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Message: [QUOTE="Kimlo, post: 3447306, member: 2021"] [HEADING=2][SIZE=6]Chat with the ARLC chairman[/SIZE][/HEADING] V’landys was chairing a meeting of Kangaroos selectors when contacted for a response. He returned our call and this is what he had to say … [B]Andrew Webster: Is the AFL’s deal of concern to you?[/B] Peter V’landys: No, not at all. What you’ve got to understand is this deal doesn’t come into effect until 2027 [sic], so it’s two years away. We will be negotiating our deal pretty soon to take us up to 2031. We set up the platform for AFL to be able to do this. If the game hadn’t started on May 28 [2020], and both the NRL and AFL cut their broadcast requirements to make Fox and Nine viable because they were in uncharted waters, they [the AFL] wouldn’t have the platforms to do what they’re doing. We’ve got a few things up our sleeves, which I can’t say too much about it, but the clubs have nothing to be worried about. [B]AW: Some are saying the difference between the two deals is as much as $260 million per annum. What do you say to that?[/B] PV: No. Nope. And you won’t know until the annual accounts are put through because a lot of it’s contra. They’ve also added the Telstra deal, which isn’t in ours. But I’m not concerned because we will be negotiating. We did them a favour, now they’ve done us a favour. We will be maximising our rights now. [B]AW: Was it a mistake doing the deal with Foxtel during the pandemic?[/B] At the time, Fox needed an asset on its sheet to continue its viability. If we didn’t come into play, there’d be no Foxtel. [B]AW: Isn’t that Rupert Murdoch’s problem, not rugby league’s?[/B] If Foxtel coughs, all the codes catch a cold. If you haven’t got them in play, the other parties won’t be paying as much as they should because you need competitive tension. When COVID-19 hit, they were the only ones. If they went under, there was no-one else available. [B]AW: Is it right that Greenberg and Abdo presented a paper to the commission advising against it?[/B] That’s not correct. Complete rubbish. I was chairman and that was never, ever discussed. Todd had left by the time we started negotiating with Fox. (Abdo also told this column that no paper was presented. Various sources from the NRL at the time refute this but wouldn’t go on the record). [B]AW: Why can’t you divulge how much Foxtel paid?[/B] There’s a confidentiality clause in all our agreements. What does it matter anyway? It’s the net profit that counts. It’s what you distribute to the clubs and players. We’ve distributed more to them in the history of the game. Our revenues next year are the highest they’ve ever been. You can’t take one aspect and then ignore the rest. [/QUOTE]

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