No TV for the Dracs?

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

12 hours ago, ojx said:

If Catalans aren't contributing to the TV money, shouldn't they be cut from Sky funding? They need to find their own income, just like Toronto would (if they get promoted)?

Catalans are contributing more than Wakefield, Huddersfield and Salford.

Would the value of the Sky contract go down without those three clubs? No

Would the value of the Sky contract go down without Catalans? Yes

[Toby Chopra]

4 minutes ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

Catalans are contributing more than Wakefield, Huddersfield and Salford.

Would the value of the Sky contract go down without those three clubs? No

Would the value of the Sky contract go down without Catalans? Yes

What evidence have you got for saying that? Sky don't sell subscriptions in France. They do in Wakefield, Huddersfield and Salford. Sky only show the Saturday games because they are supplied the feed for next to nothing. They won't cover any of the Perpignan games off their own bat. 

Now, just to be clear, I'm not arguing that Cats should be kicked out of SL. They bring things to the competition that those other clubs mostly don't: namely one of the strongest revenue generating commercial operations in the league and they are the lynchpin of the French player development pipeline. Both of those things benefit the competition as a whole.

But adding value to the Sky contract by just existing is not one of them. I don't belive many people in England decide to buy a Sky rugby league subscription because of some sort of exotic attraction from Cats being in the completion so it doesn't make any narrow difference to Sky if they're there. 

There's going to be some difficult decisions to make for the sport in the next few years and we need to be clear and accurate about the pros and cons of what each club brings. 

[Toby Chopra]

37 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

Do they sell more(or considerably more) in hudds, wakefield etc because of the participation of those clubs?

Well, more than zero, so yes. 

Like I said, I'm not doubting Cats' value to the competition as a whole, even if the Perpignan games stop being televised. 

I'm just responding to the comments that Cats bring more value to the Sky contract that domestic clubs do. Can't see any evidence of that.