https://www.superleague.co.uk/articl...league-in-2022
10 live matches per season including 2 play-off matches
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https://www.superleague.co.uk/articl...league-in-2022
10 live matches per season including 2 play-off matches
Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk
Last edited by EddieVonEagle; 24th November 2021 at 08:23.
I read that as ten, of which two are play-off games. Either way, it’s good news and the sort of thing we have desperately needed more of.
St Helens Rugby League Football Club
Its not much, but its certainly a start, hopefully this is the start of a long partnership and the end of our over reliance on Sky.
Excellent news. Ch 4 dipping its toe and at the same time not interrupting our Sky deal. It’s early days but IMO if Ch 4 would take over from Sky I would be more than happy but guess it depends on what (if they decide to take it off Sky) they are willing to pay. Be interesting who will host the shows as well. Fingers crossed we can eventually ditch Sky..
Humans are more concerned with having than being.
Great news. I just hope they get the production right and get a good commentary team in and the right people doing the analysis etc.
As someone else has mentioned I hope this acts as a little threat towards SKY as well and they are less complacent when the new deal comes around. I would love a genuine rival for the main rights to emerge so that SKY stop treating us like an afterthought.
NEVER WRITE OFF THE SAINTS
exciting times! I wonder how this will affect kickoff times? Looking forward to seeing who is in the production team and how they handle "the big screen" as there are differences in how Sky and BBC do it. So we'll be on BBC, Sky and Channel 4 next year.
this is a real positive step by the RFL, it means that the BBC will have some competition on terrestrial but also a nationally recognised broadcaster giving the sport a highlight. Please dont cock it up
If Wigan are playing they will need to put the red triangle in the corner of the screen (showing my age there)
Italian football, NFL, Australian rules all got regular slots on Channel 4 and their coverage was very good. Lots of people were sceptical when Channel 4 won the Ashes cricket series in 2005. But their presentation was superb and many of the things they initiated are still used today.
I really hope they do a great job presenting our sport
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This is the best news to come out of the game for a while. This will be excellent exposure for the game - with the cup games on the BBC this will mean a steady supply of RL on terrestrial TV, something we've not had since the beginning of the '90s. The timing couldn't be better as we move towards a world cup, too. Just as importantly, having another broadcaster in the fold can only be good when it comes to broadcast negotiation time.
Best news I’ve heard for a while. I’d love to get rid of my Sky subscription altogether.
Cancelled mine about 3 years ago and the only thing I miss is the darts at Christmas, subscribed to SaintsTV instead. This is great news and fair play to the RFL, I’ve given them dogs abuse over the years but if they can get this right, it would move the game in the right direction.
This is great news but not quite for the reason that some have posted on here.
When Super League was (in my opinion) at its peak in the early 2000s there were great games and marketable players but no one outside of Rugby League was seeing it. We haven't had a household names in our sport since Offiah and Hanley. The sport has desperately needed a free to air platform for a long time. The cup should have been this but lack of investment from the BBC and the constant running down of the competition from Sky and the RFL has meant that the free to air product has been poor.
Hopefully the production level from C4 is of a decent quality and it enhances the value of the main (currently Sky) deal. Having a small amount of games exposed to the general public should increase the hunger to watch more games and allow a tv company to sell subscriptions on the back of it. If we could get a highlights/magazine show to compliment it too that would be ideal. The purpose of this deal is not to replace Sky but increase the value of what they are bidding for.
The model in the USA is you get to see a boxing match on free TV but the Heavyweight title match is on PPV. Having a playoff match on C4 then the Grand Final on pay TV will only increase the hunger to pay to see the Grand Final. That could be done in the form of subscriptions, ticket sales, or even going to a pub to watch the game. Either way if people are watching the game will benefit.
Add to that clubs and the league itself are going to have a much easier time selling sponsorship.
I could agree with you but then we would both be wrong.
The main thing is that we have 3 broadcasters now in BBC, Channel 4 and SKY. If next seasons rule changes favours a more exciting attacking game then the game could be in for more exposure with monies on the end of it.
One thing I meant to comment on is the fact that Channel 4 News never, in my experience, refers to Rugby League. I stand to be corrected but I don’t even think they mention the Challenge Cup Final or the Grand Final. Maybe this will lead to more news coverage, which will also keep the sport in the public eye.
