Rhodri Jones expects increased competition for the Betfred Super League’s broadcast rights when the contract for 2027 onwards comes to market.
Despite reports of interest from TNT Sports and DAZN, long-time broadcaster Sky Sports were the sole money-on-the-table offer for the current 2024-2026 deal and secured the rights for £21.5million per season – nearly half the peak of the £40million per season contract signed in 2017.
A report on the current broadcast market compiled with commercial partner IMG is due to be presented to the Rugby League Commercial (RLC) board next week, with rights set to go out to tender at the end of the year or early 2026, and RLC managing director Jones is optimistic the bidding process will be more competitive this time around thanks to work being done at present.
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“I think there will be competition in the market,” Jones said. “It’s probably too early to say who it will be, but I expect there to be competition in the market.
“Realistically, we’re looking towards the end of this year, beginning of next in terms of going out to the market, but before that a lot of work happens with broadcasters on a one-to-one basis in terms of getting feedback from them, what the packaging could look like, what would suit them.
“In terms of time-frames, that’s why this year is so important, that’s why we’ve put emphasis on growing opportunities across the board with smaller peaks in the season to complement the bigger peaks because we need to demonstrate ourselves in the best possible light to the broadcasters.”
DAZN are potentially the most interesting rival to Sky Sports, but were linked with a bid for the Super League rights when they were last up for grabs and ultimately did not enter the fray.
However, the global streaming platform’s purchase of the NRL’s major rights holder Foxtel has piqued interest over whether they would make a bid for the rights from 2027 onwards and inject some much-needed competition for them after what was, effectively, a take-it-or-leave it offer from Sky last time.
Whether it would be similar to the current Sky deal where one broadcaster takes on every game live, with at least 12 per season simulcast on BBC platforms, or along the lines of an NFL-style deal where different broadcasters – both linear and streaming – buy up certain packages remains to be seen.
The latter model is one being floated by Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys for the NRL’s 2028-2032 rights, which is estimated to net a A$3billion (£1.46billion at current exchange rates) deal for the Southern Hemisphere competition.
Closer to home, it remains to be seen who will be leading the bidding process for Super League’s rights, with speculation about what RFL interim chair Nigel Wood‘s club-led review of rugby league in the UK would mean for the sport’s partnership with IMG.
The global marketing giant is currently engaged with RLC as part of a 12-year strategic partnership and is paid £400,000 a season for its involvement.
But while Jones is in no doubt that will come under scrutiny from the review, he insists that, for now at least, it is business as usual as IMG collaborating on commercial strategy and digital transformation, along with laying the groundwork for the next rights window.
“Directly, our relationship with IMG continues and there are three very specific topics they are involved around with us at the moment,” Jones said. “As we sit here now, nothing has changed about that.
“Will IMG be a topic of discussion during the review? I’m sure it will be and I’m sure the review will consist of an analysis of where the money in the sport is spent.
“We’re all aware IMG, amongst other things, will get discussed, but they’ve got some very clear objectives they need to work towards with us and it’s business as usual.”
