Channel Nine could be set to lose their stranglehold on free-to-air rugby league broadcasting, with Seven expressing interest in hosting the State of Origin series.
With the rights currently with Nine until the end of the 2022 season, both Seven and Ten are reportedly keen to make a bid for the showpiece series.
As the NRL are keen to lock in their new broadcast deal at the end of the year, it’s believed that Seven are the frontrunner to take a piece of the pie from Nine in terms of both Origin and regular season fixtures.
The Daily Telegraph’s David Riccio said he expects the battle for rights to “heat up” from here.
“I think the game is at a point in time, given with what has happened in the last two seasons’ financially, Peter V’Landys, the NRL Commission and CEO Andrew Abdo know that broadcast rights and deals are so significant for the code,” Riccio said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“They need to make sure they’re making decisions to make the game more financially viable.
“If that is the case where a separate channel shows State of Origin, then so be it.
“Channel Seven are keen to host State of Origin and at least one game per round, this has been worked on in the background for some time now.
“The key thing here is that Channel Nine’s broadcast rights are at the end of its conclusion so I expect things to heat up.
“I expect a decision by the end of the year of where we are headed, it could be a major turning point for the code as Nine have hosted the game for more than 30 years.”
While Ten is also considering a bid, Riccio believes they’re “third in the pecking order”.
“The other point about Channel Ten also being in the fight, I would put them third in the pecking order,” Riccio said.
“They’ve just signed a five-year, $200 million deal to show A-League soccer on their streaming service Paramount.”
On streaming, Riccio believes Seven’s broadcasting of the Olympic Games through their app 7Plus could show the NRL where the future is headed in terms of viewing the game.
“I think the streaming is a big point,” Riccio added.
“I thought throughout the Olympics on Channel Seven, their app where you could watch the Olympics on your phone, that was a test case for Channel Seven to show off to the NRL how they could broadcast rugby league.
“That’s obviously where we’re going for a whole host of broadcasting, not just sports, but the ability to watch anywhere.”
It’s believed the competition are hoping for a deal worth at least a combined $600 million through to 2027.