CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT

In a very weird and clear example of hypocrisy, the Nine Network has this week launched a brutal attack on the NRL, accusing the league of mismanagement and breaking its lucrative broadcast deal.

Once the most powerful media player in Australia, the Nine Network is nowadays most commonly known for eroding Australian societal standards with the brain fodder acronyms that is MAFS and ACA, when the nation isn’t locked down due to pandemics that result in bans on professional rugby league football.

However, despite their reliance on the drug-and-alcohol-fuelled soap operas that are dating shows and the ratings grabbing NRL, the famously competent administrators at Nine say they can’t believe their biggest cash cow hasn’t been able to prepare for the footballing downturn created by COVID-19.

The statement came on the same day league central is expected to announce plans to resume its competition halted by the coronavirus.

The network has shown outrage at being left out of discussions on what the season would look like should it recommence and took aim at NRL’s financial management, which has left clubs and players facing uncertain futures.

“Nine has invested hundreds of millions in this game over decades and we now find they have profoundly wasted those funds with very little to fall back on to support the clubs, the players and supporters” read the statement from the media network that had to form a multibillion dollar merger with four Australian print mastheads to save itself from financial collapse in the months leading into the 2019 Federal election.

The tone-deafness continued, as the Sydney Morning Herald-backed TV station who has to fly it’s rugby league commentators in economy went on to explain that perhaps their are too many administrators not taking pay cuts in the NRL.

“It would now appear that much of that has been squandered by a bloated head office completely ignoring the needs of the clubs, players and supporters.”

At time of press, the Nine Network were trying to find ways to use their extremely valuable print mastheads to promote the upcoming season of Married At First Skype.



