Canberra Raiders chief executive Don Furner expects their free-to-air reward to boost their bank balance.
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The Raiders' surge to the NRL grand final has seen them get a jump in Channel Nine games as part of the 2020 fixture released on Tuesday.
They've got eight Nine games - up from five last season.
Furner said they averaged about two-three per season, but some years they'd been given none.
The greater exposure created by Nine's bigger audience compared to Fox League means more bang for sponsor's bucks.
That means greater interest and is highlighted by NRL figures for the 2018 season.
The Brisbane Broncos are broadcast on free-to-air almost every week and they led the NRL for total commercial revenue of $17.8 million.
That's compared to the Raiders' $3.2 million the same year.
Furner expected that gap to narrow if they can keep themselves on commercial television.
The Raiders have already seen a jump in their membership - they've sold more than 8200, which is almost 3000 more than this time last year.
"Without a doubt it does. All those things will come. Keep healthy and keep winning, and staying on Channel Nine," Furner told The Canberra Times.
"If you don't rate on Channel Nine we won't be on there in 2021. But it's still better to be on there than not.
"There were some years we got none, [with an] average of two or three.
"So it's fantastic we got this many. Certainly early in the season we've got quite a few.
"Moving forward we'll get that reward commercially because quite literally your sponsorship strip is worth more.
"Down the track we'll capitalise on that."
As revealed by The Canberra Times, the Raiders will play in an all trans-Tasman clash in an historic NRL-Super Rugby double header.
Their round two game against the New Zealand Warriors will be played before a Super Rugby battle between the ACT Brumbies and the Auckland Blues at Eden Park.
They'll also make two trips to the bush, facing the Newcastle Knights in a home game at Wagga Wagga in round six and travelling to Tamworth to face the Wests Tigers in round nine.
It's the second game in a two-year deal to play at Wagga Wagga and Furner said they'd reassess whether to continue after next season.
The Green Machine have only one five-day turnaround, coming in round three when they'll host St George Illawarra, after returning from Auckland.
They start their season with a home game against the Gold Coast Titans on March 13, but have to wait until round 11 for a grand final rematch against the Sydney Roosters - when they play them in Perth on May 23.
Canberra will play the Canterbury Bulldogs for Magic Round in Brisbane on May 2.
Furner was happy with the draw, although they will travel a bit.
The Raiders travel 22,630 kilometres - about 2000km more than the NRL average.
"I went through the draw with [coach Ricky Stuart] this morning," Furner said.
"A bit of travel. I think we go to Perth, we don't go to Darwin and we've got three games away [in a row].
"But our team is very professional and the way we handled that travel and the way we did it last year was first class. They're already planning that now."
The Raiders missed out on an Anzac Day clash and will instead play South Sydney at Canberra Stadium the day after.
They face four 2019 top-eight teams twice next year - the Melbourne Storm, the Rabbitohs, the Roosters and Manly - and finish the regular season with a home game against minor premiers Melbourne.
They've also avoided any 7.30pm home games during the cold months of June-August.
"We got the Anzac Sunday game. We just wanted to be on the Anzac weekend," Furner said.
"I think we play Sunday here, which will be fantastic. It's a long weekend so looking forward to promoting that game."
CANBERRA'S 2020 NRL DRAW (home games in bold)
ROUND ONE
March 13: Canberra Raiders v Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium, 6pm
ROUND TWO
March 21: New Zealand Warriors v Canberra Raiders at Eden Park, 3pm
ROUND THREE
March 26: Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons at Canberra Stadium, 8.05pm
ROUND FOUR
April 3: Canberra Raiders v Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium, 8.05pm
ROUND FIVE
April 12: Penrith Panthers v Canberra Raiders at Penrith, 4.05pm
ROUND SIX
April 18: Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights at Wagga, 3pm
ROUND SEVEN
April 26: Canberra Raiders v South Sydney Rabbitohs at Canberra Stadium, 2.05pm
ROUND EIGHT
May 2: Canterbury Bulldogs v Canberra Raiders at Brisbane, 5.30pm
ROUND NINE
May 9: Wests Tigers v Canberra Raiders at Tamworth, 5.30pm
ROUND 10
May 17: Canberra Raiders v Penrith Panthers at Canberra Stadium, 2.05pm
ROUND 11
May 23: Sydney Roosters v Canberra Raiders at Perth, 5.35pm
ROUND 12 - bye
ROUND 13
June 6: Melbourne Storm v Canberra Raiders at Melbourne, 7.35pm
ROUND 14
June 14: Canberra Raiders v New Zealand Warriors at Canberra Stadium, 2.05pm
ROUND 15
June 28: Canberra Raiders v Sydney Roosters at Canberra Stadium, 4.05pm
ROUND 16
July 5: Cronulla Sharks v Canberra Raiders at Kogarah, 4.05pm
ROUND 17
July 11: Canberra Raiders v Brisbane Broncos at Canberra Stadium, 5.30pm
ROUND 18
July 18: Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels at Canberra Stadium, 5.30pm
ROUND 19
July 26: St George-Illawarra Dragons v Canberra Raiders at Wollongong, 2.05pm
ROUND 20
August 1: North Queensland Cowboys v Canberra Raiders at North Queensland Stadium, 7.35pm
ROUND 21
August 8: Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles v Canberra Raiders at Brookvale, 7.35pm
ROUND 22
August 16: Canberra Raiders v Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium, 4.05pm
ROUND 23
August 22: South Sydney Rabbitohs v Canberra Raiders at Central Coast Stadium, 5.30pm
ROUND 24
August 30: Gold Coast Titans v Canberra Raiders at Gold Coast, 2.05pm
ROUND 25
September 5: Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm at Canberra Stadium, 7.35pm
HIGHLIGHTS AROUND THE NRL:
- The Eels and Bulldogs start the season at Bankwest Stadium before the Cowboys host the Broncos the following night at the opening of their new home ground, Townsville Stadium
- Matches in three different states on ANZAC Day with the traditional Roosters-Dragons (SCG) and Storm-Warriors clashes to be complemented by a Cowboys-Bulldogs fixture in north Queensland
- Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium being condensed from four days to three with Nine picking up a Saturday night broadcast and three matches being played on the Sunday
- The final game at ANZ Stadium before its redevelopment being played between regular tenants the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs on a Saturday evening, a week after Sydney hosts the second State of Origin clash
- Brisbane being spared a humbling trip back to Bankwest Stadium to take on Parramatta after their 58-0 finals humiliation, with the Eels to host Anthony Seibold's side in Darwin
- A host of marquee matches being scheduled for Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong in the fan-friendly Sunday afternoon time-slots.
