LeytherRob

Aston Villa is closer to the centre of Birmingham than Old trafford is to Manchester, West Brom is perhaps half a mile further away compared to old trafford. Hardly small towns being in the 2nd largest population centre in the UK.

....in your misguided opinion.

Wasn't the question though was it? Question was does Sky pay money for championship tv rights, which i'm glad you already accepted they do. Here's just a selection... "Sky bought the rights to SL, they and they alone show SL. We have been told Sky also own the rights for the championship, they choose not to show the championship, they have allowed others to show the championship. This has not affected the amount Sky pay" "Sky own the championship rights by virtue of the stupid 8s structure we had in place" "Yes, Sky extended super leagues tv deal encompassed the championship due to the stupid 8s"

Doesn't matter what is stupid and what isn't, Sky extended the TV deal to include championship games, of which they show 10+ of summer bash and playoff games each year plus the odd other game. There is no narrative except the one you're creating to avoid accepting you got the facts wrong. We can all debate the merits of superleague paying for championship TV writes but nothing will change the fact that they currently do, trying to argue they don't is just dumb.

Yep, and the second sentence is: The five-year contract is an extension to the existing deal that ends in 2017, and is also set to encompass the Championship from 2015.

I've not seen anyone arguing that SL clubs don't contribute more, only the argument from you that Sky don't pay for championship rights(which is wrong) and that sky don't show any championship games(also wrong). Sky may only show minimal coverage of the championship but they still own the rights and any other broadcasters only do so with Sky's permission, which entitles the championship to a share of the money. The larger upfront money championship clubs get is offset by not receiving money per broadcast that the SL clubs also get. In the old days of the Thursday night Championship games on Sky the clubs had much lower central funding but was offset by money paid for each TV game, which i believe contributed to a certain amount of free tickets. Sky own championship, league 1 and 2 tv rights in football, they may only show playoffs and the odd match below championship level, and even reduced coverage in the championship but they still own them and clubs are compensated for this. All this to avoid what we actually know although seemingly it pains you to say it, Championship rugby does add some form of value to the broadcast deal for sky(however small) and deserves a share accordingly. edit - https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/new-sky-tv-deal-for-super-league/

The narrative is purely about whether sky pay money for championship tv rights which you have been shown they do. You can't argue with facts.

That was during a different tv deal, this deal was explicitly made for rights to championship games as well, which they use to screen summer bash, playoff games and middle eights before that, partly why the championship payments are top loaded to the higher placed teams.

They're playing a blinder with the pre match so far, recognisable face in Chris Kamara that will catch attention of any football fans at a loss what to watch and a decent highlights package of big hits and great tries to showcase the game. Really smart thinking when you have the live sports market monopolized for the day.

No, it just complicates things more. I would like to see the championship kick off earlier or superleague later in the year so that promoted teams have more recruitment time. Granted, Toronto have struggled so far but they've had 3 years of budget way beyond top SL teams and the people in charge have made awful recruitment decisions. Looking before that, London relegation went right to the wire and Leigh finished 11th and would've stayed up under the current system. We've got a decent system now and the championship has been getting better year on year over the last 6 or 7 years. The system isn't broke because Toronto hired Brian Noble to recruit players.

On Robert Lui, that just seems to be his shape. He always seemed to defy it at Salford and looks to be continuing at Leeds.

This, yes there are some issues I'd change (it should be a case of forfeit the tv money or fund travelling teams, not both), but I'd bet that the 16 players where getting paid for Toronto tonight earn more than the 17 Leeds players.

Credit to him, he's proving his doubters (including me) wrong, they've built a good team and more importantly a good culture. I just hope for Englands sake that Gale and Newman can stay injury free this year.

Getting away from Toronto for a minute, leeds look very good since that opening against Hull.

Looks like the both are