The National Rugby League "unveiled a new digital network" aimed at taking on the Australian Football League with 57 new products "designed to streamline the fan experience and offer tailored content and advertiser insights," according to Dana McCauley of THE AUSTRALIAN. NRL Chief Digital Officer Rebekah Horne said that the "completely redesigned" network would help the NRL "reach a wider audience while driving a premium advertising product." Horne revealed "what she and her team of 80 had been working on all year." She said, "The key objective for us was to give fans a really rich experience of the game wherever they are to augment their broadcast experience, whether they’re at home or out and about." Replacing "a collection of disparate websites and apps," the network includes premium digital real estate built for the NRL and its teams in a "uniform style, including local state-based assets in NSW and Queensland." Fans will now use a single login across the network, "a change that will drive the development of individually tailored advertising products." Horne: "We anticipate that personalization and the ability to recommend relevant content to our fans will become powerful (for) engagement." Data collected from users will be used to deliver insights to commercial partners on the performance of their campaigns, which she said would "drive a premium for our advertising products." Horne added, "We’re already majority sold out for next year on our advertising" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 12/13).
