Ex Sport 24
All good, if not sensational, on the South African front with the cumulative average audience of live broadcasts on SuperSport reaching a whopping 36 831 694 viewers, which is an increase of 18.2% on last year’s numbers.Key though, is that the above number represents 67% of the total SANZAR audience. The Kiwis (via Sky Sports) bring in 22% of the audience, and the Aussies (via Fox Sports) a meager 11%.
SA home games are without doubt the key audience drivers with the Bulls v Stormers game on June 2 being the most watched game to date.
18 of the 20 most viewed games were hosted in SA, 19 included an SA side, and 13 were SA derbies. New Zealand sides were involved in six of those games, while Australian sides played in only three of the top 20 most viewed games!
And we all but gave up the Currie Cup (Please note bluebok!!!!!!!!!) so the Aussies could get a built in domestic competition via an expanded Super Rugby tournament? A tournament that is obliterating players as if they were skittles in a tenpin bowling game …
Obviously it is all about the cash, with the current deal, which runs from 2011 to 2015, thought to be worth a total of $400 million. Which is then split three ways … And while SANZAR released a list of 18 broadcasting companies around the world to which they sell Super Rugby and Rugby Championship rights this week, you can bet your bottom dollar that it is the three media houses in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa that are paying the most. And based on the viewership numbers released this week, it will be SuperSport who are topping that list.
So we (via SuperSport) pay the most for the rights, take only a third of that money (via SARU), while delivering 67% of the TV audience, and say yes to a tournament that all but destroys both the Currie Cup and our players?
The prize is of course getting to play the All Blacks twice a year, but that seems a heavy price to pay! Agreed we need to negoitiate tougher and of course make sure the acclaimed Stormers get more money too!!!
