CHANNEL 4 is set for crunch negotiations regarding its Super League coverage for 2024 and beyond.
With RL Commercial, IMG and Super League (Europe) Shareholders agreeing that a new deal with Sky Sports is the way to go for the next three years, RL Commercial will now enter a 30-day exclusive negotiating period with Sky Sports to formalise and contract the broadcast rights agreement.
However, with every game set to be televised in Super League 2024 and with not all of those fixtures being shown live on Sky Sports it begs the question, what will happen to free-to-air TV?
Well League Express can reveal that free-to-air discussions are set to take place over the next few weeks, with terrestrial broadcaster Channel 4 one of a few interested parties to cover Super League from 2024 onwards.
Of course, Channel 4 has proved to be a big hit with the rugby league fraternity since signing a two-year deal with the sport back in 2022 to broadcast 20 Super League games over a period of two seasons.
However, with the Channel 4 deal running out at the end of the 2023 season, a question mark has always been retained with regards to its future in the sport.
Previously, Head of Sport at the broadcaster, Pete Andrews, had emphasised the need to have free-to-air sport on television, telling League Express: “Sport, free to air is a big driver for all sorts of things such as exercise. There is a good mix, I remember watching Challenge Cup finals as a kid and watching rugby league on grandstand.
“It’s lovely having Super League on terrestrial. We are still a public service broadcaster so it’s great to have it on terrestrial.”
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