Last month Telstra sued its business partners for showing too much footage of the Australian National Rugby League when it had the online rights… it has apparently also stopped paying the NRL for its sponsorship deal which included those rights. The AU$90 million (US$70 million) sponsorship contract is in jeopardy with Telstra being overdue on ongoing payments worth about AU$5 million (US$4.1 million) reports the Daily Telegraph.
The NRL has started proceedings in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court against Telstra but is keen to keep it as a sponsor, and is continuing to support Telstra in its legal battles against Fox Sports and also using Telstra in all its advertising of the competition. “It will be a logistical nightmare for the game if the sponsorship deal collapses. The company’s logo is featured on all NRL merchandise, including footballs, jerseys and ground signage.”
Telstra told Fairfax it was “surprised and disappointed” by the NRL’s actions, although there’s not much else the NRL can do considering it needs the money.
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