Rugby Australia has been under enormous pressure for a few years now. Poor results on the field and the Israel Folau imbroglio saw rugby slip to the fourth most popular football code in Australia. The Super Rugby teams were not doing too well, and the popular Western Force was axed. And that was before COVID.
Rugby in Australia, and indeed across the world, needs to look at alternative broadcasting options if it is going to survive as anything outside of a niche sport. The decision by Rugby Australia to align themselves with Channel Nine’s streaming service affiliate Stan is a step in the right direction.
Under the deal, Wallabies matches will still be shown on Channel Nine, as will one Super Rugby match, and one Shute Shield match each week. The rest of Super Rugby and Shute Shield will be shown on the subscription only Stan network.
But what if rugby thought bigger?
And not just Australian rugby, but international rugby?
What if rugby had its own subscription network?
Sure, major test matches and the World Cups would still need to be seen on each country’s free to air television networks in order to bring new and younger eyes to the sport. Most of these matches still rate pretty well - certainly much better than Super Rugby, Pro 14, or local rugby competitions.
So, instead of trying to get major networks to stump up the cash for a heap of matches that draw niche ratings; why not go it alone? If international rugby said to the free to air networks, especially in Australia, you can have the Wallabies test matches, and a bit of Super Rugby and the Shute Shield, they’d jump at it. Oh yeah, Nine just did.
But what about the hardcore rugby fans. Traditionally, rugby fans are a little more well heeled than the fans of the other football codes. I wonder if they’d be willing to fork out say $9.95 each month to get their fill. For ten bucks a month, rugby fans across the world could get test matches, Super Rugby and Pro 14, and domestic games from Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, France, Japan, USA, Argentina. Not to mention the lucrative Rugby 7s market.
International rugby bodies could use some of this largesse to develop the game in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Uruguay, Namibia, Romania, and Hong Kong among others.
Between Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Great Britain, France, Japan, Argentina, and Italy, I reckon rugby could count on at least ten million subscribers. That is $100 million every month.
It’s not a new concept. World Wrestling Entertainment have a similar model and attract nearly two million subscribers each month. And WWE is nothing if not a niche sport.
With younger eyes more focused on computer screens and phone screens rather than TV, sport needs to look at ways to engage the people they wish to attract as new fans. It seems a perfect fit for the future of rugby union.