Eddie Hearn-Time for the RFL to swallow pride and let him take over,if he is still interested?

[Robthegasman]

2 hours ago, JohnM said:

We all know the game is frankly on it’s anus 

No its not. Far from it. Anyway, I thought you'd resigned from the forum ages ago.

Well  it unfortunately it is not booming either.

 And I thought about it but I had a chat with Mr Drake privately via email,and he was fair with me,it appeared that some of the issues were”administrative”ones(ie I might have put some stuff in the wrong column)he had no malice towards me and I decided to stay.

No one will shut me up.I will use my voice and express my opinion but I will make sure it is in the right section.

[EastLondonMike]

8 minutes ago, The Daddy said:

The initiatives and direction that the sport needs and the qualities that Eddie Hearn brings is not just about bringing in skills that you can get by hiring an agency or consultants it's about the leadership that comes with it, experience of leading and dealing with high level organisations and the added value it brings. RL have brought in agencies and consultants before with little or no positive impact.

They have, but with limited funding, limited scope and in arguably nearly all cases the completely wrong brief.

We obviously differ in our opinions of the Hearn's, but i see them as limited.

[The Frying Scotsman]

1 hour ago, EastLondonMike said:

No thanks.

The guy can get advertiser's (and subscribers!) to pay for angling on TV. Angling...Competitive fishing... On pay TV.

Rugby League does not have 1 'name' personality in the whole of Europe within the game. Not 1 person recognisable to the general public outside Rugby League. The last one recently left the sport to become an assistant coach at a rugby union club side.

Rugby League's World Cup was recently cancelled (the reality) and replaced by Jamaica v Scotland at Featherstone in a friendly.

When Matchroom started in boxing (80s), Barry Hearn states that pro boxing in the UK had a hard-core support of about 500 who would travel all over the country. A couple of years ago, they put on a promotion that filled Wembley stadium and sold out in an hour.

"No thanks"?? I'd love to know your alternative!

[northamptoncougar]

I'd 100% have Matchroom involved in some capacity, they can create hype, they know how to put on events and they can market. The Magic Weekend and CC final are screaming out for assistance.

We all admit that we've no cross over stars in RL anymore yet we have tonnes of stars that could be household names but no ones heard their stories nor has RL the ability to create this. Tompkins should have been the new Edwards, Grace the new Offiah, Newman the new Newlove, people pay to watch stars, not necessarily teams, people love to be part of events not just 80 mins of  a match - it's blindingly obvious.

Hearns got Arabs offering 100's of million just to stage a boxing match, he's held 3 boxing events in the gardens of his office over the last month with 250 people per time paying £750 each to watch some very average fighters. He's also in bed with Danz which is a global internet channel.

Personally I can't think of anyone better at the moment.

 

[EastLondonMike]

4 minutes ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

The guy can get advertiser's (and subscribers!) to pay for angling on TV. Angling...Competitive fishing... On pay TV.

Rugby League does not have 1 'name' personality in the whole of Europe within the game. Not 1 person recognisable to the general public outside Rugby League. The last one recently left the sport to become an assistant coach at a rugby union club side.

Rugby League's World Cup was recently cancelled (the reality) and replaced by Jamaica v Scotland at Featherstone in a friendly.

When Matchroom started in boxing (80s), Barry Hearn states that pro boxing in the UK had a hard-core support of about 500 who would travel all over the country. A couple of years ago, they put on a promotion that filled Wembley stadium and sold out in an hour.

"No thanks"?? I'd love to know your alternative!

I'm not sure I believe Frank Hearn's comment about boxing.

They've been involved in British Basketball for the last 5 years, I'd be interested to see how much impact they've had there in that period.

[The Daddy]

24 minutes ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

The guy can get advertiser's (and subscribers!) to pay for angling on TV. Angling...Competitive fishing... On pay TV.

Rugby League does not have 1 'name' personality in the whole of Europe within the game. Not 1 person recognisable to the general public outside Rugby League. The last one recently left the sport to become an assistant coach at a rugby union club side.

Rugby League's World Cup was recently cancelled (the reality) and replaced by Jamaica v Scotland at Featherstone in a friendly.

When Matchroom started in boxing (80s), Barry Hearn states that pro boxing in the UK had a hard-core support of about 500 who would travel all over the country. A couple of years ago, they put on a promotion that filled Wembley stadium and sold out in an hour.

