The Betfred Championship will have a new home from 2022, as the RFL today confirms an extensive and exciting two-year broadcast partnership with Premier Sports.
Under the partnership, Premier Sports will provide live and exclusive coverage from the start of the season in early 2022 to the Play-Offs in the autumn culminating in the Million Pound Game - and including every match of the Summer Bash, featuring all 14 clubs in a single venue on the same weekend.
With one game from every regular round, that means more than 30 Betfred Championship fixtures.
The deal also includes coverage of seven Betfred Challenge Cup ties through the spring, as Premier Sports have secured secondary rights to the competition - including two of the quarter finals.
Premier Sports' Betfred Championship matches will be shown in a regular Monday night slot which will include an extended 45-minute build-up to allow reflection and analysis on the previous weekend of Rugby League action.
Michael O’Rourke, the Premier Sports founder and joint CEO, said: "We are delighted to be covering the Rugby League Championship once again and taking coverage to another level with the pick of each round's fixtures on a Monday night.
"We look forward to bringing viewers a terrific line-up of top presenters and pundits to review each weekend's talking points before showcasing the game of the round live.
"We believe this, alongside Challenge Cup matches, the Summer Bash and the Million Pound Game, will come together to make a really strong offering for Rugby League supporters."
Ralph Rimmer, the RFL Chief Executive, said: "This is such an exciting and positive announcement for the Betfred Championship clubs, and for the sport as a whole.
"Premier Sports have been excellent partners for the sport in the past, with their coverage of the Championship and also the 2013 World Cup, and it’s great to have them back in Rugby League.
"They played a key role in pioneering Thursday night Rugby League, and now we will be working with all our clubs to ensure the success of regular Monday night matches - which provide the Championship with a fantastic platform.
"I know Premier Sports have exciting plans to offer special subscription incentives for season ticket holders from the Betfred Championship clubs.
"One of the highlights of the 2021 season has been the re-emergence of the Betfred Championship and League 1 competitions after the disruption caused by the pandemic in 2020.
"We've seen again the quality of players on the field and the passion of the supporters off it.
"The competition promises to be even more exciting in 2022 with the involvement of so many proud and ambitious clubs - and with Premier Sports following it all the way."
This might just be one for die hard RL fans, £12.99/month additional charge to add to Sky & Virginmedia subscriptions.
I'm not sure that it would be worth it if you're only interested in watching your own club, probably only get one home, one away and the summer bash. If you watch every game, then its not too bad.
“I know Premier Sports have exciting plans to offer special subscription incentives for season ticket holders from the Betfred Championship clubs."
Won't be £12.99 if you're a season ticket holder by the looks of it.
Would like to know what the thought was about Monday nights, wouldn't want to play on a Monday night if I was a part time player - but I appreciate a TV deal is still great for the league. I would imagine Sky have the rights to the Sunday evening slot albeit rarely used (this weekends Championship final is Sunday evening). This would have been ideal for me. Unless it's at least half the quoted price above, I doubt I'll be investing in yet another channel subscription.
It’s very easy to pick the faults in this but given where the game is at and the cut in funding again this year you have to see the positives
not the end of the world playing on a monday night
Hard to tell how good a deal it is, given we don’t know the figures behind it.
They’ve got to be sensible with the games they pick, Whitehaven v Widnes on a Monday night will be terrible
I hope it's shared around the various grounds but no doubt we will be lumbered with about half a dozen home games.
Totally get what your saying eg London and Newcastle will be big problems as no one is near them, however workington coming up may help them group the Cumbrian teams together for there televised games
without knowing what is in it financially for the clubs it means nothing.
Knowing the RFL the funding will be based on how many fans of each club subscribe or how many fans have a birthday in October.
It might mean some logistical issues but in terms of exposure the League is not in a position to dictate. SL isn't never mind the Championship. A step in the right direction assuming the figures aren't completely crud.
Not thrilled at the prospect of going on a Monday straight after work but at the same time if the Championship gets some money and publicity out of it then I hope it is successful.
2 year contract interesting; would this cover the rumoured SL2 if it was formed for 2023?
I would have thought Sky would have anything Super League related...
Presumably each club will be guaranteed to be on a minimum number of times but some weeks the "pick" of the round won't be obvious and will be subject to a TV editor's choice. Also will the Monday fixtures all be announced at the start of the season/when fixtures are released or will it be phased throughout the year and how much notice will clubs/fans get ahead of fixture changes? Announcements a week or two in advance will likely prove unpopular.
Take the below as an example non Summer Bash round of fixtures, is there an obvious stand-out game?
Leigh v Bradford
York v Featherstone or Toulouse
Whitehaven v Workington or Doncaster
Dewsbury v Batley
Halifax v Widnes
Barrow v Newcastle
Sheffield v London
You could make a case for any of the first 5 games (assuming it's Worky that go up) and I'm sure there will be plenty of similar weeks.
I for one am made up to see this deal for the championship clubs and allow us to showcase our club and stadium. The last time this happened there was a lot of incentives (we on here are always asking for incentives to get people in)done by all the lower league clubs with some really good attendances including over eight thousand for us against Salford. (Ste Tyrer made his debut with a couple of tries).
That 8000 crowd was a one off, we'd struggle to get 8000 for three consecutive Sunday home matches, now.I know we shouldn’t complain about TV coverage but the fact is Monday night games will impact on attendances and season ticket sales which we will already struggle with as it is.Widnes, with its stadium,facilities and big name will be chosen half a dozen times.
That 8000 crowd was a one off, we’d struggle to get 8000 for three consecutive Sunday home matches, now.I know we shouldn’t complain about TV coverage but the fact is Monday night games will impact on attendances and season ticket sales which we will already struggle with as it is.Widnes, with its stadium,facilities and big name will be chosen half a dozen times.
And that is the side that bothers me. Our stadium maybe getting on a bit but looking at Batley, Fev and others, our facilities for the TV crew are pretty good and avoid the need for them to trek too far. There needs to be a sum paid to the host side to cover lost attendance, or maybe subsidise prices for that game.
On the face of it non SL clubs can be made to appear anti- TV but the facts are that as things stand our annual income is more biased towards the live crowd via ST sales and walk-up fans than is the case for SL clubs.
I wonder what this deal will bring in revenue - or will the SL clubs simply use it as an excuse to keep even more of the Sky money. I wouldn't trust the RFL to negotiate their way out of a paper bag.