Channel Nine could lose rights to State of Origin as rival station ‘launches $150m bid’ to steal footy crown jewel
- Peter V’landys met with Seven executives this week
- Seven and V’landys have a strong working relationship through horse racing.
- Seven too after an NRL match on Sunday afternoon
Channel Seven has reportedly launched a bold bid to wrest the rights to the State Of Origin series from rival broadcaster Channel Nine.
Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman Peter V’landys and code chief Andrew Abdo met Sevens chief executive James Warburton and sporting director Lewis Martin at a Sydney restaurant last week.
They were discussing the station’s $150 million offer along with Foxtel to carry the interstate series on Seven and Fox League, in addition to streaming services Kayo and 7plus, according to the report. daily telegraph.
The State Of Origin series is consistently among the most watched shows in Australia, bringing a ratings bonanza to Nine (pictured, Queensland after winning the 2023 title)
Footy supremo Peter V’Landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo were pictured meeting Sevens’ CEO and sporting director at a Sydney restaurant last week.
This year’s third State Of Origin game (won by NSW, pictured) was rated higher than last year’s corresponding game
While the three-match series always appears at the top or near the top of Australia’s most-watched shows each year, it has begun to lose a bit of its luster despite continuing to be a ratings bonanza.
Despite the very healthy 3.3 million viewers who tuned in to this year’s opening game in Adelaide, the 2013 figures are still much higher at 3.949 million.
The network’s offering will include men’s, women’s and under-19 interstate matches with a commitment to heavily promote each game not only in the NSW and Queensland markets, but also domestically in rival AFL markets, the publication reported.
Seven and Fox would spend about $30 million a year – $10 million per game – over five seasons.
In addition to the Origin offer, Sevens also wants to get an NRL game for each Sunday afternoon once bidding is open again.
Origin’s offer from Sevens CEO James Warburton would be a game changer not only for the game, but also for the television landscape in Australia.
Everest at Randwick is worth $15m and is Racing NSW’s flagship event which V’landys successfully negotiated with Channel Seven for coverage.
Warburton and Martin have a strong and established relationship with V’landys due to Sevens’ coverage of major racing carnivals, as the football supremo also runs Racing NSW.
He caught up with the network’s top brass last month to discuss their ongoing partnership and coverage of the world’s richest turf horse race, The Everest, which takes place each year at Royal Randwick in Sydney.
