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Rugby Articles by Alex Goff

Televised Rugby in Crisis, but Facing a Wonderful Opportunity

March 2, 2005 — There's a certain solemnity in the tone of those speaking for the Fox Soccer Channel. Rugby is still on they say, but in a way it's what they don't say.

We will be in discussions to talk about what happens after the current contracts expire. That, translated, means once the current deals are up, don't hold you breath. Fox Soccer Channel is indeed showing Super 12 matches, but one a week (as recently as last week some at FSC thought it would be twice a week). And the Lions tour? Utter silence. No one's saying anything. The real message from the re-branding of the Fox Soccer Channel is crystal clear. Rugby no longer figures in the channel's long term future.

So where do we go from here? The answer is a beautiful thing and it's called The Rugby Channel!

Longtime Fox Sports rugby producer, author, USA Rugby Board member, player and coach Patrick Guthrie is working on making the case that the North American rugby audience has matured over the past ten years to the point where we can support the launch of a rugby channel. Just imagine getting all the leading competitions delivered live to your home (Rugby World Cup, Six Nations, Tri Nations, European Cup, Super 14, Spring & Fall tests, Currie Cup, NPC, Zurich Premiership, Celtic League, Churchill Cup, USA Eagles and Canadian home tests, plus much more).

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Would you be willing to forego a pint a week ($4) to get all the rugby you can drink? Wouldn't that be a dream come true for rugby fans? Well, now it's time for all of us to wake up and do our part to make this dream a reality.

Two hundred bucks a year? What? OK, calm down. Think about it this way. Pay-per-view is $19.99 or so a pop, right? How about if you sign up for a movie channel? HBO, Cinemax, Showtime ... they cost about $16 a month, which is $192. Special cable deals to get access to baseball, basketball, or hockey broadcasts from around the country cost about $180 or so. It's right in the ballpark.

And the idea is certainly commercially viable.

"The idea is that we can build a home for rugby and not be the beggar anymore," Guthrie said. "Having all marketing, promotion, programming acquisition, ad sales and other resources focused exclusively on rugby would enable us to grow the game like never before. Rugby's a niche sport with a wonderful demographic and rugby people are passionate about their game. If we can get more than 35,000 folks to put up their hands as potential subscribers, we'll be immediately viable as a commercial venture."

It's fair to say rugby viewers have been lulled into a sort of complacency, even as the options have diminished. The Six Nations weren't picked up. The 2003 World Cup was on tape delay. Fox Sports World broadcasts used to be repeated on Fox Sports Net, but not anymore. But we had our Super 12 and the Tri Nations, so what was the big deal?

Now with the very real likelihood that rugby will be ditched from Fox altogether, this is the time for rugby fans to act.

The Rugby Channel (www.therugbychannel.com ) has been asking fans to fill out a survey online that inquired whether people would be willing to pay for rugby on TV, and what they would want to see. The Rugby Channel organizers need to show there's widespread interest to sell The Rugby Channel concept to distribution services.

And he's optimistic.

The traffic on the website has been overwhelming, with 8,942 respondents over the first 72 hours. So much so that the flood of data crashed the server. But all is now back up and running smoothly, so get your friends to fill out the info. Provided that volume of responses keeps coming and they can register another 27,000 over the next 30 days, rugby fans can expect some form of The Rugby Channel to be available in 2006. Clearly, we need something ready for the 2007 World Cup.

Having 35,000 people subscribe at $200 a year seems like a lot of money, but that $7 million can be eaten up in a hurry. Consider that it costs about US$2,600 just for the satellite costs for a single rugby game from New Zealand, and then add the rights fees and technical operations and the costs are considerable, but manageable, Gruthrie said, if they have enough subscribers to the channel.

Still, Guthrie is optimistic, and thinks the time has come to not be ashamed of rugby as a television product.

"The critical thing is to evaluate the marketplace, not just in the U.S. but in Canada too, and find out what people want to watch," said Guthrie. "The survey asks which of the various rugby comps are most important to each respondent, with the goal of finding the right programming mix between all the rugby on offer. If you prefer Northern Hemisphere rugby, let us know. Now's the time to have your say as the channel is being organized."

If you want to watch rugby at all, this is the time to say so.

Go to www.therugbychannel.com to fill out the survery.