TIWIT

The man is pure class all the way.

With one notable exception.

One of these things is not like the others.

So basically with everyone tied the entire season will be nothing but playoffs.

But Sky does own the rights. Hunter & TWP want them so they can sell them in Canada and elsewhere. It is the amount that Sky wants for them that is the sticking point.

It does if TWP makes money from them. Then they'd want a cut. And they must think TWP will which is why they want more up front now from them.

Maybe Sky thinks the Wolfpack will make some significant TV sales to the Australian/NZ market and want a cut of that. Either way, Sky wants TWP's money. Pure greed. A true broadcast partner would want the game to get more exposure, making it a more valuable product. The way Sky is operating makes me think they have little long-term interest in the sport.

I think Hunter is being incredibly diplomatic in discussing the TV deal. Sky isn’t paying TWP anything for their games (which is of course the choice of the other 11 clubs in Super League, not Sky) but are supposedly wanting an arm and a leg for those rights from TWP. Who will of course have to produce those games at their own cost and then allow Sky to air them back in England. Those rights should be more or less equal to the 1/12th share that TWP are not receiving. Sky is supposed to be the broadcast partner of Super League. It certainly doesn’t seem that way. In fact, it looks like they’re out to make as much money out of the current deal as they can any way they can, which doesn’t bode well for future contract negotiations over TV rights.

Uh, why are people discussing other forums in this forum?

Wrong, wrong, wrong. In so many ways, WRONG! In 1984 the North American Soccer League went under – there was clearly no connect between those millions of soccer players and the professional game. The Powers-That-Be in American soccer realized that, so in their bid to host the 1994 World Cup they also promised to create a new professional soccer league. MLS launched in 1996 and immediately stumbled. They changed too many rules, played in big football stadiums to small crowds and what fans there were realized these guys weren’t anywhere near the same skilled players who had been in the World Cup. So the soccer bureaucrats yielded control to rich businessmen (many of them NFL owners), brought in an NFL exec to run the league, and changed their marketing strategy. The league might not be up to world-class standards, but it was “ours”. And the fans bought in. The teams promoted the game. Big city teams ensured a national TV contract. Crowds grew, the league began to thrive and expand and is now on a solid financial footing. Still not the best league in the world but it is competitive and entertaining and growing. Which proves that the organic growth model from the bottom up does NOT work in North America. The pro teams invest in the community, sponsor local soccer, provide a pathway for talented local kids – both boys and girls – to play professionally. Oh, there are also some 25 million people playing soccer in the US now.

It is odd. Some club threads are completely dead, others have literally 1000s of posts. No idea what that means, other than some clubs' fans are maybe more computer literate than others.

It's like California North vs. New York North. Totally different vibe.

FANTASTIC GAME!

It's too cold to hide under bridges this time of year so they all come in here to hang out.

You're feeding the troll Kman. That is his point... wee tiny little thing that it is