Channel Nine is lodged a $10 million dollar bid to become the free-to-air home of the Wallabies.
The rights to both the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups are already in the hands of NINE and Fox but it is understood chief executive David Gyngell is after Tri-Nations and home tests along with a highlights package of the new Super 15 competition.
The original asking price for the rugby rights was around the $15-20 million mark, well above the $10 Nine is reported to have offered.
If the transaction is made, Nine will hold the broadcast right to both rugby codes.
Rugby union viewership, however, is on the decline with audiences in 2001 reaching upwards of 1.5 million in the metropolitan areas whereas nowadays audiences struggle to reach half that.
Sources close to the bidding process said there was more than one interested party involved.
Source: The Australian
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