Good news for the sport and the fans. I hope C4 get a decent commentary team, and get sufficient viewing figures to further their interest. Do we know are these games going to clash with more attractive games shown on sky at the same time?
I mentioned last year, I wonder if it would be possible to have a saturated period with games on terrestrial, a la the hundred. It does however appear it'll be spread over the year.
Imagine late summer a match on C4, say Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for two weeks? Rather than ad hoc
We get a decent amount of coverage via Adam Hills on the Last Leg, through him playing for Wire and through the World Cup. While Last Leg is primarily a comedy, they do cover and discuss events that are far greater and of greater importance than Rugby League ever will be and he’s engaging, emotive and informative when doing so. As he’s a recognisable face on that channel and has a prior knowledge of the game, I would quite like to see him involved in the presenting.
As for who else, I’d go for a younger approach to attempt to engage with a younger audience and would automatically rule out a former player or coach from a 5+ years ago. I’d look at getting hold of a player who has retired this year. Kevin Brown speaks well but he’s on Sky and I will be honest, I haven’t a clue who else has retired this off season.
St Helens Rugby League Football Club
They won't do that mate, even for Rugby League that would be seriously dumb. Why would they have 2 channels showing 2 different games at the same time? I would be seriously amazed if the CH4 games aren't standalone fixtures that don't clash with any other games. Saturday dinner, Sunday tea time, etc.
NEVER WRITE OFF THE SAINTS
Great news for the armchair viewer and it will take the game into more homes across the country. It's also a big positive for those existing fans who simply cannot afford a Sky TV subscription, and for those families who may be reluctant/unable to take kids to midweek games.
It will be interesting to see whether Channel 4 second the BBC commentary team over to them. Most commentators and pundits seem to freelance these days and it's unlikely they'll train up new ones when the BBC team will be lying idle. I'd expect to see Dave Woods, Jonathan Davies and Jon Wilkin all playing some role. However, as a channel, it's a chance to put down a marker and a good presentation (as we had with Granada in the late 1980s/early 1990s) might offer an opportunity for upping the Challenge Cup deal.
The key for the clubs may be whether 12.30pm is a set standard time, though.
I'm not particularly concerned about the games being at the 12.30pm "graveyard shift" as it's referred to in football circles (for it's the one time that every supporter detests) because there are less travelling distances. It's always been hugely unfair to supporters in football to ask them to travel 200 miles for a 12.30pm kick off, but our longest UK journey in Super League is two hours. That's not a real issue, and in fact, it may actually increase away support levels. I am not concerned with a clash with football fixtures much either, although you'd have to wonder what viewing figures there would be for Wakefield v Salford if it went up against Liverpool v United.
The biggest issue is that clubs will need assurance that they will get no more than one game moved to a 12.30pm Saturday kick off as there is no doubt it will hugely impact upon the crowd.
Even if we go back to the glory days of the Challenge Cup, terrestrial TV could often half the crowd, and whilst we have a season ticket culture now that means many who are not present will be counted in the attendance, nevertheless, the fact that it is on free to air TV, it is so early, many people work on Saturdays, and that many play amateur/school age RL in the spring and summer at such a time, are issues. More crucially, clubs rely heavily on corporate box sales and they are going to be a really hard sell for a Saturday lunch time, as they are at football.
I think it's great that we are getting some exposure on free to air TV, but this sounds to me like it is a sub-let of an existing TV deal rather than an additional new one bringing in extra money. Therefore, they are going to have to be fair in the choice of games, in that for the good of match-going supporters and the clubs themselves, only one of their home matches per season should be allowed to be moved to that time. The clubs will lose money through turnstiles and executive box sales and will take a huge hit on beer and food sales due to such early kick offs, so assuming no financial compensation is offered, Channel 4 and Sky will have to come to some form of arrangement.
THIS YEAR LENDING SUPPORT TO:- St. Helens RLFC, Manchester City, Celtic, Alemannia Aachen, Steps 1 to 6 Non-League Football
You are of course correct. The C4 games will be standalone weekend games, and they'll all be decent on paper as they'll be able to pick "second pick" games, hence Leeds v Wire on the opening weekend. I doubt we'll see too many Salford v Wakefield type games and alot will be games like Hull v Saints, Wigan v Catalans etc.
Also, if C4 can pick their weekends we will also see either Saints v Wigan or the Hull derby over Easter, dependent on which of the two Sky pick.