DOGFATHER Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 I really question just what the RFL board actually do to earn there money. Here is a piece written by Steve Neale in the Barrow local press which confirms many of the suspicions lots of fans already had. I ATTENDED an RFL meeting last week which was more of a workshop for the clubs about how to improve their media and commercial performance. The RFL talked about how they are improving their engagement with fans through a targeted approach. They presented lots of figures about how their OuRLeague app was growing and the streaming opportunities it presented for the Championship. They presented figures on the number of fans watching weekly podcasts, looking at try of the week and lifestyle and review features. The numbers were very modest, but they seemed proud of the growth. They presented more figures around increased attendances in the Championship although skirted over the big drop in League One. Even I could see that the promotion of Bradford and York has helped one and hindered the other. I don't want to sound too critical, but frankly I was unimpressed. They seem to be producing numbers for numbers sake. Don't get me wrong, I love numbers and you can't improve something that isn't being measured, but do they actually understand what their process is trying to achieve? Is it more sponsorship? Bigger crowds? More people playing? I'm not sure. There doesn't seem to be a coherent strategy. However, I do know things that directly affect our club, like there is no TV broadcast agreed for the Summer Bash. This is delaying the production of tickets for the clubs to distribute because we haven't agreed kick-off times. We take in all the money from our own sales, but the only ones currently available are on the RFL website. Please hang fire if you intend to go and buy them from the club. There is also no sponsor for the Summer Bash and not one piece of ground advertising has been sold. This is a big event in the Championship calendar. All of the clubs' representatives in the room could have sold some. Moving onto the 1895 Cup; again, no TV deal. They are negotiating with the BBC. They are not sure if the semi-finals will be a double header with TV or home and away advantage. Again, they have no sponsor. This is for a cup with the final at Wembley. Okay, it isn't the Challenge Cup but it will get decent exposure. There is no prize-money for the clubs, but they say we can have ticket sales from Wembley once they have their £100,000 staging costs back. Can they confirm that because I can see 10,000 from Barrow going at an average £40/ticket generating £400,000? Erm, no, we'll get back to you. They then proudly tell us that Coral have signed a two-year deal for the Challenge Cup but then mention they can pull out after one. In my eyes, that’s a one-year deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatleyBird Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 @rses and elbows springs to mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOGFATHER Posted March 14, 2019 Author Share Posted March 14, 2019 I'm no fan in any way of Robert "Mr Punch" Elstone and wondered how he had effectively taken control of the game, but after reading this, all became clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greydog Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep The Faith Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 Games on it ###### it’s a joke... rugby league since Richard Lewis was in charge has gone backwards massively i’m not really surprised unless you’re staying over at the cup final you’re not gonna stay for both finals and that the RFL needed to put the 1895 final before the main cup final http://tombatley.wordpress.com/ Give it a read.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind side johnny Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 There is unquestionably a lack of leadership but this is largely down to the interference of SL chairmen over recent years. You don't think that they were ever going to allow the RFL to recruit a head man with spirit, charisma or vision did you? He might have had the interests of the game at heart rather than pandering to SL. Elstone isn't interested in RL as a whole, just the SL product and, to be fair, that is what he was recruited to do. Sport, amongst other things, is a dream-world offering escape from harsh reality and the disturbing prospect of change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildog Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 Face it, they just don't give a flying one outside Super Duper League. Somebody needs to tell them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Loxton Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 What about this scenario. Main final.....Salford v Catalans 1895 final....Bradford v Widnes Then there could be more in the stadium for the second final Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.