“We were just there to help,” Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delany told Mediaweek on the day the broadcaster revealed its part in a new three-year rights deal for the National Basketball League.
See also: Foxtel Group announces three-year deal with the NBL and ESPN
“It’s an ESPN deal with the NBL and we provided some of the heavy artillery,” Delany added.
NBL’s new TV rights deal is announced
That artillery is made up of the attractive 2.4m sports subscribers the Foxtel Group offers, and the cash it tipped into the deal for the games it will have as Kayo exclusives.
The exact amount the cash that will change hands was not revealed. The NBL revealed the deal is worth more than $45m over the three years.
Delany wouldn’t confirm the size of the deal. It will be the biggest rights deal that the NBL has ever signed though. “Larry is being paid very well by all parties,” Delany ventured. “And the NBL deserves it.
“It’s a very, very important deal. It shows that Foxtel and, in this case ESPN, are the choice for local sports. We can offer all the sports fans in one place. The 2.4m fans who subscribe to Foxtel, Foxtel Now and Kayo is an extraordinary number. If you are a smaller sport and you want to grow you need to be where all the bigger sports are. That is your opportunity to convert.”
The key point Delany repeated that helped the NBL choose ESPN and Foxtel as a broadcast partner was the size of the audience reach. “The NBL will now be able to get to more Australian sports fans than any other place. Our audience has grown close to 40% in the last year.”
He added sports organisations also like the idea of Kayo Freebies. “It gives them even greater reach and it’s attractive for Kayo in that it helps people trial the streaming service, converting some of them to paying subscribers.”
“ESPN is such a magnificent service that brings all those US sports together. Being able to have the NBL adjacent to the NBA is really great for the local league.”
Asked if he thought the NBL was at a tipping point, Delany said: “I think that has happened. They have amazing fill rates in stadiums like no other sports.”
NBL owner Larry Kestelman
Delany noted that thanks to the guidance of owner Larry Kestelman and the quality of the players involved, the NBL is recognised worldwide as a growing competition. “There will be nine NBL players with NBA clubs next season and coaching people are being recruited.”
A significant part of the deal is Foxtel and Kayo major shareholder News Corp and how it will put the might of its news brands, digital and in print, behind the sport.
The success of Foxtel’s sports streaming initiative has seen what some are calling Kayo copycats. Are these new players making it harder and more expensive to operate and acquire rights?
“My answer is competition is fantastic. It elevates everything. We love to compete and we love to win. We are seeing that all the sports are choosing us. They want to stick with the biggest sports platform that will provide growth and financial stability.
“What competition does is make us focus on who we want to back and why. The last two deals we have been involved in – Netball and with ESPN the NBL – are because we see huge growth in both.”
Larry Kestelman explains the deal to presenter Neroli Meadows
Delany is not one for looking in the rear-view mirror, but when asked if Foxtel might regret not keeping rugby after the big audiences Nine has been drawing, he paused, then said: “No. The anti-siphoning list means that international sport can never be exclusive to Foxtel. The Wallabies numbers are more of a free-to-air triumph than anything else. The domestic competition is struggling. Therefore, our eagerness to invest was reduced. We wish rugby all the best in the future.
“There are many things to invest in and it’s important to invest in things that you know are going to grow.”
Foxtel NBL upside: Another summer sport for Kayo to compliment Fox Cricket after the loss of the A-League
NBL: added to Foxtel/Fox Sports/Kayo war chest
NRL is now secure until 2027. AFL is signed up until 2024. Cricket has another three years to run. New deals for netball and basketball.
Foxtel’s Patrick Delany with Larry Kestelman
Foxtel an Olympic bidder?
Tokyo 2020 is the first Olympic Games where part of the coverage hasn’t been behind a paywall since 2008 in Beijing. Foxtel was a joint rights holder with Nine for London 2012. The rights to Paris 2024 are still available. “We will always look at things,” replied Delany as to the chance of an Olympic bid. It will be interesting to see if Seven invest again. I doubt they will invest at the fees they paid [most recently]. Well done to Seven and the great results they are getting.”
If someone has an appetite for a big IOC deal they could secure three Summer Games – Paris 2024, LA28 and Brisbane 2032.