Rugby:BT Vision boss Marc Watson today tried to sound an apparent death knell for the Heineken Cup. The tournament's future is in doubt after the broadcaster yesterday secured a €190 million (£152 million) deal with Premiership Rugby that includes live broadcast rights for European games played by English clubs for three years from 2014.
This announcement took place on the same day ERC and Sky Sports announced a four-year extension to the live broadcast rights (20-14-2018) for both the European Cup and the Amlin Challenge Cup. The two television deals bring about an obvious conflict that could sunder European rugby.
ERC pointed out yesterday that only they had the authority as directed by the six participant unions (Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy) to sell the broadcast rights for the tournament.
ERC further asserted the BT Vision deal was in breach both of IRB regulations and of a mandate from the ERC board itself. Premiership Rugby hit back, claiming: “As a result of notice being served, ERC is not entitled after 2014 to sell the broadcast rights of matches involving Premiership Rugby clubs.
“ERC’s suggestion that Premiership Rugby may be in breach of IRB regulations is wrong. Following Premiership Rugby’s agreement with the RFU, dated October 16th, 2007. Premiership Rugby has specific consent to control the broadcast rights of its clubs.”
The English and French clubs have already expressed their dissatisfaction with the current qualification process for the tournament and will reiterate their case next Tuesday in Dublin when ERC will hold talks with its constituent partners, the six unions, the LNR (representing French Top 14 clubs) and Premiership rugby. The French and English clubs have served notice that they are prepared to walk away when the current accord finishes in 2014.
BT chief executive Watson is unequivocal in his vision of the future of European rugby. His company will also show live English Premiership rugby matches from the start of next season. “We are looking to set up, or at least help set up, a dazzling new European tournament with a fantastic new format, with, we hope, all the best clubs.
“And we’ve secured, from the English Premiership, the rights to that for the UK. That tournament will be the successor to the Heineken Cup, which is a very successful tournament. The Heineken Cup, under its current contract, has another season to run, and that will be the end of it, and we are looking to set up a brand new tournament from then.
“We saw in rugby an opportunity to own a sport exclusively, certainly at club level, and the rights that we’ve bought give us an opportunity to do that. We are hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2015 in the UK. It’s a great opportunity in the two years running up to that, we think, to grow the sport. It’s a sport that has got a long way to go. We were attracted by the idea of growing with it, and helping it to grow in the UK.”
Both BT Vision and Premiership rugby are presupposing on the unequivocal support from the LNR (French clubs); there is a suggestion that is not necessarily the case. The French clubs don’t want their English counterparts talking publicly on their behalf.
The LNR are not in a position to sell broadcast rights to any new or existing tournament without the permission of the FFR (the French Rugby Federation). It promises to be a fraught meeting in Dublin on Tuesday. At face value there are a couple of likely outcomes.
The French clubs support the English clubs and the tournament ceases to exist in its present format when the current accord runs out. The English clubs are isolated and the compromise is that they give up a significant chunk of the money they received from the BT Vision agreement to the other tournament participants and the Sky deal is renegotiated.
The English clubs are pretty adamant - the English RFU has been silent on the issues - as exemplified by Saracens owner Nigel Wray. “The Heineken Cup was set up by the Unions and fair play that they created it. There is no doubt that the English and French clubs contribute by miles the biggest part of the revenue and we don’t get our just reward. That must be put right.
“The structure is clearly wrong in that we have to knock each other out to get into the tournament and all the other guys stroll in. And that’s not right; we have to fight to get in and we provide most of the revenue. The terms have to be changed.
“I don't blame anybody in particular. If I was Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Italy - which is the majority and therefore out vote England and France - then I’d want to keep the situation as it is. That’s perfectly normal. But from the point of view of England and France that doesn’t make sense.
“The answer is that the Heineken Cup is obviously a tremendous tournament but the terms need to be tweaked. And the only way that is going to change is by making a noise. If you sit there quietly then the status quo will remain and that’s not right. But this doesn’t mean that we don’t want the other four nations in; of course we do. We want a great European Cup but not on these terms.”
It may have been couched in other terms, referencing qualification issues, but this threatened impasse is about money; pure and simple.
