The Super Rugby season has been put on hold due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus, but the suspension of the tournament could deal a critical hit to Sanzaar’s finances.
The tournament has long hung in the balance due to its ambitious expansions in the past few years.
Coronavirus could end Super Rugby
Super Rugby franchises have spent phenomenal sums in air travel with the fifteen teams competing in 2020 coming from five different countries.
There is a likelihood that the cancellation of the tournament would see Sanzaar lose a massive chunk of its revenue. TV money is the biggest loss, but franchises will also lose revenue if the event has to be played out in empty stadiums.
“Without that revenue, without the ability to be playing in front of stadiums that have crowds, it all does have a direct impact on the bottom line,” Sanzaar chief executive Andy Marinos told Newshub.
“That’s something I know the national unions are dealing with all of their clubs and then indirectly with all their governments.”
Global Media & Sports, an Australia-based sports consultancy firm says Sanzaar’s members are unlikely to be able to repay TV rights holders if they call in their debt.
“I doubt any of the unions could afford to do that; I’d wager that most of that money has been spent already, or at least allocated,” GMS managing director Colin Smith told AFP.
Smith added that the shutdown may force Super Rugby to rethink its unwieldy structure and perhaps revert to national competitions.
“It’s been very, very expensive and there’s an argument for the unions to say ‘Is this something we should continue with, can we afford it?’,” he said.
“It goes to the future of the competition.
“This couldn’t have come at a worse time for them,” Smith warned regarding the situation for the Australian Rugby Union.
The ARU have put negotiations for a new TV deal on hold but had not been heading into the talks on the strongest of footings with Australian franchises struggling on the pitch and failing to draw crowds.
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson though, insists that Super Rugby is viable in the long term.
Source: The South African Read More“We’re a world-class competition, as we’ve seen in recent times the quality of the rugby has been outstanding,” he told reporters.
“So we believe it’s a competition that’s got a future, what that might look like is something that we’re always revisiting and looking at.”
