NRL suffers TV glitch in Las Vegas showstopper; V'landys, Murdoch ...

But the NRL’s strategy did not get off to the best start, with thousands of TV viewers missing kick-off due to broadcaster staying with a college basketball game into overtime.

The NRL had struck a deal to have both matches shown on Fox Sports 1, the main sports channel of the Murdoch family’s Fox Corporation. But the first 17 minutes of rugby league in America were shown on the network’s secondary channel before being switched over.

National Rugby League CEO Andrew Abdo remained optimistic about the league’s ambitious goal to take 1 per cent of the American TV sports subscription market.

“Tonight was just one of multiple elements of how we showcase our sport to fans, to sponsors to betting operators,” he said. “We could get $60 million on international rights if we do this properly,” he said.

The Sea Eagles score against the Rabbitohs at Allegiant Stadium. 

Betting could be a hugely lucrative market. Only $15 million is spent in the US betting on the NRL. But there is massive growth potential given that this season’s league matches are expected to be televised early in the American morning when the only other thing to bet on was Philippine basketball and table tennis, worth a few hundred million dollars. Americans bet a record $US23 billion ($35 billion) on the Super Bowl this year.

Mr Abdo also wants to capture more of the hundreds of thousands of Australians living in the United States, encouraging them to pay $US160 for the NRL’s subscription app. It now has 3000 US users and the NRL wants that to hit 100,000.

Mr V’landys said he was confident the app could “easily get 50,000, because no one’s actually known about it”.

But some in the crowd on Saturday were a bit more circumspect. Australian Elliot Bullock, 36, a trader now based in Virginia, flew in to see his beloved Manly Sea Eagles play at a cost of $500.

“I love league and I was pumped about seeing this game, but I don’t know about downloading Watch NRL at $US160. It’s probably a bit expensive, especially when there are other ways of seeing the game highlights,” Mr Bullock said.

Elliot Bullock, an Australian trader based in Virginia, watched his Manly Sea Eagles take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs.  Matthew Cranston

Australian construction worker Paul Meyers, 60, based in Salt Lake City, came to watch the match and said he would probably download the app.

“I watch it on Fox cable at the moment, but I would probably still download the app. $160 is OK.”

Las Vegas residents, brothers Akash and Amar Bhatti, saw a sign advertising the game on the freeway running into the city, and decided to go last minute. They said they would reserve judgment on whether they would download the app at such a cost until after they had seen enough of the game.

Mr Abdo said the app pricing was open to change.

Brisbane Broncos chairman and Ord Minnett chief executive Karl Morris said the turnout on Saturday was better than expected and bode well for the NRL’s ambitions in America.

“I think getting 40,000 is a great number for the first time that it’s been held in Las Vegas. You’ve got to remember that there are lots of things that happen in Las Vegas every night, so you’re competing with U2, Madonna, NASCAR,” he said.

Deloitte’s global and US sports practice leader Pete Giorgio said the NRL’s launch into the United States was a good chance to break into the lucrative sports advertising market available in the country.

“One of the things we are seeing every league do is bring a more direct consumer offering, like the NRL is doing with their app,” he told The Financial Review.

“Historically, when you work through a broadcaster you might know that a million people watched a match, but you didn’t know who those million people were.”

“There is always an opportunity to bring a new sport ... to prominence with hard work and determination there’s room for that … Just remember, the English Premier League was kind of a niche in America 10 years ago. And now they basically own Saturday mornings, in the US on television.”

Roosters’ James Tedesco on the charge against the Broncos. AP

Despite the opportunities, John Kosner, who led digital media at ESPN for 15 years, said the NRL faced a slow grind to gain American followers.

“At best, it’s a three- to five-year process to begin to establish an identity for the NRL here in the US other than for Aussie expats,” Mr Kosner said.

However, given the similarities between NRL and American football, Americans could be attracted to the sport in the American football off-season.