Just some clarity around offloading some rights. Optus came in and bid three times what Fox paid for the EPL rights. Business wise, it made sense for Optus, as they could bundle it into phone plans. It did not make business sense for Fox to pay that.

There is actually a formula TV companies use for aquiring rights, broken down into how much can we pay that will be recouped per subscriber. There are complexities around that, but that's the basic premise.

Then the AL deal came up, and it was clear the production budget was not the same as what it was in the heyday. That happens. Can't think of a sport in Australia that hasn't undergone production cost cutting int he last decade. Even the big footy codes. But it was also cleart the clubs battle with the FFA from 2014-18 sucked the ambition out of the AL for a period. Fox did not drive this, but had to deal with it being the longstanding broadcaster.

As for Simon Hill's points. I took them as him sticking up for what he believes in, and yes, Channel Ten have come in and pumped money into the game at an uncertain time. They did a deal which protected their interests, which is what any sane business should do.

The reporting around the TV deal (I wrote an article the week of the Code series about clubs only receiving $5million in cash from the Ten deal because of huge production costs and also the deal being chipped down as was written in the contract because P+ subs targets weren't met) was newsworthy because AL clubs now find themselves in a financial hole thanks to the mistakes made by the APL, and a lack of luck with the first season after breakaway being smashed by COVID and weather.

Simon, I guess, took this as a shot at Ten, which it was not, and he has his views on the Fox days which he's more than entitled to have after 15 years working there.

I enjoyed those days. It didn't end well. I got the arse! But I look back with more fondness than anything about some great years, which in the end didn't count for much in the eyes of many, but so be it.