Foxtel's acquisition of a 15per cent share in Channel Ten has sounded alarm bells with ARL commissioners who were troubled by the Fox Sports/Channel Nine joint bid when the broadcasters and the code last argued at the negotiating table in 2012. Then, Channel Ten, led by executive chairman Lachlan Murdoch, did not have a bidding partner and was seeking Saturday night NRL games. This put it in competition with Fox Sports' highly prized Super Saturday coverage.

ARL commissioners were uncomfortable dealing with a joint Nine/Fox Sports bid, believing it to be anti-competitive. Now, it is faced with a possible Ten/Fox Sports partnership, which, if News Corporation gains management rights over Ten, effectively means the ARLC is dealing with a single entity. (News Corporation half owns Foxtel with Telstra but has 100 per cent of Fox Sports.)

Family business: Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch. Credit:Reuters

So, while the John Grant-led commission was wary of negotiating with Channel Nine's Jeff Browne and News' Kim Williams three years ago, now it could be dealing exclusively with the newly installed boss of the global giant, Lachlan Murdoch.

Murdoch, who a year earlier had abandoned any ambitions for AFL to concentrate on the rugby league bid, was furious his bid was rejected. Williams, who released the ARLC from News Ltd's first-and-last-rights hold over the code in order to get the joint bid over the line, was subsequently sacked by Lachlan's father, Rupert.