NRL's Grand Final Entertainment Stuff Up

Has the NRL got its Grand Final entertainment strategy completely wrong?

The NRL is heading into its biggest game of the year without a headline entertainment act after talks with Tones and I fell apart. Peter V’landys has questioned whether spending around $1 million on 11 minutes of entertainment represents value — but is that looking at the whole thing the wrong way?

Moneyball host Scott Keenan is joined by comedian and sports broadcaster Andrew “Barney” Barnett to unpack the business of Grand Final entertainment: why it matters to broadcasters, how it can attract casual audiences, the sponsorship opportunity the NRL could be missing, and what the AFL does differently with its biggest event.

They also revisit some memorable Grand Final entertainment — from Tina Turner and The Kid LAROI to Billy Idol and Meat Loaf — and ask whether a sport that wants to be Australia’s biggest should be trying to make its biggest event even bigger.

Andrew is the co-host of Not Another Rugby League Podcast with Steve Philp and is appearing at the Sydney Fringe Festival with Barney’s Sports vs Entertainment Comedy Showdown, at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville on October 1, 2 and 3. Tickets are available at fringecomedy.com.au.)

Moneyball – The Business of Sport goes behind the deals, decisions and commercial forces shaping sport in Australia and around the world. Watch on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.