New RFL Direction

[RayCee]

It’s amazing (as we enter the last games of the Championship)  that the most popular post is whether the favoured winning team will even be able to gain entry into SL. This should have been sorted before the season kicked off but no, let's throw an eleventh hour spanned in the works. It makes SL look like a tinpot outfit, in my eyes anyway.

Is it time for the RFL to really make the Championship a comp where the winner is in its own right the champs without promotion to SL the carrot at the end of the stick? SL could be a closed shop, where it can invite teams to join but otherwise remain a loop fixtured, 12 team snooozefest. 

Teams from Toronto, Ottawa ad NY could join Toulouse and one or two other French sides. They would then play the best of the current Championship sides in a stand alone Atlantic Championship. (Lower teams in the Championship could be moved into League one). Airlines would be major targets as sponsors obviously. It could be sold to a media outlet as a competition covering four countries. 

The season could start later a little later and finish about the same time as SL to fit in with end of season Internationals. SL could become the inward looking closed shop it aspires to be and the rest of Northern Hemisphere RL could go about the business of growing this great game.

[Oliver Clothesoff]

I don’t have any problem whatsoever with Toronto being asked to provide certain assurances, as a North American side, not asked of York, Featherstone and to a lesser extent, Toulouse, before promotion is ratified. I think this really should have been discussed before Toronto were ever admitted to the sport, given they said they had a five-year plan, and should have definitely been sorted before the Championship play-off’s started a few days ago. 

As for the Championship, whatever happened to it’s own TV deal? The big noise of Channel 4 getting on board, what happened to that? That seems to have died down. Is that like the time The RFL dangled the Hearn’s under Rugby League fans’ noses only to not see a deal struck? 

I’ve recently seen that the British Basketball League has announced that games will be available to watch live on YouTube for this coming season, ending a subscription service that was previously in place. I’m not too sure on the dynamics of the deal and what the finances, if there are any, behind the deal is but I found that interesting. 

How does the lower leagues continue after the next TV deal? Well, you’d hope, if you were a fan of a lower league side, that The RFL would find a TV deal of its own and its own sponsors of a high enough standard and bank balance that would put some much needed money into that end of the game but how confident is anyone in the abilities of The RFL to make a positive decision? 

[RayCee]

2 hours ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

I don’t have any problem whatsoever with Toronto being asked to provide certain assurances, as a North American side, not asked of York, Featherstone and to a lesser extent, Toulouse, before promotion is ratified. I think this really should have been discussed before Toronto were ever admitted to the sport, given they said they had a five-year plan, and should have definitely been sorted before the Championship play-off’s started a few days ago. 

Absolutely on both counts.

2 hours ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

As for the Championship, whatever happened to it’s own TV deal? The big noise of Channel 4 getting on board, what happened to that?

I think offering it as it is isn't going to appeal to broadcasters. Bringing in a stable, international comp may get some interest.

[CanadianRugger]

Rugby League reminds me of Lacrosse in Canada/US to a certain extent and Rugby Union in Canada to a certain extent.

It has a certain amount of appeal to a very specific region/demographic.  Most of the players are from the same area and while there is a "professional" league.  It lacks any sort of widespread appeal and there isn't really any interest in making it grow bigger for a variety of reasons, some of which are political.

[Kayakman]

51 minutes ago, CanadianRugger said:

Rugby League reminds me of Lacrosse in Canada/US to a certain extent and Rugby Union in Canada to a certain extent.

It has a certain amount of appeal to a very specific region/demographic.  Most of the players are from the same area and while there is a "professional" league.  It lacks any sort of widespread appeal and there isn't really any interest in making it grow bigger for a variety of reasons, some of which are political.

What do you mean 'political'?

Shamrocks go down to Peterborough for the Mann Cup (again)!

[Smudger06]

8 hours ago, CanadianRugger said:

Rugby League reminds me of Lacrosse in Canada/US to a certain extent and Rugby Union in Canada to a certain extent.

It has a certain amount of appeal to a very specific region/demographic.  Most of the players are from the same area and while there is a "professional" league.  It lacks any sort of widespread appeal and there isn't really any interest in making it grow bigger for a variety of reasons, some of which are political.

It's far bigger than Lacrosse. If you mean Rugby League in the UK alone, it's still bigger than Lacrosse, a better comparison would be Super League (not Rugby League in general) is similar to the CFL. 

[The Future is League]

Sadly anyone expecting any direction from the RFL or SL will be very disappointed.

Repeat, WE ARE A RUDDERLESS SHIP.

[RayCee]

23 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

Sadly anyone expecting any direction from the RFL or SL will be very disappointed.

Repeat, WE ARE A RUDDERLESS SHIP.

 There seems a fear of change.

[gingerjon]

9 hours ago, CanadianRugger said:

Rugby League reminds me of Lacrosse in Canada/US to a certain extent

That's not a bad comparison at all.