Menu
Finance

ARLC Chair John Grant Defends NRL's Loss Of $14.2M, Insists It Was Part Of Plan

Australian Rugby League Commission Chair John Grant defended the game’s financial results after it reported a loss of nearly A$20M ($14.2M) for the past year, insisting it was "always the plan to accumulate money in the early stages of the existing broadcasting agreement and then spend it later on," according to Read & Honeysett of THE AUSTRALIAN. While the National Rugby League’s revenue increased by A$10M ($7M) to A$334M ($237M), "out-goings outpaced the incomings to the extent that the game recorded a loss" of A$12M ($8.53M), a figure that inflated to A$18M ($12.8M) once the investment in the Gold Coast Titans and Newcastle Knights was factored in. Grant: "What happens over the broadcast cycle is you ramp up expenditure aggressively from year one to year five. If you go back to 2013, the surplus was A$49 million because the amount we were spending and distributing was not where it was going to be because we were going to invest over time." While Grant "insisted the glass was half full, others within the game are likely to see it differently." The game’s position "is a stark contrast to previous financial results," with the NRL trumpeting it had made a A$49.6M profit for the '13 season and A$49.9M over '14 (THE AUSTRALIAN, 2/11). In Brisbane, Travis Meyn reported the NRL's broadcasting revenue was A$205M ($146M) while non-broadcasting revenue increased 9% to A$129M ($92M), "a crucial objective of the commission’s charter." Grant’s "only criticism of the game’s financial activity was its operating expenditure," which increased by A$19M ($13.5M). That figure included "impairment on loans to clubs" of A$4.4M ($3.1M), but total revenue generated only increased A$10M to A$334M. Grant: "We probably spent a little bit more money than we should have to drive our results in events and memberships. That’s for the good of the clubs. That’s the bottom line. I don’t have any problem with telling people that. We spent a lot of money to drive the business the way we needed to get an extra A$10 million in revenue. It’s a competitive marketplace and we’re competing for the same dollars everyone else is and it cost us more money to get those dollars" (COURIER-MAIL, 2/10). In Sydney, Nick Walshaw reported struggling NRL clubs "have been given two years to get into the black" -- or risk being stripped of their licenses. Grant explained the loss was "part of a wider, financial blueprint which will see all NRL teams profitable within two years." Asked if clubs "should be stripped" of their licenses if unable to turn a profit by '18, Grant replied, "I don’t need to say that because that’s what the clubs are already telling me. The message has got through to them. And it had to" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 2/10).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2016/02/11/Finance/ARLC-Loss.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2016/02/11/Finance/ARLC-Loss.aspx

CLOSE