Broadcast wars: Is Super change really a bad thing for rugby?

The eternal optimists in Australian rugby circles are hoping the latest drama to erupt in the sport is only a minor explosion.

Reports of Fox Sports withdrawing its offer to broadcast Super Rugby beyond this year rocked the code on Thursday.

The reality for already financially-struggling Australian teams is any sort of downward turn in the $57 million per year television deal could make them insolvent.

The hope is Fox has engaged heavy-handed negotiation tactics, or that a new beginning on a streaming service will breathe new life into a sport already on its knees.

Players must be sick of hearing about the off-field dramas. Sure, the Wallabies struggled at the World Cup and Australia's Super Rugby results have been far from impressive.

But there is genuine belief a new breed of young players, who were spread around the competition in round one, is the dawn of a new, successful era.

Just 52,000 tuned-in to watch the ACT Brumbies' clash against Queensland last week. The good news is 52,000 was one of the better ratings for rugby on Fox Sports. The bad news is it's hardly an impressive number.

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Maybe a streaming service willing to pay a decent amount is the way of the future for rugby. Maybe now is the time to take that risk, because there hasn't been an upturn in the past 10 years.

Alarm bells have been ringing since crowd numbers and television numbers started dropping away.

Rugby Australia is trying to stand its ground in negotiations with a 25-year broadcast partner. But maybe maintaining the status quo is worse than embracing potential change.