For 46 years, State of Origin has belonged to one network.
That tradition may be about to break.
As New South Wales and Queensland collide in Game 2 at the MCG on Wednesday night, the real contest is happening away from the field.
The Australian Rugby League Chairman, Peter V'landys, is closing in on a broadcasting deal that could reshape the sport financially and structurally for the next decade, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The TV rights deal would be worth north of $4 billion, and the urgency makes sense, given that his next meeting is scheduled on July 1.
Insiders believe talks have progressed far enough that an earlier, special sitting could be called to lock in terms, clearing the way for an announcement before Game 3 on July 8.
There is growing belief the NRL will have a bigger deal than the AFL's $4.5 billion package, worth $643 million per season over seven years.
Buried inside the negotiations is a detail that would have been unthinkable a generation ago.
Currently, Origin only airs on Channel Nine. Under an emerging deal, that arrangement could be torn up entirely.
In a new deal, Origin could be on air on two networks at once, with Fox potentially joining Nine in a historic simulcast.
The shape of the broader rights pie is just as consequential. Should DAZN-owned Fox land the full NRL premiership, it's understood the platform would look to on-sell a slate of matches to a free-to-air partner, a scenario that Channel 7 is reportedly eager to capitalise on, having already banked this year's Rugby League World Cup.
Even State of Origin and the grand final aren't necessarily safe from a pay-TV grab, with anti-siphoning legislation meaning both would still need a home on commercial television regardless of who wins the headlines rights, with the Commission likely brokering that sale separately.
Before the NRL signs any rights deal, V'landys and Andrew Abdo must brief the game's club consultation committee under the information-sharing terms with the clubs.
The committee is made up of the Souths' chairman Nick Pappas, North Queensland's Lewis Ramsey and Manly's Scott Penn.
The Commission is also looking for a second New Zealand franchise, while at least one broadcaster is pushing instead for a fifth Queensland team to round out a 20-club competition.
If the best place for NRL growth and long term finances is New Zealand then that broadcaster should be told what to do. How would tv audiences be affected just because a team is playing an NZ team instead of a QLD one ? Playing overseas in Vegas seems to have enhanced TV audiences not reduced them.