"No thanks"?? I'd love to know your alternative!

Exactly, the small mindedness of some on here just begs belief. We're talking  about someone that's signed deals with Emirati and the Monaco Royal family to stage and market boxing events and some folk on here somehow think that they have nothing to offer or you can just bring in consultants or agencies to do the same thing and it will carry the same weight. These people are delusional and negative

[The Daddy]

Just now, EastLondonMike said:

I'm not sure I believe Frank Hearn's comment about boxing.

They've been involved in British Basketball for the last 5 years, I'd be interested to see how much impact they've had there in that period.

Whose Frank Hearn? I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure the Hearns aren't involved in British Basketball 

[whatmichaelsays]

14 minutes ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

The guy can get advertiser's (and subscribers!) to pay for angling on TV. Angling...Competitive fishing... On pay TV.

Rugby League does not have 1 'name' personality in the whole of Europe within the game. Not 1 person recognisable to the general public outside Rugby League. The last one recently left the sport to become an assistant coach at a rugby union club side.

Rugby League's World Cup was recently cancelled (the reality) and replaced by Jamaica v Scotland at Featherstone in a friendly.

When Matchroom started in boxing (80s), Barry Hearn states that pro boxing in the UK had a hard-core support of about 500 who would travel all over the country. A couple of years ago, they put on a promotion that filled Wembley stadium and sold out in an hour.

"No thanks"?? I'd love to know your alternative!

 

3 minutes ago, northamptoncougar said:

I'd 100% have Matchroom involved in some capacity, they can create hype, they know how to put on events and they can market. The Magic Weekend and CC final are screaming out for assistance.

We all admit that we've no cross over stars in RL anymore yet we have tonnes of stars that could be household names but no ones heard their stories nor has RL the ability to create this. Tompkins should have been the new Edwards, Grace the new Offiah, Newman the new Newlove, people pay to watch stars, not necessarily teams, people love to be part of events not just 80 mins of  a match - it's blindingly obvious.

Hearns got Arabs offering 100's of million just to stage a boxing match, he's held 3 boxing events in the gardens of his office over the last month with 250 people per time paying £750 each to watch some very average fighters. He's also in bed with Danz which is a global internet channel.

Personally I can't think of anyone better at the moment.

 

These two posts kind of sum up the problem I have with the "get the Hearns" meme that we seem to have in RL. 

RL isn't in the position it's in because of a lack of hype. It's not in the position it's in because it doesn't have a Hearn shouting about it. 

Whatever state you happen to think the sport is in, it is here because it has lacked a meaningful, long-term strategy to engage new audiences (to replace an aging fan base), adapt to a more competitive leisure and entertainment market and adapt to societal changes that sees a population as a whole being more transient than they used to be, more likely to move away from the sorts of towns where RL is traditionally strong, less likely to hold onto local identity as generations previously may have done and less likely to connect with traditional "working class" identities. Almost everything the clubs have done has been about "keeping the lights on" - selling this season's shirt, hitting the season ticket target, selling enough tickets for the next game. It's all low-hanging fruit stuff. 

Hearn isn't the person to fix that. He might be able to give the sport a short-term jolt in the arm and hype up a TV event, but he isn't going to fundamentally tackle the issue that RL needs to identify, understand and adapt to its next generation of supporters. 

Anyone can do hype. Hearn isn't some sort of magical guru in that regards. All you really need is a story and a hook - RL has plenty of them, but we don't tell them to the people in a way that makes them listen. 

[Robthegasman]

2 hours ago, gingerjon said:

I think, from memory, you're a Swinton fan?

As long as you're happy for Swinton to never be involved in any decision making about the upper levels of the sport and not to even be considered to play a game in it, then this is something you may want to consider.

If you have any reservations about that, or have a belief that any clubs currently involved in rugby league are guaranteed a spot in a Hearn-esque takeover, then I will find a polite, mocking emoji to put here.

I don’t think that the clubs in the lower leagues should have any say about how the top clubs and competition is run.

 And by the same token the top clubs should not call the shots regarding clubs outside of the top leagues.

 

[Robthegasman]

2 hours ago, gingerjon said:

I think, from memory, you're a Swinton fan?

