RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL – AUSTRALIA

Melbourne Storm are the most widely supported NRL (or AFL) club in 2021 ahead of the Brisbane Broncos and Parramatta Eels

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Sep-21

The latest data from Roy Morgan shows that the total NRL supporter base has grown by over 1 million from a year ago, up 19% to more than 6.3 million Australians aged 14+ (29.9%) in 2021 despite the sport dealing with two COVID-interrupted seasons throughout 2020-21. The NRL was forced to relocate all 16 clubs to Queensland in July this year after outbreaks of COVID-19 in the key market of New South Wales as well as in Victoria and the ACT; despite these upheavals support for the clubs has boomed, with 11 of the 16 clubs experiencing an increase in support from 2020. The Melbourne Storm have topped the ladder as the most widely supported NRL club in 2021 with 1,211,000 supporters, an increase of 28.7% on a year ago following the club’s fourth Premiership in 2020. In second is the Brisbane Broncos, the only other club with over 1 million supporters on 1,028,000, an increase of 15% on a year ago despite the club’s first Wooden Spoon in 2020 since joining the competition in 1988. These key findings are derived from detailed in-depth interview with over 50,000 Australians each year as part of the Roy Morgan Single Source survey.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, MELBOURNE STORM RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB LIMITED, BRISBANE BRONCOS RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB LIMITED

NRL could switch TV channels

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Original article by John Stensholt, Jessica Halloran
The Australian – Page: 24 : 25-Aug-21

The Seven Network is said to have expressed interest in the broadcasting rights to rugby league’s State of Origin series. Seven is also believed to be interested in broadcasting one National Rugby League match each week; Ten could also potentially bid for the NRL rights, with the Nine Network’s current deal set to end in 2022. Nine has held the rugby league broadcasting rights for about three decades.

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SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

AFL wins TV war with NRL

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Original article by Scott Gullan
Herald Sun – Page: 59 : 27-Oct-20

Ratings data from OzTAM shows that the 2020 AFL grand final attracted 3.812 million viewers nationwide, which is the largest audience for an AFL match in four years. The Seven Network boasted an audience share of 65.8% for its coverage of the premiership decider. The AFL is likely to come under growing pressure to move the grand final to a prime-time slot permanently due to the strong ratings. Meanwhile, the Nine Network’s coverage of the NRL grand final was watched by 2.967 million viewers, compared with 2.65 million in 2019.

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SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, OZTAM PTY LTD, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

$1bn NRL broadcast deal kicks off

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 29-May-20

The National Rugby League has negotiated a revised broadcasting rights deal with Fox Sports and Nine Entertainment for the 2020 season. The two broadcasters are believed to have been granted a 30 per cent discount for the remainder of their existing rights deals, which expire at the end of the 2022 season. Fox Sports has also agreed to extend its NRL rights deal for a further eight years. The NRL season resumed on 28 May, after a two-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

No deal with NRL: Nine boss

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 6-May-20

Nine Entertainment CEO Hugh Marks says the cost of sports broadcasting rights must become more sustainable in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. He stresses that Nine has not reached an agreement with the National Rugby League regarding how much it will pay to broadcast the 2020 season. Nine had originally agreed to pay $118m for the 2020 rights, but it is believed to have offered about $90m after the NRL season was put on hold. Marks has indicated that Nine would be prepared to walk away from the NRL if it does not "pay its way". Nine’s current broadcasting rights deal expires in 2022.

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NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Seven keen to tackle NRL rights

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 23 : 28-Oct-19

Seven West Media has expressed interest in bidding for the National Rugby League’s broadcasting rights when the Nine Network’s current deal expires in 2022. CEO James Warburton adds that Seven may look at gaining the State of Origin broadcasting rights if it cannot secure the full NRL rights. The proposed move on NRL rights is believed to be aimed at boosting Seven’s audience share in Sydney and Brisbane, where its average audience for Australian Football League matches is much lower than Nine’s NRL coverage.

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SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, OZTAM PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

AFLW inspires more women to play Australian Football

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Mar-19

A Roy Morgan Single Source shows that more than 550,000 Australian women aged 14+ now play one of the four main football codes. Female participation in Australian Football has increased by 21,000 over the last year, to 176,000, while nearly 400,000 women now play Soccer. Meanwhile, 67,000 Australian women now play Rugby League and 32,000 play Rugby Union. The survey also shows that 207,000 women in New South Wales now play football of one sort or another, followed by Victoria with 139,000 and Queensland with 89,000. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the increasing interest in women’s sport of all types including the football codes provides an increasingly lucrative platform for companies looking to capture a share of this emerging market while it goes through a significant growth phase.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Tuivasa-Sheck becomes first Kiwi to win Dally M Medal

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Original article by Christian Nicolussi
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 43 : 27-Sep-18

New Zealand Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has won the National Rugby League’s 2018 Dally M Medal for player of the year. The Newcastle Knights’ Kalyn Ponga was the runner-up, and the winner of the prestigious award was not decided until the final round of votes were counted. Tuivasa-Sheck’s performance in 2018 has been widely attributed as a key contributor to the Warriors’ on-field success during a season in which the team exceeded expectations by making the finals. Melbourne Storm’s Cameron Smith has been named captain of the year.

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NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS LIMITED, NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS LIMITED, MELBOURNE STORM RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB LIMITED

Football participation stabilises with more women playing

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Mar-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that the number of Australians aged 14+ who play football (of any code) has fallen from 2.2 million in the year to December 2013 to 19.5 million in the year to December 2017. While the number of football participants has fallen by 12.1 per cent overall, Rugby Union has recorded the biggest fall (down 29.4% to 178,000 participants), followed by soccer (down 10% to 1.36 million). Australian Rules is down just 4.3% to 604,000 participants, and Rugby League is down 8.7% to 327,000 participants. Against the trend of the overall decline in participation is the rising number of women participating in all forms of football. Analysis shows there are now 548,000 women participating regularly or occasionally in any of the four leading football codes, up 4.4% since 2013.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Back to the drawing board for Footy Show

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: Online : 12-Mar-18

Nine director of sport Tom Malone is planning to make some tweaks to the rugby league version of the "Footy Show", after some aspects of the first program for 2018 were seen as somewhat underwhelming by viewers. The show underwent a number of changes during the off-season, with Erin Molan replacing Paul Vautin as host and former executive producer Glenn Pallister no longer with the show. Meanwhile, ratings for Nine’s first rugby league match of the season, which saw St George Illawarra Dragons beat the Brisbane Broncos 34-12, were down 5.6 per cent year-on-year.

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NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD