The weakening Australian dollar "promises to deliver a windfall to Australia’s embattled Super Rugby franchises from the 2016 SANZAR broadcast rights agreement," according to Wayne Smith of THE AUSTRALIAN.
Australian Rugby Union CEO Bill Pulver said that "he was still 30-60 days away from being able to speak publicly about the broadcast deal." Pulver: "These deals are not done until they’re done."
What can be said with certainty, however, is that they are done in U.S. dollars, "against which the Australian dollar has been in steady decline since last September." At the start of the current financial year, $1M equated to A$1.05M. But on the current exchange rate, $1M now yields A$1.21M.
The annual allocation of funds to each of the Super Rugby franchises is approximately $4M, "so if the figures above had applied to the broadcast deal, each franchise would have taken on board a bonus" A$600,000. Although the clock on the new deal "is not yet ticking, the further south the Australian dollar heads in coming months, the more they stand to profit." Pulver: "Whatever the outcome, it will unquestionably be aided by a low Australian dollar." Waratahs Rugby Chair Roger Davis admitted that the economic indicators "were looking promising for the franchises but still was exercising caution." Davis: "Show me the money. We’re all waiting to see what happens" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 1/20).