As long as you're happy for Swinton to never be involved in any decision making about the upper levels of the sport and not to even be considered to play a game in it, then this is something you may want to consider.

If you have any reservations about that, or have a belief that any clubs currently involved in rugby league are guaranteed a spot in a Hearn-esque takeover, then I will find a polite, mocking emoji to put here.

I don’t think that the clubs in the lower leagues should have any say about how the top clubs and competition is run.

 And by the same token the top clubs should not call the shots regarding clubs outside of the top leagues.

 

[Dunbar]

There is a lot of praise here for snooker and darts and what they have achieved.  But I have to say, even though I consider myself an all round sports fan, I haven't got a clue who the top 5 ranked players are in these sports today.

However I did know who the darts and snooker stars were when Offiah and Hanley were our household names.

Our problems are the same as everyone's; the sports market has become more fragmented as it has been 'hidden' behind various paywalls with fans becoming more specific rather than general sports fans. Only football with its universal popularity avoids this issue.

[JF1]

Our Delboy-esque friend will not come cheap. Probably work out the same as the bonkers PE arrangement.

What we need is an honest assessment of the game itself,not messing about with structures.

How many people on this forum,who by definition are fans of the game,have recently stated they have found games boring or not bothered to watch at all?

 

 

[The Future is League]

2 hours ago, gingerjon said:

If we need (digital) marketing and presentation consultants then we should recruit those.

We don't need to just ring up Eddie Hearn and ask if he's free for a bit.

It's just a pity that the RFL don't have a marketing department as it would more than pay for itself. We can only dream

[gingerjon]

38 minutes ago, The Daddy said:

Whose Frank Hearn? I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure the Hearns aren't involved in British Basketball 

Roll up, roll up, get your tickets from All Stars Basketball https://allstarsbasketball.co.uk/tickets/

[Barry Badrinath]

No point.

 

Cos hey/they won't be able to deal with rugby leagues major issue.

 

Negativity of the existing fan base, across all the country, and on every team. 

 

Anytime ANYTHING  different is tried, the majority of flat cap northerners cry foul. EDIT : Including a lot of the clubs.

 

I've said it before, warrington had identified that their fan base was an older one, and looked to modern trends, to make them seem a fun and attractive club, trying to exploit modern social media in an attempt to connect with local young folk.

 

Everyone everywhere including a lot of the older generation at warrington crapped all over it.

 

For a sport that chops and changes a lot, the fan base is incredibly negative to change.

 

Its the older generation that's most vocal and also probably most responsible for killing it off.

[Barry Badrinath]

Oh, and rimmer,  davy Wood and the rest are all symptomatic of this as well.

[Dunbar]

2 hours ago, The Daddy said:

What I see Hearn offering the RL is expertise in digital marketing, for example embracing new media, social media, digital solutions as Matchroom have done with IFL TV and DAZN. Not only that the visual presentation of the sport, commentary teams. for example, pitch markings, advertising hoardings and match day presentation. What he's done with the boxing coverage on DAZN is fresh, exciting and innovative. Getting Maya Jama involved in the commentary team was a masterstroke and appeals to different audiences. 

Do I think he should be solely in charge of the sport no but I do think he should be on a RL commission charged with running the sport alongside other experts and the expertise he clearly offers is promotion, event management, marketing, digital and social media strategy and TV presentation

You don't have to cede any control of the sport to achieve the parts you mention around digital marketing and visual presentation.

Some of the best known brands in the world outsource their digital and social media marketing (Nike, Google etc.).  What we need is recognition that these strategies are vital to the games success and commission the work.

Now, it would be a crying shame if we had to bring in someone just to recognise this... but surely bringing in the likes of Hearn would be this recognition anyway.  So why not cut out that part and get cracking! I just don't have a massive amount of faith that anyone at the top of our sport recognises the digital and broadcast shape of the world today.

[The Frying Scotsman]

50 minutes ago, EastLondonMike said:

I'm not sure I believe Frank Hearn's comment about boxing.
 

The fact you call him Frank Hearn shows how out of touch you are with who they are and what they have achieved.

As I said, given you are so incredibly dismissive of Matchroom.... Who/What is your alternative?

[my missus]

no thanks he would have us playing some hyped up 4 a side game in the 02 or some other indoor arena.

