News Corp. execs "will demand the National Rugby League reverse its controversial decision to strip the top-rating Saturday evening match from Fox Sports," according to Darren Davidson of THE AUSTRALIAN. It is understood that the Nine Network, which secured the game as part of its A$925M ($677M) TV rights deal with the NRL, has not ruled out surrendering the game -- "provided Fox Sports agrees to sell Nine a Saturday Australian Football League game." Sources said that Fox Sports, wholly owned by News, "would refuse to even contemplate paying a premium for rights to the remaining NRL matches unless it can regain control of the prized Saturday match handed to Nine" under the terms of the '18-22 deal NRL CEO Dave Smith signed with Nine CEO David Gyngell. Gyngell said that he "is pleased with the terms of the deal, which secured Nine the four best games in each round." But it is understood Gyngell "is prepared to trade the Saturday match if Fox Sports is prepared to sell him a Saturday AFL fixture" under the recently signed A$2.508B ($1.8B) record deal. It is also believed Gyngell "has ruled out selling one of his four top picks to the Seven and Ten networks because he does not want to share the code’s sponsors with another free-to-air operator in a tough advertising market." This "would boost for Fox Sports’s chances of retaining the Saturday match" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/24).
