Should Channel Nine surrender the right to broadcast Saturday night matches, in exchange for a payment of A$40M ($28M) per year from Fox Sports, a A$1.9B ($1.3B) National Rugby League TV deal from '18-22 "is likely," according to Roy Masters of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Fox Sports Super Saturday coverage "is critical to the News Corporation owned network, allowing it to sell the same number of games to subscribers as it does under the existing deal, which still has two years to run." The A$925M ($658M) five-year deal Nine negotiated with the NRL in August "meant four games per week would be seen on free-to-air TV, a potential tipping point for subscribers to consider a sporting life without Foxtel." Furthermore, the Nine deal "left unsold the other four games in the NRL eight games per week schedule." The price the NRL will expect for the key 7:30pm Saturday time slot "is critical to the final overarching deal." Nine, keen to reduce costs, will demand A$40M per year, reducing by A$200M ($142M) the A$925M ($658M) deal negotiated with outgoing NRL CEO Dave Smith. Fox Sports offered A$130M ($92M) a year "for the other four games." The NRL indicated this is too low and "presumably rejects" the notion it is selling "bottom four" games (SMH, 11/12).
