CHANNEL 4 took rugby league – and more particularly Super League – by storm in 2022.
After signing a two-year deal with the sport for 2022 and 2023, with ten games broadcast each season, there was great anticipation about what the future held for the terrestrial broadcaster.
To say Channel 4 was well received is an understatement, with viewers often comparing the coverage to that of Sky Sports’ – the sport’s biggest backer.
For host Adam Hills, he didn’t like the way in which that negativity was aimed at Sky with the two companies enjoying a great relationship.
“On Grand Final day, Brian Carney walked past and shook my hand and said ‘congratulations’ which was lovely,” Hills told League Express. “They’ve done such a great job in the lead up to this.
“What I didn’t like last year was that when we did start off there were a lot of people comparing us to Sky and being really negative about the Sky coverage and then people thought there was a bit of a rivalry.
“I was on a podcast with Jon WIlkin and people were like ‘oo look out it’s head to head.’ I was like ‘we are all on the same team, we are all in this together.’
“Sky has put a lot of money into grassroots rugby league over the years. I didn’t like any negatives aimed at the Sky team because they do a cracking job and we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.”
For Hills, he wants Channel 4 to improve in one area of its coverage going forward.
“What I liked was how we would set up games, the themes and narratives of each game would be highlighted,” Hills continued.
“I loved the half-time analysis, it was my favourite part of the game. The game was still going and I’m picking the brains of Sam Tomkins and people like that.
“What I want to improve is the post-match stuff because for me it’s spur of the moment. You get a player and a coach thrown at you.
“I’m pretty sure I know who all the players are is, but sometimes I have to sneak a peek at the jersey to make sure!
“I want to get more out of them during the interviews instead of routine questions such as ‘how do you feel you just played?’ I want to go a bit deeper and ask questions you wouldn’t normally get at that point.
“Sam (Tomkins) and Danika (Priim) have the smart questions but I want to throw a few curveballs and bring out the characters.
“That’s what makes people connect with the sport, they see the characters and buy into it a little bit more.
“It’s also down to me to not to ask the cliche questions. Nine times out of ten, I don’t know which player is about to be thrown at me.”
