The ARL Commission has decided to restructure its operations and introduce a new division to manage all of its digital affairs. Nigel Wall has been appointed editor of the new unit to be called NRL Digital Media. According to Wall, the new departments’ primary function is “to provide expanded and unrivalled rugby league editorial coverage to fans across all platforms. NRL Digital Media will operate with its own voice but is also a forum for people who love the game”.
Better regulate club media managers
Certain NRL teams maintain an insular attitude towards glossy journalists which is to the detriment of their own fans, thirsty for any publicity on their treasured team. Tighter regulations on club media executives would ensure better access and ultimately better produced publications. Jerry Seinfeld once described sport as “Legitimised men’s gossip”. Magazines are the vehicle to drive that gossip, yet blinkered media managers are bestowed with the key.
Australia has the highest magazine consumption rate per capita in the western world. Continued success in the glossy magazine domain will be dependant on better regulating club media managers often reluctant to grant player access.
Improve team websites with low audiences
According to official figures obtained through internal sources, the NRL attracted a total of 2,634,534 unique browsers in the month of April, compared to the 2,820,123 the AFL managed. Expect digital rights to represent a much greater proportion of the next media contract than the current agreement. Therefore driving club website traffic is critical.
NRL clubs have editorial control of their websites. As such, clubs such as South Sydney Rabbitohs have led the way in producing quality sites attracting millions of eyeballs. NRL Digital Media will eventually need to better monitor NRL sites with poor followings.
For instance, the newly established AFL team in Sydney’s west, the GWS Giants have already grown their website audience to almost half of the Penrith Panthers. NRL Digital Media must ensure less popular sites, like penrithpanthers.com.au and sharks.com.au build their online presence through better cyber offerings to rejuvenate their stagnant domains.
Monetise new apps
One of the benefits of the NRL’s new partnership with Telstra is the new investment and new technology the telco brings. The ability of NRL DIGITAL MEDIA to exploit new opportunities to engage with fans through innovative apps is the key. The AFL has to date over 630,000 individual downloads of club apps. Matching this figure is the challenge facing NRL Digital Media.
Pay television provider Foxtel is expected to launch the IQ3 set top box early next year. The set top box will facilitate many new apps including Zeebox, which Foxtel has made an agreement with. This app will allow viewers to connect with each other allowing fans to interact. The potential for NRL Digital Media to sell advertising space through this new medium is immense.
Schedule more match day events
Advertisers are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of potency TV ads are generating. The impact of TV PVR’s allowing viewers to time shift their programs and skip commercials, has marketers seeking alternative methods to gain publicity. One new avenue allowing positive exposure, is aligning sponsors to large scale events.
NRL options might involve naming rights to the “Easter Monday Bunnies Day” with associated shows, clinics, and stadium precinct entertainment. Allowing sponsors exclusive access to hand out sample products or perform product demonstrations increases the product awareness as it is infused into the fans’ match day experience.
According to Paul Kind, director Commercial and Marketing; “The establishment of a dedicated Digital Media unit is about us attracting new fans and deepening the engagement with our current fans”. As such, NRL Digital Media may ultimately need govern ‘event fixtures’ in order to effectively leverage these commercially sought after events.
Standardise social media violation penalties
Technology moves ahead in leaps and bounds, and the NRL must not limp behind. NRL Digital Media must encourage and reward players with high levels of social media interaction. Many years ago, Cricket Australia led the way by pushing the national Captain Michael Clarke to engage with fans and open a social media account.
On the flip side, an explicit uniform policy with guidelines on social media behaviour must be drawn up. A consistent approach to social media breaches, with standardised penalties would be a world first but a must.
Where the NRL sits in Australia: domestic official body website rankings
Sporting Code
Website
Global Domain Ranking
Australian Domain Ranking
Time spent on site
Page views per user
Australian Rules
afl.com.au
5,663
64
7min 3s
4.27
Rugby League
nrl.com
12,936
163
6min 25s
4.29
Cricket
cricket.com.au
54,787
2,195
4min 5s
4.0
Motorsport
v8supercar.com.au
64,223
917
3min 37s
2.89
Soccer
footballaustralia.com.au
70,739
2,575
2min 43s
2.5
Tennis
tennis.com.au
146,293
2,967
3min 51s
5.2
Rugby Union
rugby.com.au
193,669
2,733
2min 38s
2.5
Swimming
swimming.org.au
253,076
5,983
2min 39s
3.9
Basketball
nbl.com.au
266,573
32,195
2min 5s
2.0
Golf
pga.org.au
486,181
14,201
3min 1s
3.1
Cycling
cycling.org.au
420,538
12,485
2min 14s
3.3
Netball
netball.asn.au
550,860
11,582
3min 7s
4.0
Baseball
theabl.com.au
929,370
33,385
1min 58s
2.4
Where the NRL sits in the world: official body global website rankings
Sporting Code
Website
Global Domain Ranking
Time spent on site
Page views per user
Basketball (U.S.)
nba.com
322
5min 28s
3.61
Baseball (U.S.)
mlb.com
448
5min 25s
3.67
Ice Hockey (U.S.)
nhl.com
678
5min 13s
4.14
Grid Iron (U.S.)
