Bring back the APC!
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Bring back the APC!
Not only history Jargs, It is an important breeding ground for the next crop of national players. There is currently a gulf between metro club rugby and Super rugby, that gulf isn't being filled by the Shute Shield regardless of what the green blazer brigade tells us. Australian Super Rugby teams are scraping the bottom of the barrel when they take anybody playing club rugby in OZ.
There needs to be an intermediate step between local club and provincial representation and no matter which way you slice it that is going to cost money!
The money needs to be found regardless, for this comp. The ARU is loosing money, so loose money on something that will help the future of the game, not massive salaries for over blown administrators.
They need to consider alternative funding models. Perhaps a subscriber model might be a better fit.
Of course, it would all depend on how much a team in a national competition would cost to run annually.
Selling a second division comp to TV when the AFL and NRL are getting to the business end of their year? Good luck with that.
I'd rather they start with the second 15 version with the teams playing extra matches when NZ or ZA matches are on. If it can be worked in.
The npc-type format could be a goer IF a TV operator first built some interest; perhaps by giving access to delayed or replayed Super Rugby. The A League will be doing just that starting this season on SBS.
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Any proposed competition would have to appreciate that screening on TV would be a cost (ie would have to pay for that service) and not an income stream. I think they would be better served by looking into live internet streaming, but I'm hardly a tech guru.
Considering some of the content on One, the 'dedicated sports channel', and with Ten now having Wallaby matches, could a deal be struck were One gets to show the ARC at cost, ie, they pay for the equipment, allow the refs to have television replay, but otherwise don't pay the ARU for the matches, but neither does the ARU pay for matches to be shown.
Jeez, looking through that they must be reading my mail.
This Saturday afternoon One is showing "Generation Snow", "Temporary Australians" (brilliant title, about motorcyclists), Trick my Truck" and "The WWE Experience", all of which they would have to pay for. I can't see that being huge competition for live sport, especially a competition to which Ten would have exclusive access.
BTW, the ARU pays $100k to allow the SS to be televiced, so I'm not sure they could reasonably be bleating poor for a much higher standard of competition.
Tell Fox Sportsto get the rights to this and put it on in 2014!
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