A global season, which includes Bledisloe Cup matches played in February-March, a Super Rugby competition involving Celtic teams and "the end of midyear Northern Hemisphere tours," is being proposed "as a way to lure more lucrative television revenue for Australian Rugby," according to Greg Growden of ESPN. Super Rugby side NSW Waratahs CEO Andrew Hore is a "strong advocate for changing the structure of the season, believing if it is done right it will help cure many of Australian Rugby's financial woes." Hore, who joined the Waratahs after being CEO of Ospreys in Wales, said, "The major problem at Ospreys is the same as the major problem here. ... TV revenue." He cited the case of Europe, where England and France's leagues receive eight to 10 times more TV revenue than the Pro 12 Celtic competition. Hore: "The Welsh, Scots, Irish, Italians, Africans, Kiwis, Argentineans and the Australians all have the same issue -- which is domestically TV is probably not generating as much revenue as you would like. If those eight nations, and also throw in Japan, U.S. and the emerging powerhouses, can band together, we could come up with something which rivals what they got up north, but keeps international rugby as the pinnacle." He said that one potential model "would involve playing a southern hemisphere Six Nations format" at the same time as the northern hemisphere Six Nations around February-March (ESPN, 5/16).
