Daily Mail: TNT Sport make a shock bid for Super League TV rights

Story from Daily Mail:

TNT Sport have made a surprise bid for Super League's television rights with the new channel seeking to become the home of both codes of rugby.

Super League's existing deal with Sky Sports expires in October and they have yet to agree a renewal despite having been rights partners for 28 years.

Rugby League officials are understood to have been disappointed by Sky Sports' offer, which is believed to be similar to the £25million-a-year they are currently paying.

That deal in itself represented a significant cut from the previous contract worth £40m-a-year and recent discussions have led Super League to consider alternative offers.

Mail Sport has learned that the issue is top of the agenda at a Rugby League Commercial Board meeting that will take place on Friday, with a decision expected to be made by the end of the month.

Streaming service DAZN have also expressed an interest, but TNT's bid is viewed as a bigger threat to Sky.

Despite the new brand name TNT are more established than DAZN in this country and have a greater number of distribution deals with key platforms such as Sky and Virgin so would deliver a bigger audience.

Sky Sports has been Super League's main live broadcaster since the competition was founded with rugby league's revolutionary move from winter to summer in 1995, and the end of their relationship would have major implications for a sport that is reliant on TV income for its very existence.

Channel 4 also have a subsidiary deal to broadcast 10 live games-per-season, but Sky provide the vast majority of rugby league's revenue and content for committed fans.

Sky's interest in rugby has waned in recent years however as they have prioritised retaining key football properties such as the Premier League and EFL, and they currently have few rugby union rights other than British Lions tours and the southern hemisphere's Rugby Championship.

Under their previous guise as BT Sport in contrast, TNT Sport built up a significant rugby portfolio including the Gallagher Premiership, Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup.

TNT's business plan is understood to revolve around prioritising live sport over magazine and discussion programmes, and the Super League rights would potentially give them a significant amount of new content.