SANZAR sign new five-year deal 22/12/04 The SANZAR triumvirate of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia has just confirmed a new five-year broadcasting deal with News Limited and South Africa's Supersport, which will significantly increase their income from tournaments such as the expanded Tri-Nations and Super 14 from 2006. SANZAR confirmed on Wednesday - in what is a timely Christmas bonus for the three countries' rugby bosses - that they have secured a major increase in the broadcast rights. SANZAR confirmed US$323-million, five-year broadcast rights agreement with News Limited and Supersport, which - according to media statements made in both Australia and New Zealand - will "secure the financial future of the game" in the three countries. A statement by the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said that building on the current ten-year agreement which expires at the end of 2005, the new generation broadcast agreement represents an historic step for the SANZAR joint venture and further development of the broadcasting partnership which has underpinned the growth and development of rugby in the three countries since 1995. The new agreement covers broadcast rights for the three SANZAR countries and the United Kingdom - with News Limited acquiring the rights for New Zealand, Australia and the UK; and Supersport acquiring the rights for Africa. The new agreement compares favourably with the US$555-million, ten-year rights agreement struck in 1996. This agreement values the SANZAR properties at 16 percent above the 1996 contract on an average per annum basis. Ironically this new deals comes about a year after Newscorp suggested they will not be prepared to pay such a high price again, unless they have a better product into the table. Newscorp have clearly bought into the expansion deal (Tri-Nations and Super 14) that SANZAR put on the table. The new Super 14 will see the see the number of matches increase from 69 (in the Super 12) to 94 Super 14 matches from 2006 onwards. The Tri-Nations series will expand from six Test matches to nine Test matches. Importantly, the new agreement does not include the valuable broadcast market of France, as well as other broadcast markets such as Asia, the Americas or the rest of Europe, which will allow SANZAR to negotiate directly with broadcasters in those markets to further increase the total broadcast rights fee. SANZAR estimates the rights in these additional markets could be worth an additional US$20-million to US$30-million, which would raise the value of the entire package to an estimated US$343 million to US$353 million. On an average per annum basis, this would represent an increase of 24 to 27 per cent on the previous agreement. Rugby officials in New Zealand, South Africa and Australia said that in addition to securing the financial future of the three SANZAR Unions, the new agreement would allow SANZAR to move ahead with its plans to expand the Super 12 competition to a Super 14 competition, to expand the Tri-Nations series to a nine-Test series, and to continue growing the game. SANZAR and New Zealand Rugby Union Chief Executive Chris Moller described the new deal as a "superb result for rugby" and added that it allows them (SANZAR) to plan the future with certainty and confidence. "The agreement also demonstrates that our broadcasting partners view Super Rugby and Tri-Nations Rugby as high value television events. Crowd figures and television ratings for Super 12 and Tri-Nations matches have grown every year since 1996, and this agreement allows us to continue that growth," Moller said Australian Rugby Union (ARU) CEO and Managing Director, Gary Flowers said that this agreement "secures rugby's future", both at an elite level and a grassroots level. "It will allow us to fund the expansion of the Tri-Nations and the Super 14 competitions, including the new team in Perth. Importantly this income will enable us to continue growing participation in the game at the grassroots," Flowers added. SA Rugby CEO Johan Prinsloo said that this broadcast agreement is a "vote of confidence" in the game's future, and contradicts the predictions of many commentators who said SANZAR would not receive as much for these rights as we did in the original agreement. "We have negotiated a significant increase in our rights fee, and we are still yet to sell rights in some markets, so there is no doubting that rugby and the SANZAR competitions are in good shape," Prinsloo said. News Limited chief executive officer, John Hartigan, said the new deal would underpin the future development of rugby union and give fans another five years of outstanding television coverage. "We are delighted that our tremendously successful partnership with rugby union will continue for the next five years. Over the past 10 years, News Limited has helped transform rugby from a largely amateur code into a major international sport." Hartigan said one of the greatest achievements of the current broadcast deal had been the creation of the Super 12 and Tri-Nations series. "The new broadcast deal will cement these benefits and give fans an even better program of regional, provincial and international rugby over the next five years." --

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