In Melbourne to launch next year's double-header featuring the Wallabies and Wallaroos against their New Zealand rivals, Rugby Australia (RA) chief executive Raelene Castle spoke about the sport's on-field plan to engage new fans.

Key points: Rugby Australia and Foxtel have reportedly reached an impasse in re-negotiating broadcast rights

Rugby Australia and Foxtel have reportedly reached an impasse in re-negotiating broadcast rights Fears have been expressed for the future of rugby union in Australia if its broadcast rights move elsewhere

Fears have been expressed for the future of rugby union in Australia if its broadcast rights move elsewhere Super Rugby's ratings have been in decline on Fox Sports in recent years

"I think it's the opportunity for Australians to come to Melbourne and have an experience," she said.

"The Bledisloe Test is so sought after because it's rugby at its absolute height, so one of the challenges and opportunities for Australian rugby is to make sure we rotate it."

But there is a bigger challenge looming for the game to reach a new audience in Australia, one that involves its broadcast future.

Reports have surfaced that Optus has expressed interest in RA's next broadcast rights package after Foxtel walked away from the negotiation table.

Ms Castle did not elaborate on the subject when asked about it at a media conference in Melbourne, except to say that discussions around the deal — which starts in 2021 — are ongoing.

"There is always a desire to make sure that we can provide our fans with the best opportunity to view the game and the best access, so that continues to be part of the discussions," she said.

"We are here to talk about a great game at Marvel Stadium and that's what we want to focus on, so we will take those commercial negotiations outside of this."

Media analyst Peter Cox said if RA decided to partner exclusively with Optus it could spell the death of the sport in Australia.

He cited the telecommunications company's recent decision to become the exclusive rights holder of English Premier League football as a case in point.

"I think we have seen with the Premier League out of the UK that there has been a drop of interest in it since it's been on Optus because people don't have access to it," Mr Cox said.

"I think this is a worrying precedent for what could happen to rugby."

Optus has a different business model to traditional sports rights holders in Australia, which allows it to invest in sport and use it as a marketing tool, rather than one that needs to generate ad revenue.

"The telcos have huge cash flows, they have a lot of money so they can afford loss leaders to try and get people to move to their network," Mr Cox said.

"They want to get more people over on to Optus and away from Telstra and the other opponents so that is a business decision for them.

"But that is not necessarily what is best for the sport itself, because it will be a very limited market that can get it on Optus."

TV sport market not growing

Rugby union's plight in Australia has been well documented.

A sport that thrived around the time of the 2003 World Cup, it has struggled to manage a decline in ratings of its traditional 15-a-side game, while investing in its faster-growing rugby sevens product.

RA also decided to cut the Perth-based Western Force Super Rugby franchise because of cost pressures ahead of the 2018 season.

The axing of the Western Force has added to Rugby Australia's recent woes. ( AAP: Richard Wainwright )

Earlier this year, the ratings agency OzTam reported that Super Rugby viewership on Foxtel was similar to that of the A-League, hovering around 50,000 on average in Australian metropolitan cities.

"Sport is not growing a television market," Mr Cox said.

"The free-to-air operators and Foxtel have come to understand what the economics are of their networks, and what the cost of sport is."

RA reported around $60 million of annualised broadcast revenue in the 2018 financial year, which made up just over half of its income base.

Mr Cox said this reliance on broadcast revenue to underpin operations for a sporting code was going to quickly diminish, so RA needed to start thinking differently.

"Do they take cash in the hand like perhaps Optus [which is] offering $30 million a year for the rights, and accept that will give them a very limited market?" he said.

"Or, do they do what's best for the sport in the long term, and have it out there on a free-to-air network, even if they get less money for it."

Rugby in 'very precarious position'

Foxtel's new sports streaming service Kayo is growing and recently reported over 400,000 paying subscribers, but the overall business is battling.

The advent of online streaming has disrupted the Foxtel business model, which is in debt and has a huge cost base associated with legacy cable-based operations.

"News has had to lend it $500 million in the last year and it is going to have to give it more money in the future," Mr Cox said.

"It is in a very precarious position."

Super Rugby's ratings figures have been in decline for some time. ( AAP: Mick Tsikas )

The emergence of a technology company as a future bidder for sports rights could yet change the game for Australia's sporting codes but Mr Cox is not holding his breath.

"We need a reality check all round, for the administrators, the players and the television networks," Mr Cox said.

Wagering giant Tabcorp is another potential sports rights bidder, having recently purchased rights to show selected US sports on its broadcast and media arm, Sky Racing.

Mr Cox said sporting bodies needed to work hard to invest in products that will connect with a younger audience, while also having to make difficult decisions around balancing broadcast rights agreements.

"Sport is an old demographic and that demographic is dying out," he said.

"Younger people have many other leisure and entertainment choices. That is the existential threat to sport as a whole."