please NRL in the next TV deal sort this s*** out. Fox League needs to able to show these games live,’ one fan posted.
‘It is nights like this that make you realise why Foxtel is 100 per cent worth paying for. Channel 9 and Channel 7 coverage of our two biggest sports are horrendous,’ another said.
A host of footy fans complained they were forced to listen to the Channel 9 commentary team for the NRL grand final
Fox Sports are currently locked out of airing the grand final and the State of Origin series
The 2025 NRL Grand Final between the Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm reached a record audience
‘Channel 9’s lack of a decent succession plan following the departures of Ray Warren and the likes of Sterling is bearing some rotten fruit,’ another added.
But footy fans should be careful what they wish for, with neither Channel 9 nor Fox Sports guaranteed to keep the NRL deal beyond 2027.
NRL boss Peter V’landys has warned Foxtel and Nine the league will sell TV rights to a rival network if they team up to try to drive the price down in negotiations for the next broadcast deal.
Nine and Foxtel currently have a $1.7billion, five-year rights deal that will expire in 2027.
The NRL intends to start negotiations for the new deal once footy’s Ashes Test series finishes in November, and V’landys is adamant he won’t put up with a joint bid from Nine and Foxtel.
‘If they collude, it will be at their peril,’ V’landys told the AFR.
‘We will take the rights elsewhere. If they think they can behave as monopolists, they will be in for a shock.’
V’landys says the new deal will be even bigger than the last one.
Peter V’landys has warned Foxtel and Nine against entering a joint bid for the next TV broadcast rights
Nine and Foxtel have a $1.7 billion five-year rights deal that will expire in 2027 (Danika Mason from Nine is pictured)
‘The deal will be record-breaking because we built the game up and doubled our audience,’ V’landys said.
The NRL is in a much stronger financial position than it was when the last deal was signed.
‘Our strategy of waiting is the right one,’ V’landys said.
‘The NRL is in a premium position right now.’
V’landys said free-to-air television needs sport more than ever.
‘Paramount, Amazon, and Netflix have taken content away from free-to-air.
‘If you think about free-to-air, it’s all news, sport, and reality TV. It needs sport for the future of the business.’
Coverage of the NRL grand final this weekend could exceed the audience for the AFL decider for the first time in 10 years.
V’landys believes the new deal is crucial for free-to-air and pay TV as they face competition from streaming services (Fox Sports reporter Eloise Sohier is pictured)
The AFL grand final had audience of 4.18 million on Seven last weekend – beating out Nine’s State of Origin coverage to become the most watched-program of the year.
However, the number of viewers watching the NRL’s preliminary finals last week was up 35 per cent on 2024’s mark.
The last time the NRL decider attracted more viewers than the AFL grand final was when the Cowboys played the Broncos in 2015.
