Why is it arrogant to suggest that there must be some scope for RL to be shown on terrestrial tv? It is a minority sport, but outside Premiership Football, so are most other sports. When played well RL has all the attributes for exciting viewing - speed, strength, skill, tactical - particularly when teams are relatively evenly matched. Before anyone says it, that would seem to rule out Widnes then!!!
Sport is an individual thing. I find darts and snooker boring, but they seem to be popular on tv. Have you watched some of the Championship RU games on tv and why should that or netball have greater commercial value? Many football games shown on tv are not worth watching unless you happen to be a supporter of one of the clubs involved.
Eddie Hearn is a promoter and in my view what the game needs now is someone who knows how to promote the sport and negotiate a deal. The RFL have singularly failed to do that and seem content to hang on to the shirt tails of SL. If it is the top clubs that run the game, why haven't Rimmer and co stood up to them or walked away?
The game seem to be in the grip of people like Corporal Jones from Dad's Army - running around crying "We're doomed. We're all doomed" If the RFL have a plan to promote the game outside SL, rather than see it slowly die away, it would be good if they shared it with the fans of the game.
Why is it arrogant to suggest that there must be some scope for RL to be shown on terrestrial tv? It is a minority sport, but outside Premiership Football, so are most other sports. When played well RL has all the attributes for exciting viewing – speed, strength, skill, tactical – particularly when teams are relatively evenly matched. Before anyone says it, that would seem to rule out Widnes then!!! Sport is an individual thing. I find darts and snooker boring, but they seem to be popular on tv. Have you watched some of the Championship RU games on tv and why should that or netball have greater commercial value? Many football games shown on tv are not worth watching unless you happen to be a supporter of one of the clubs involved. Eddie Hearn is a promoter and in my view what the game needs now is someone who knows how to promote the sport and negotiate a deal. The RFL have singularly failed to do that and seem content to hang on to the shirt tails of SL. If it is the top clubs that run the game, why haven’t Rimmer and co stood up to them or walked away? The game seem to be in the grip of people like Corporal Jones from Dad’s Army – running around crying “We’re doomed. We’re all doomed” If the RFL have a plan to promote the game outside SL, rather than see it slowly die away, it would be good if they shared it with the fans of the game.
It is profoundly arrogant that RL fans seem to believe they have the right for more press coverage than other sports, when in fact, RL simply has no value. When people criticise the reduced TV deal and berate the RFL, implying that they could have took the deal to all the other TV companies queuing up and what not. The TV deal was reduced because it was the best RFL could have wished to get.
But let’s listen to fans with the same old bull “great product but poorly marketed”. For one, who even describes a sport as a “product”? And for two, Rugby League isn’t even enjoyed by the people of Warrington, they prefer football. Is that due to the RFL?
Eddie Hearn as a promoter is a myth, he rips fans off with shoddy ppv shows as exhibited on Saturday and outside of a few fighters, his shows aren’t that well attended or watched.