It was a throwback in every sense. In the late afternoon sunshine the shadows danced on Eden Park as the Blues the Hurricanes channelled their inner Lomu and Cullen and put on an autumn show in vintage kits that brought to mind the original stars of Super Rugby.
These were the new kids on the block but they, like their predecessors, played to a big crowd in the stands and many more on television. It was a contest for the ages, and a marketing bonanza for a competition that is fighting to return to the good old days, and not just via the merchandise tent.
For the most part, the scheduling of the match was met with approval. Ever since the game went professional, and behind a satellite television paywall, the topic of kick off times has never been far from the pub leaner conversation. Even three decades into rugby under lights, some still pine for the sun on their backs, and an early bedtime.
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It would be fascinating to know the viewership figures for Saturday’s top of the table clash, although SKY may be reticent to share that publicly. No game so far this season has been as hyped as this one, no game has boasted a bigger attendance. Those are both marketing wins for the competition but it’s television viewership that has long driven decision making for those who schedule fixtures.
In the early years of Super Rugby, the broadcaster took plenty of heat for night-time kick offs. Many blamed SKY for "demanding" games be played in prime time, but long-serving CEO John Fellet always contended that, in negotiations, he would say to New Zealand Rugby that they could decide when games were played. The only difference would be the size of the cheque he was willing to write.
New Zealand Rugby always took the bigger cheque, which is not entirely a criticism. When television rights form such a huge percentage of revenue, the temptation will always be to take the bigger number. That has meant the big-ticket competitions have largely remained prime time business. But do occasions like Saturday warrant a review of that methodology?
The broadcast rights business is never far from the thoughts of sport boards and CEOs. The entry of pay TV to New Zealand radically changed the landscape for professional sports in New Zealand and that has led to what could best be described as a sugar-hit economy in which every four or five years the sports head back to the negotiation table for another spoonful.
The sands have shifted, however, as evidenced by Netball New Zealand’s failure to extract anywhere near the value they expected from their latest deal. That has meant a partial return to free-to-air, with TVNZ picking up a weekly ANZ Premiership fixture. Cricket viewership numbers have surged since a return to free-to-air, and New Zealand rugby is still tinkering with its own platform with the potential to stream direct to consumers in the future.
All this is to say, a freshly minted Super Rugby Commission will be looking at all the numbers to better understand what value the clubs can claim for themselves in terms of f ture broadcast revenues. Private shareholders have heretofore been shut out of broadcast revenue share, at least when it comes to the domestic deals. But could international rights be back on the table?
It will be fascinating to see how the new commission address rights and scheduling. New Zealand Rugby will already be thinking about its next broadcast deal and how much they can extract from the local market given a renewed urgency for revenue.
That creates a problem: how can you make the most from broadcast rights while offering the best opportunities for live attendance? In other words, is the "bigger cheque" always the better option?
Critics of night-time matches say kick off times have made it much tougher for younger fans to experience a game in the flesh, and that in turn makes it tough to foster and build that lifetime connection to the sport. Furthermore, rugby’s reticence to embrace Sunday afternoons in particular has been highlighted this week, as the NRL owns that space.
Proponents of afternoon kick offs, however, also have to understand the New Zealand timezone which, frankly, is horrible for live sport, and therefore the European broadcast market.
Just ask Team New Zealand.
And that is why Super Rugby’s new commission has a massive decision to make. Can they see the value in afternoon crowds for blockbuster matches, and how do they weigh up the optics of a big crowd against the value of rights to international markets if kick off times there are between three and five AM. That is a quandary.
It’s one that remains in the "for another day" category. Broadast deals will cast their shadow later.
For now we can bask in the joy of a kick off under the big blue, bathed in autumnal sun, as rugby took a step into the past, and dipped its toe in a possible future.
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