nfl.com
1001
6min 26
3.50
Cricket (India)
Iplt20.com
1266
7min 42s
4.25
Soccer (England)
premierleague.com
1706
5min 21s
4.08
Soccer (Europe)
uefa.com
1754
3min 55s
3.69
Motorsport (International)
formula1.com
2607
3min 38s
3.38
Soccer (International)
fifa.com
2751
4min 39s
4.77
Tennis (International)
atpworldtour.com
3260
4min 41s
4.24
Golf (U.S.)
pgatour.com
3692
4min 55s
3.05
Motorsport (U.S.)
nascar.com
4200
4min 20s
2.99
Mixed Martial Arts (International)
ufc.com
5390
3min 31s
2.53
Australian Rules (Australia)
afl.com
5663
7min 3s
4.27
Motorcycling (International)
motogp.com
6811
4min 47s
4.03
Rugby League (Australia)
nrl.com
12,936
6min 25s
4.29
Soccer (England)
thefa.com
17,014
3min 59s
4.38
Soccer (U.S.)
mlssoccer.com
17,582
4min 35s
3.07
Golf (Europe)
europeantour.com
18,257
4min 4s
3.43
Ice Hockey (International)
Iihf.com
23,735
4min 41s
3.90
Note: The top three sites contain the subdomains of all NBA, MLB and NHL teams, which would funnel supporters to the one main body site. All other websites are independent, with the individual teams having their own dedicated separate sites.
NRL Twitter following comparison
Sporting Code
@
Followers
Gender
Source of followers (Country)
Source of followers (City)
Cricket
CricketAus
>186,723
Male 91%Female 9%
Australia 34.5%India 30.9%United Kingdom 15.5%United States 5.5%South Africa 2.7%
Sydney 12.8%Melbourne 8.1%London 7.0%Mumbai 5.8%Chennai 4.7%
Aussie Rules
AFL
>154,220
Male 51%Female 49%
Australia 85.5%U.S. 5.4 %UK 3.5%Canada 1.3%Ireland 0.5%
Melbourne 46.6%Sydney 11.6%Perth 8.4%Brisbane 4.9%Adelaide 4.3%
Rugby League
NRL
>109,259
Male 54%
Female 46%
Australia 59.0%
United Kingdom 25.6%
United States 4.9%
New Zealand 4.9%
Germany 1.1%
Ireland 0.8%
Indonesia 0.8%
Switzerland 0.4%
Canada 0.4%
Kenya 0.4%
Philippines 0.4%
Saudi Arabia 0.4%
Czech Republic 0.4%
Sydney 27.8%
Melbourne 10.5%
Brisbane 4.8%
London 3.8%
Auckland 3.8%
Leeds 3.3%
Warrington 2.9%
Perth 2.9%
Manchester 2.4%
Adelaide 1.9%
Widnes 1.4%
Canberra 1.4%
Hull 1.4%
Rugby Union
QantasWallabies
>68,107
Male 70%Female 30%
Australia 46%UK 23.3%U.S. 5.6%Ireland 4.7%South Africa 3.3%
Sydney 17%Melbourne 9.8%Brisbane 9.2%London 6.4%Perth 3.5%
Soccer
FFA
>41,613
Male 58%Female 42%
Australia 70.3%UK 9.9%U.S. 4.5%NZ 1.8%Indonesia 1.4%
Sydney 32.2%Melbourne 22.8%Brisbane 4.7%Perth 4.1%London 3.5%
Tennis
TennisAustralia
>25,710
Male 49%Female 51%
Australia 49.3%U.S. 11.4%UK 9.3%Canada 2.3%Brazil 2.3%
Melbourne 23.8%Sydney 12.9%Brisbane 4.8%Perth 3.8%London 3.8%
Netball
NetballAust
>17,060
Male 28%Female 72%
Australia 75.5%UK 13.0 %U.S. 4%NZ 2.4%South Africa 1.0%
Melbourne 30.9%Sydney 21.4%Brisbane 4.8%Perth 4.0%Adelaide 3.6%
Cycling
CyclingAus
>15,177
Male 50%Female 50%
Australia 65.6%UK 13.5%US 7%Canada 2.7%Netherlands 1.1%
Melbourne 23%Sydney 20.5%Brisbane 7.0%Adelaide 3.6%Canberra 3.4%
Basketball
NBL
>12,128
Male 56%Female 44%
Australia 76.1%NZ 9.5%U.S. 6.1%Indonesia 2.1%UK 1.3%
Melbourne 25.5%Sydney 17.4%Perth 9.7%Adelaide 6.0%Brisbane 4.4%
Swimming
SwimmingAus
>9,888
Male 45%Female 55%
Australia 68.5%UK 12.7%U.S. 7.4%Canada 1.4%Brazil 1.3%
Sydney 24.2 %Melbourne 19.4%Brisbane 7.7%London 4.7%Adelaide 4.0%
Baseball
ABLeague
>3,668
Male 69%Female 31%
Australia 52.7%U.S. 32.9%Japan 2.7%UK 2.6%Canada 2.2%
Melbourne 18.6%Sydney 13.1%Brisbane 6.4%Perth 5.7%Adelaide 5.0%
Golf
Golf_Australia
>3285
Male 74%Female 26%
Australia 65.7%US 16.2%UK 8.8%Canada 2.5%NZ 1%
Melbourne 30.0%Sydney 16.5%Brisbane 6.7%Perth 3.0%Canberra 2.5%
Image: parraeels.com.au