[EastLondonMike]

18 minutes ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

The fact you call him Frank Hearn shows how out of touch you are with who they are and what they have achieved.

As I said, given you are so incredibly dismissive of Matchroom.... Who/What is your alternative?

No, it shows that I honestly don't have any time for them based on what i know of them. And also that I was thinking about 80's boxing and 'Frank' Warren came to mind. Simple mistake.

I don't have the time or inclination to offer you my thoughts on what RL could be doing to progress the sport, but have mentioned it many times before on previous threads if you really want to know, but thankfully they don't have to be an alternative to Matchroom.

[Damien]

32 minutes ago, Barry Badrinath said:

I've said it before, warrington had identified that their fan base was an older one, and looked to modern trends, to make them seem a fun and attractive club, trying to exploit modern social media in an attempt to connect with local young folk.

 

Everyone everywhere including a lot of the older generation at warrington crapped all over it.

What exactly did Warrington do?

I have a lot of respect for what Warrington have achieved and how they've grown since the basket case they were in the mid 90s and their low crowds. I always put this down to somewhat of a perfect storm with the new ground, arrival of Simon Moran and the building of some very good sides. The corporate side and sponsors always looks good but again I thought this was partly down to Moran and his contacts.

From the outside I haven't noticed anything noticeably different but would be interested to know what they have done. I think there are clubs that do some good stuff, such as Newcastle in the lower leagues, and the game should be looking at all this and formulating some sort of best practice, cohesive approach for the whole sport.

[Barry Badrinath]

25 minutes ago, Damien said:

What exactly did Warrington do?

I have a lot of respect for what Warrington have achieved and how they've grown since the basket case they were in the mid 90s and their low crowds. I always put this down to somewhat of a perfect storm with the new ground, arrival of Simon Moran and the building of some very good sides. The corporate side and sponsors always looks good but again I thought this was partly down to Moran and his contacts.

From the outside I haven't noticed anything noticeably different but would be interested to know what they have done. I think there are clubs that do some good stuff, such as Newcastle in the lower leagues, and the game should be looking at all this and formulating some sort of best practice, cohesive approach for the whole sport.

As i say, they attempted to market the club to the yoof market, using wolfie in various online stunts, adverts on twitter and tik tok, doing various funny gimmicks in an attempt go viral.

 

The usual suspects not appreciating that they weren't the target audience for any of this japes, crapped all over it, and said it was embarressing, 

 

We were trying to make the match day experience more than just the game result, for the younger kids, not unlike bullmania, so many many years ago.

 

Its quite surprising that you dont remember this stuff from 2018/19.

It was also an attempt to get the other clubs to come along and start marketing themselves properly, to get more bums on seats to show sky that we weren't dying, and we were attempting to improve things, with the sky deal being up for negotiation.

 

How has that all gone?

 

 

[The Daddy]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

Roll up, roll up, get your tickets from All Stars Basketball https://allstarsbasketball.co.uk/tickets/

So what you've just linked to is a one off event that Matchroom put on. This doesn't equate to any strategic involvement in the governance of the sport over a period of time. Event management is just one aspect of what Eddie Hearn would bring to the table 

[gingerjon]

Just now, The Daddy said:

So what you've just linked to is a one off event that Matchroom put on. This doesn't equate to any strategic involvement in the governance of the sport over a period of time. Event management is just one aspect of what Eddie Hearn would bring to the table 

You're right. It doesn't equate to any kind of strategic governance over the sport over a period of time.

The RLWC organisation - 2013 and 2021 - really shows we don't need event management expertise. We can do a decent job there when we have the funds and time to do so. Often there's an overlap with people who really don't do a good job when they're inside the RFL itself because of lack of funds and time.

[The Daddy]

55 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

You're right. It doesn't equate to any kind of strategic governance over the sport over a period of time.

The RLWC organisation - 2013 and 2021 - really shows we don't need event management expertise. We can do a decent job there when we have the funds and time to do so. Often there's an overlap with people who really don't do a good job when they're inside the RFL itself because of lack of funds and time.

I don't see event management as an issue for major finals like the Grand Final, Challenge Cup or Magic. What I will say is that every league game should be treated as an event and an opportunity to bring new people into the sport, that approach is missing within SL currently. The customer experience for standard league games is way off atm.