Foxtel's financial stake in Channel Ten is believed to have been a catalyst for the NRL rushing into a record $925 million free-to-air rights deal with Channel Nine before negotiating other aspects of its future broadcast arrangements.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is due to decide on September 10 whether to allow Foxtel - jointly owned by News Corp and Telstra - to take a 15 per cent shareholding in Ten but Nine chief executive David Gyngell headed off future opposition from a combined Ten/Fox Sports bid for all eight NRL matches by moving to secure the free-to-air rights before the ruling is handed down.

Polarising figure: NRL CEO Dave Smith has been attacked by News Corp media outlets, but he is not without his backers elsewhere. Credit:Peter Rae

Despite complaints that Fox Sports were not properly consulted about the broadcast negotiations, it has been revealed that there were 35 occasions in which the NRL and Fox Sports had some form of contact over the rights - either through phone calls, meetings, presentations or emails.

The current deal was a joint bid by Nine and Fox Sports that the ARL Commission only agreed to after News Corp surrendered a first and last right of refusal clause on the broadcast rights until 2027 and there were concerns this time that Fox Sports wanted Ten as its free-to-air partner, and was waiting for the ACCC ruling before making a genuine play.