Billion Dollar Giant

The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) has agreed to a five year broadcasting agreement with Nine and Fox Sports in a deal worth more than $1 billion, which makes it the largest agreement in Rugby League history. It might not even end there, since the agreement allows Nine and Fox to show all the games in Australia, leaving the ARLC open to pursuing further broadcasting revenues in New Zealand. The agreement with Nine and Fox also includes a cash component of $925 million, $90 million of which will have to be paid before the start of the first season. Advertising packages of up to $100 million are also included in the same agreement. The Australian Rugby League Commission chair, John Grant said "This whole package is simply a fantastic result for Rugby League. The cash that comes from the agreement, used wisely, will provide the funding base for sustainably growing our game from the grassroots to the elite levels."

The Nine Network will broadcast three weekly matches, three Thursday evening matches during the year, 4 special events throughout the season, and 2 hours of Rugby League content every evening. Meanwhile, Fox will be showing five matches a week, starting on Saturday and ending on Mondays. Also, both channels will be providing coverage of The Four Nations tournament, one of the most prestigious international rugby competition in the world.

National Rugby League (NRL) clubs are expected to receive an immediate $500,000 payment, and a salary cap of up to $6 million will be talked about next Monday at the inaugural meeting of the ARLC Council. This deal is a huge win for players, clubs and hopefully the development of the sport. The deal is showing a significant increase from the current deal that expires at the end of this season, of $500 million over a span of six years.

The NRL is well regarded as the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Oceania. The current version of the league had its first season in 1998, and it is comprisef of 16 teams total, 15 in Australia and 1 in New Zealand. The most succesful team in the NRL is the South Sydney Rabbitohs with 20 titles in total (the last championship came in 1971). The NRL is also regarded as the top Rugby League championship in the world and is the single most viewed and attended rugby competition in the world per season. The season always culminates in the NRL Grand Final, one of Australia's most popular sporting events and also one of the world's largest attender club championship events.