The recent success of ticket sales for the upcoming Ashes Tour in England – selling out both the new Everton Stadium and Headingley, and with strong sales for the opening game at Wembley – has only heightened the NRL’s enthusiasm.
There’s a belief that the ticket sales for the tournament, which saw more than 60,000 tickets sold on the opening day, speak to a dormant rugby league fan base ready to be activated under the right governance structure and leadership.
The second thing the NRL sees is the capacity to package up the sport and sell it to international broadcasters, increasing the revenue in the sport substantially.
The last Super League broadcast deal suffered an almost 50 per cent reduction in value. The underbidder in negotiations with Sky Sports was DAZN, who recently purchased Foxtel off News Corp.
DAZN are getting ready to enter the market in Australia, and the NRL sees them as a major player in negotiations. The NRL could have more to offer the international streaming giants if it has a product to sell off in Europe, where DAZN already has a significant audience.
One option that has been discussed is the possibility of shifting the Super League back to a European winter - providing the NRL with a year-round product to provide broadcasters and a feeder system for player talent between the two competitions.
The reason it was moved to a summer competition was to avoid lengthy periods of competition with the English Premier League. While the NRL can see merit in the change, they understand such a move will be met with resistance and are unlikely to pursue it.
With the Super League competition and its clubs on their knees financially, NRL bosses agreed to a secret meeting with Wigan owner Mike Danson and Warrington owner Simon Moran in Las Vegas at the start of the season.
The wealthy owners want the NRL to rescue the competition, and are speaking to all Super League clubs before submitting a formal proposal to NRL CEO Andrew Abdo and ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys.
The NRL has made it clear that it will not approach the Super League to buy a stake in the competition, but would be open to striking a deal if the clubs are keen for the NRL to take over the running of the game.
The conversation was a result of previous meetings between the NRL and South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly and Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson, who have been working behind the scenes to give the NRL a better picture of the landscape.
The NRL sought the views of the influential duo given their time working in the Super League.
While Richardson’s blueprint involves a 10-team competition (eight teams from England and two teams from France), the NRL is open to exploring all options and is not wedded to the idea put forward by the Tigers boss, who is currently in the US on annual leave.
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Solly, who previously worked as the general manager of the Super League, said there was a rare opportunity for the game to align itself for the greater good of the sport.
“It makes sense for the two competitions to be more aligned and working together,” Solly said. “The management and ownership of the clubs at the moment has never been better or stronger resourced, and I think a strong NRL competition, a strong Super League competition and a strong international game is a really compelling commercial offering to broadcasters and sponsors.
“I think if the NRL does get management control of the competition, a lot of NRL clubs will look at ways in which they can work closely with Super League clubs. That might mean official partnerships, equity investments or even ownership. The first part of that conversation has to be the NRL taking control. Clearly, there’s a huge opportunity for rugby league in the UK based on the success of the Ashes Tour ticket sales.”
The NRL has no desire to invest capital in a project that is doomed to fail.
It already has enough on its plate with expansion into Perth and Papua New Guinea to become a player in a civil war that presently seems more likely to wipe out all parties involved than end with a ceasefire.
Part of the problem is that the lower-tier teams have the same rights as the more prominent clubs. Solly believes it’s time that changed, and the NRL’s appetite to rescue the sport is the catalyst to making that happen.
“There’s always tension in the game over there between the Super League clubs and lower divisions,” Solly said.
“The best way the NRL can avoid that is by largely focusing its energies into the Super League. That will allow the Rugby Football League to focus its attention on where it’s best, which is the grassroots, the pathways of the game and a strong England international program.
“The commercial engine for rugby league in the UK is Super League. The stronger that is, the more money there is to be invested into the pathways, participation and the England national team.”
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