The Financial Review writes that Rugby League has kicked off something of a bidding war, having launched its media rights negotiations are year ahead of time, after the AFL began their talks last year. The article says that other sports may find themselves short, and their own negotiations on hold until the major players have their deals sorted out.
“It is unlikely any free-to-air network can exclusively own both the AFL and NRL,” one source said.
Note: this article is presently not behind a paywall.