RUGBY league may sign off on its next television ratings deal this year despite having two more years to run on the current contracts with Channel 9 and Fox Sports.

And the agreement in 2012 of Nine and Fox Sports to relinquish the first and last rights of refusal in negotiations with the NRL means there is certain to be a big increase on the current deal.

That is worth $1.025 billion over, five years for free-to-air and subscription broadcast rights and expires in 2017.

The AFL’s current $1.250 billion broadcast deal expires 12 months earlier.

Discussions between the NRL and free-to-air networks have been held over the past four weeks, with Seven and especially Ten keen to bid big enough to secure rights to some NRL match programming.

Concluding negotiations with the commercial networks for a number of seasons starting with 2018 before the AFL completed its talks with broadcasters would provide an advantage for the NRL.

But the NRL would need to first decide how many teams will be in the NRL from 2018.

Bid teams have started to get busy in staking their claims in the media again, but the most likely outcome remains a retention of 16 NRL teams.

Relocation, always a vexing issue for competitions and their less wealthy clubs, is more probable than an expansion to 18 NRL clubs.

Poor ratings for matches played by the AFL’s 18th club, GWS Giants, have underlined for the NRL that while an extra game a weekend means more content for broadcasters it does not lead to a commensurate increase in total television viewers.

And four NRL teams already have needed financial assistance by the NRL — Gold Coast Titans, St George Illawarra, Wests Tigers and Newcastle.

Nine chief executive David Gyngell told the ABC earlier this week that he anticipated he would have to pay significantly more for free-to-air rights and is prepared to do so.

Two State of Origin matches and the NRL grand final figured among the four most watched programs on Australian television last year and Nine will be intent on keeping the rights.

ARL Commission chairman John Grant said in August, 2012, when the current rights deal was announced, that the willingness of Nine and Fox Sports to relinquish the first and last right of refusal on future deals had weighed significantly in the decision of directors.

Fox Sports has been involved in recent rugby union rights negotiations.

News Corp reported last month that Fox Sports was set to take up the option of a five-year extension as part of a new, increased ARU broadcasting rights deal providing $40 million to $45 million a year to part fund the game in Australia.

The ARU and their South African and New Zealand partners could announce this month that a new broadcasting agreement has been stuck.

Fox Sports’s NRL match telecasts draw much bigger audiences than the majority of Super Rugby games involving Australian teams.