WHEN Channel 4 first announced it would cover ten Super League games for the 2022 season, there was anticipation and hope in the air.
However, not even those at the terrestrial broadcasting team believed that it would be as popular as the coverage proved to be throughout last season.
With hosts Adam Hills and Helen Skelton opening brilliantly and Danika Priim and Kyle Amor proving superb pundits despite having limited experience, Channel 4’s Super League coverage proved a massive.
Hills himself was shocked with how well it was received.
“Not just with how popular it was but just how positively received. I’ve never read the words ‘breath of fresh air’ as much in my life,” Hills joked to League Express.
“it was way better than I expected and I’m hoping now that the honeymoon is over and the marriage goes back to reality we can keep that spark alive.”
When asked why he thinks it proved to be so popular, Hills was very appreciative of the people behind the scenes as well as his team on air.
“I honestly think, our sports producer is top notch and all the people behind the scenes are all rugby league fans,” Hills continued.
“They’ve all worked for years on other sports, so they’ve honed their skills making sports they aren’t that passionate about look exciting.
“Now they’ve come to rugby league, they know how to make sport look exciting but they also love rugby league. I don’t know if I’d have done it if the boss wasn’t a rugby league fan.
“I’m tired after a Friday night’s Last Leg episode and then I turn up on Saturday and our producer is like an excited puppy. If you think that he’s the guy at the top of everything then that trickles down to everybody else. We’re all excited to be there.
“Helen (Skelton) is a joy, Danika (Priim) and Kyle (Amor) are great. There is a really good vibe amongst us and we are a really good team.
“But, I think you’ve got Helen and I who are nor sports reporters but we love rugby league. It’s not like we are talking about something we don’t know anything about, we bring different skill sets and entertainment!
“Kyle hasn’t done that much before nor had Danika and they’ve found a home. Our little winnebago on a Saturday is a proper little home.”
In terms of moving forward into 2023, Hills brought out his comedic side with a hilarious metaphor, as well as calling for more rugby league games to be broadcast in general.
“Covering Super League for us is a bit like having sex. Last year we did it for the first time, we didn’t really know what we were doing but we had fun. This year hopefully we will get a bit better at it!
“Seriously, though I’d love to see Super League on Channel 4 more regularly on an appointment viewing at the same time every week so people know to look out for it.
“There are still games not being covered anywhere and that blows me away coming from Sydney where the NRL is king and every game is on TV.
“I can’t watch some games on any channel so there is definitely room for Channel 4 to do more coverage. I think every game should be televised.”
