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RL on Channel 4


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8 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Mate if channel 4 took it all on it would be the best thing that’s happened to RL in England since 1895, but they just have one channel so are unlikely to want to show more than one game a week live. 

So let`s assume like OZ union and soccer Super League`s FTA match pulls approximately double what they were getting behind the paywall on Sky, I think that was around 200k so let`s say 300k + on C4. Firstly how much is that worth to C4 for a weekly game and secondly how much would Sky then pay to have either the remainder of the matches or even just have all of them behind their paywall.

I think someone mentioned earlier that League is filler for Sky but filler that they pay more for than their usual filler, which shows it obviously has value to them.

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Some madcap theories being peddled in the past couple of pages on this thread. I feel like this has come up before and I wrote similar but essentially this - Comcast have literally no involvement in the sports that Sky make bids on. At best they have a cursory interest over the spend on each sport, but even then Sky have total autonomy on what they actually procure. 

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1 minute ago, Smudger06 said:

10 games FTA is probably down to what Sky want. Anymore and it would be competition to Sky and not for viewers to have a look through the shop window.

Also maybe C4 want to see what viewing figures were like before they try to buy more games. I do think it’s in Sky’s interest to have some FTA games, much like MOTD is good for the premier league (not that I watch it myself). 

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Just now, Eddie said:

Also maybe C4 want to see what viewing figures were like before they try to buy more games. I do think it’s in Sky’s interest to have some FTA games, much like MOTD is good for the premier league (not that I watch it myself). 

True, if you were Sky you'd buy up more pitchside advertising for those 10 games. 

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4 minutes ago, Dave T said:

As always, it is almost impossible to compare sports broadcasting in Oz to the UK. The amount of money and time invested in sports broadcasting in Oz is massively different to the UK. 

I understand that mate but I think the comparison where all three of these sports stand regards what happened to them once they went behind the paywall is worth making. In fact I`d say that if Super League is roughly averaging 200k and even 300k for big games on Pay TV then it is miles ahead of both soccer and union over here which had both sunk down to below 50k.

BTW massively different in what way, sure League and afl dominate broadcast dollars in OZ , like soccer in England, but union and soccer are both minor sports like League is in England and therefore I think the comparison is worthwhile.

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1 hour ago, Tommygilf said:

I don't think so, those channels already exist and SSNFL was converted from Sky Sports Action?

fair enough, i thought it was one of those rotating channels but just had a look and seen you are right. Shows what you miss when your no longer scrolling through the channels. Not that i would watch a dedicated Golf or cricket channel mind.. 

Cant imagine NFL having a dedicated channel for the whole off season though.. would think it would change to something else..

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41 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

We`ve seen this in Oz where Netball, soccer and union all went behind paywalls to maximise broadcast revenue only for everyone of them to find themselves withering on the vine so to speak.

All three have emerged now with both union and soccer having a 1 game per week FTA primetime slot ( 7.30p.m. Saturday), the rest of their games behind a streaming service paywall linked to their FTA broadcaster. Both have probably roughly doubled what they were getting behind the pay TV paywall for their televised FTA match each week. Both networks have tended to be very secretive about the flow on effects to the games behind the paywall, although of course both have been talking it up.

What interests me about the C4 deal is whos` idea it was to only go for the 10 games, obviously the motives are similar to what has happened to the aforementioned sports in Oz and as you mentioned above, and is there any chance if it a success is there any chance of C4 taking over the whole show with a deal similar, both monetarily and exposure wise, to both what union and soccer have in Oz. BTW soccer is getting about $40m Oz (21.5m pound) and union $30m Oz ( 16m pound) and both were coming off very low bases on Pay TV which no doubt affected their negotiating power with their new FTA and Streaming deals.

 

Initially it drove subscriptions because people knew and loved the sport and wanted to pay to watch it.. but everyone forgot that out of sight out of mind.. you dont turn new people onto the sport if they cant see it.. therefore back to FTA for a little to drive interest for people then to go "i want to watch more" and then get a subscription and then be viewing figures for ad revenue etc.. They seem late to the party but I think they are getting it now.

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16 minutes ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

Some madcap theories being peddled in the past couple of pages on this thread. I feel like this has come up before and I wrote similar but essentially this - Comcast have literally no involvement in the sports that Sky make bids on. At best they have a cursory interest over the spend on each sport, but even then Sky have total autonomy on what they actually procure. 

too true.. the NFL is often peddled as proof of an argument that its the american meddling but people forget that the NFL is actually quite popular over here (hence the NFL london series).. keeping the rights for Sunday night sport that goes on for hours is worth it for them.. its not just bought on a whim because of the Americans owning it.. it is bought because it makes sense.

