The rebooted NRL 2020 draw shows just how arrogant and drunk with power Channel Nein have become. This is a Mr. Burns-blocking-out-the-sun level of evil.
In a 20-round season, only Brisbane (15), Parramatta (13), Melbourne, South Sydney (12), and the Sydney Roosters (11) have double figure free-to-air games (not including the final six rounds, when Nein will simulcast Saturday night games). Newcastle are next with nine, while the Gold Coast Titans and the NZ Warriors have ONE each.
Yes, we understand the commercial realities where the most popular, highest-ratings teams get the most Nein games, but the Broncos could finish last and they’d still dominate Thursday and Friday Night Footy the following season.
The biggest injustice goes to Canberra and the NZ Warriors. The resurgent Raiders were everyone’s second favourite team last year, and were 10 minutes away from winning the premiership (Nein would have loved that). The Raiders had eight FTA games in the original draw, now it’s been cut to just THREE. Even Ricky Stuart said that Nein hates the Raiders and probably don’t even like footy.
The Warriors, meanwhile, made a major sacrifice to ensure the 2020 season went ahead. Unable to play in New Zealand in the short term (if not the whole season), they deserve some free-to-air support. What do they get? One lousy Sunday arvo game in September.
If Nein had their way, the NRL would be a 13-team comp: Brisbane, North Queensland, Melbourne, Newcastle, and the nine Sydney teams. Goodbye to the Raiders, Titans, and Warriors.
Watching the classic games during the postponement, you remember when Nein used to be a decent broadcaster in the 1990s. Rabbits was in peak calling form, Sterlo was one of the sharpest footy minds in the media, Fatty – inbetween some serious footy analysis – threw in a few gags and cheeky head wobbles, and Gus’ ego hadn’t blown out of control (it helped that he was coaching for most of the decade). Plus the Thursday night Footy Show (back when it was still funny) was ratings gold.
It all started to go wrong in the mid-2000s. They got rid of Vossy (one of the best footy presenters going around) and Freddy and Joey entered the commentary box after they retired, later joined by Darren Lockyer and Johnathan Thurston. While Freddy and Joey both have amazing footy brains, they carry on like two mates at the pub on a Friday afternoon: they’re two deep-voiced alpha males trying to ‘out-alpha’ each other. Their hijacking of the usually serious Sunday Footy Show made that once great show unwatchable.
It was around this time that Rabbits started to lose his greatness (partly due to age and his health), and let’s not get started on Nein’s famously biased Origin coverage or their self-indulgent panel shows like The Greatest.
A couple of years ago, the NRL looked to have finally diluted some of Nein’s influence, forcing the Broncos to (Shock! Horror!) play during the daytime and on Saturday nights. Now all that good work’s been undone.
Now, before you Brisbane fans start posting your bomb letters, Nien’s dictatorship isn’t the Broncos’ fault. Their fans are ridiculously loyal, regularly packing Lang Park (even against the crappy teams), averaging around 30,000/game, about twice as good as the best Sydney clubs. Of course, it helps that they haven’t missed the finals since 2010 and enjoy a monopoly in Brisbane, especially with the Titans quickly becoming a joke.
What makes fans angry is Nein’s arrogant, blatant favouritism towards the Broncos. Non-Broncos fans must get sick of having to watch them every Thursday and/or Friday night. While Kayo has made it easier and cheaper to watch footy, not every fan can afford pay TV or find somewhere to watch the game, so Nein is their only option. Nein, who think they’re bigger than the game, take advantage of this dependency.
There is one solution: if Nein are to continue with the footy, they are only allowed to show SIX regular season Broncos games: two matches each against North Queensland, Melbourne, and the Sydney Roosters. These are the stone cold blockbusters that neutral fans love, and Nein can pour all their marketing money into these games and charge advertisers a fortune if they have to. After that, everyone else gets at least one Thursday or Friday night game; even the Titans and Warriors get a turn.
If Nein can’t agree to that, then shop the free-to-air rights around. Ten, who did an amazing job with the AFL and cricket Big Bash League, would love the exposure that the NRL would give them. While Seven have the AFL, they’d love to rub Nein’s nose in it by stealing the NRL too. Seven did a fine job with the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, so the footy would be in safe hands. Even the ABC, who dominated Saturday afternoon footy in the eighties and nineties, would be good, though they’d be less attractive to advertisers.
If Nein continue to arrogantly play favourites, then they don’t deserve the footy.
[…] we could have delivered a balanced argument against the FTA broadcaster for their lack of love for certain clubs, or we could just say F*** You Channel Nein, which would have been deserved. But for fun we wanted […]
[…] There has been just one regular season game between these sides since 1998 on Channel Nein. Channel Nein suck. […]