The National Rugby Championship "is set to be played for at least six more years, with the competition’s future all-but secured" in the Australian Rugby Union’s new broadcasting deal, according to Iain Payten of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. The inaugural season of the NRC "yielded mixed results last year, with the third-tier competition producing good rugby and eleven Super Rugby debutants but only modest TV audiences for major financial backer Foxtel and Fox Sports." Speculation subsequently emerged the pay-TV company "would not renew" its A$2M ($1.5M)-a-year funding deal. However, Fox Sports is "set to take up the option of a five-year extension as part of the new ARU broadcasting rights deal, meaning the NRC can continue until at least 2020." It is not known if the ARU will still get A$2M-a-year for the NRC, however, and reportedly Fox Sports has "committed to broadcast an Australian third-tier competition -- not necessarily the NRC in its current format." That "important detail leaves the door open for major structural change in 2016 or later seasons, including a possible reduction of the NRC’s nine-team format" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 3/4).
