Scrum V Live. Scrum V Dead.

In 2014, protesters took to the streets of Dublin to campaign against impending levies on domestic water usage in the emerald isle. How ridiculous, I thought.  Water is a commodity; I pay for mine – what are they moaning about?

Upon reading that BBC Wales had lost its right to air The Guinness Pro 14 as of next season, I was ready for a protest of my own. Scrum V Live on a Friday night is an institution. How dare they?  Meanwhile, rugby revelers in England, France, Australia, South Africa & New Zealand would have been vindicated in thinking that my petulance was in itself ridiculous. Live rugby is a commodity; “we pay for ours – what are the Welsh lot moaning about?”

Welsh rugby fans, like Irish water fans before them, have become accustomed over time, to getting a good thing without having to part with a chunk of the pay packet in return. What we can draw from both examples, is that when a rather agreeable norm is whipped away from us, it is easy to go full throttle on the anger without stopping to consider the logic. Having done the anger, I thought I’d give the logic a shot. Note, this blog will not discuss the political and economic factors associated with Irish Water charges.

Don’t be sad it’s over, just be glad it happened.

First things first, perhaps our eulogy of free to air rugby in Wales should focus on the positive. For the first 23 years of professional rugby, the Welsh public have been able to enjoy live rugby on a Friday and Saturday night without having to part with anything more than the annual TV licensing fee.  Calculate the savings for yourself. As was the case with Super Rugby and the English Premiership, it is plausible to think that the onset of professionalism would have resulted in all domestic rugby shifting to subscription sports channels. After all, money from a certain pay television firm was one of the primary drivers in the introduction of professional rugby, and also in overcoming former Wallaby prop, Ross Turnbulland his plans of grandeur for a franchise based World Rugby Championship, which was on the cusp of changing the face of the global game (see Peter Fitzsimons’, The Rugby War).

On the flip side, we could ask why it has taken so long for designated sports channels to take an interest in domestic rugby in Wales. Has our product been that shoddy to this point? Should we frame it as a positive that Pro 14 Rugby is now attracting competing bids from broadcasters, who see it as a marketable product from which they believe they can derive revenue?

Rugby or Jager Bombs

Top of the neg list is without doubt the cost. Yet another drain on our social spend – aren’t we supposed to be cutting back? Unfortunately, this might be a like it or lump it jobby. It is reasonable to expect that emphasis on finance in professional sport will only continue to grow – wages, facilities etc. This being the case, we- the consumer, will be expected/forced to continue to bear part of the burden of the overheads incurred in the pursuit of success.

The initial reaction is that plenty will chose to lump it, and opt to spend their £9.99 a month elsewhere. Four Jager bombs at the local spoons, an attractive alternative (drink responsibly). This being the case, the concern that seems to exist is that interest in the sport will wane and over time this will impact participation – harming both the elite and community game. Ultimately, this would be impossible to measure in the absence of a randomised control trial. However, if we look to New Zealand as the gold standard, as we so often do, it would be reasonable to conclude that the withdrawal of free footy hasn’t slashed the fabric of their game. If it has, then woe betide the rugby world if they ever revert to free to air.

Tv Box to Terrace

Despite the relative success of the Pro 14 sides in this seasons’ Champions Cup, plenty has been made about the income disparity when contrasted with English and French teams. Selecting the most economically beneficial TV deal is imperative, if these clubs (regions) are to commence construct the foundations on which to build a bridge to cross that gap.

The match being on the box has long since been cited as a primary reason as to why crowds at regional matches in Wales have become renowned for being averagely mediocre. There is hope that the increased payment barrier placed on armchair fans will encourage some to swap television for the terraces.  The flaw in this logic being that the £9.99 subscription fee is seemingly insignificant when contrasted with the cost of taking a family to the stadium. 

An upturn in performance resulting from the retention and recruitment of talent, facilitated by this additional revenue, is perhaps a more plausible justification as to how this change might positively impact regional rugby attendances.

If it doesn’t work…fix it.

Without knowing the ins and outs of the deal, I would anticipate that the contract would be relatively short term in nature. From that perspective, the downside is limited. If it isn’t working as desired then the Pro 14 should stick up their hand, suck up some feedback and ensure that lessons are learned to allow future deals to be better placed to service the range of stakeholders. In a professional environment change like this inevitable. It brings with it threats and opportunities. The challenge for Pro Rugby and its member clubs is how they manage these to develop their product.

 “For those unwilling to cross the toll bridge, there is always a stream. Just beware of the buffer fish."