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12 minutes ago, RP London said:

too true.. the NFL is often peddled as proof of an argument that its the american meddling but people forget that the NFL is actually quite popular over here (hence the NFL london series).. keeping the rights for Sunday night sport that goes on for hours is worth it for them.. its not just bought on a whim because of the Americans owning it.. it is bought because it makes sense.

Exactly that! The NFL has been on Sky since the mid 90's (possibly even longer than Super League coincidentally) - some people seem surprised it's popularity has risen over the following 27 years....but it's easier to say they show it because of Comcast...who have owned Sky less than 4 years. 

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Just now, hunsletgreenandgold said:

Exactly that! The NFL has been on Sky since the mid 90's (possibly even longer than Super League coincidentally) - some people seem surprised it's popularity has risen over the following 27 years....but it's easier to say they show it because of Comcast...who have owned Sky less than 4 years. 

The NFL are no mugs either, the london series costs them a fortune to put on and the talk of a london franchise (maybe not now but pre pandemic) was a real possibility, they just had to work out how it would work, which is what the London series was aiming to test. IF there was no interest in the UK etc they would not be doing any of this, they dont just fritter away money. However, when they think they are on to something they back it which is what they are doing now.. if they get anywhere near getting this right in London then watch it explode.

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Just now, ShropshireBull said:

Khans own Fulham (anda NFL Franchise Jaguars ) tried to buy Wembley for this reason.  To move franchise to London. 

yes I remember that.. though moving Jacksonville will cause some issue back in Jacksonville. 

I think the idea is generally dead for a few years at least but i did hear a rumour (cannot remember for the life of me where) about the NFL funding franchises internationally, not just the UK  to add into the conferences. Canada, Mexico, Germany and the UK seem to be the ones most spoken about, but how on earth that would work I dont know. 

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9 minutes ago, RP London said:

yes I remember that.. though moving Jacksonville will cause some issue back in Jacksonville. 

I think the idea is generally dead for a few years at least but i did hear a rumour (cannot remember for the life of me where) about the NFL funding franchises internationally, not just the UK  to add into the conferences. Canada, Mexico, Germany and the UK seem to be the ones most spoken about, but how on earth that would work I dont know. 

The Jags only play 7 home games a year and there are thousands upon thousands of empty seats for those games. I’m certain Wembley (or Spurs) would be full every game, considering London series tickets sell out in minutes. I think they could have two UK franchises and it would be a success. 

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2 minutes ago, Eddie said:

The Jags only play 7 home games a year and there are thousands upon thousands of empty seats for those games. I’m certain Wembley (or Spurs) would be full every game, considering London series tickets sell out in minutes. I think they could have two UK franchises and it would be a success. 

totally agree. Problem is it seems to be more about civic pride etc than common sense that seems to get galvanised by teams being moved. 

Germany is the next one too i think. been over quite a bit at this time of the year in the past to Cologne and Dusseldorf for conferences (not for a few years mind) and it seems very popular, i believe thanks to the US influence post ww2

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5 minutes ago, RP London said:

totally agree. Problem is it seems to be more about civic pride etc than common sense that seems to get galvanised by teams being moved. 

Germany is the next one too i think. been over quite a bit at this time of the year in the past to Cologne and Dusseldorf for conferences (not for a few years mind) and it seems very popular, i believe thanks to the US influence post ww2

Düsseldorf is the best night out in Germany (from my 25 years experience of getting spannered in a decent number of cities over there), would be a great location for an NFL (or SL 😀) team. 

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Just now, Eddie said:

Düsseldorf is the best night out in Germany (from my 25 years experience of getting spannered in a decent number of cities over there), would be a great location for an NFL (or SL 😀) team. 

do enjoy a night out i cologne as well.. not very good for the next day exhibiting at the Koln Messe though!

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3 hours ago, Smudger06 said:

The figure of 10 games has been decided on as the magic number to drum up interest in taking out subscriptions, the same or similar is used with the cricket etc.....

I’m certain Sky want to have exclusive coverage of Super League, as they have for 25 years, but don’t think it’s worth paying significantly more for the privilege. 

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3 hours ago, ShropshireBull said:

No it doesnt because football isnt a failing product fir sky.  But look at the top football clubs thats exactly what they tried to do (with American capital backing) plus the prem was formed as a breakaway to EFL.  

 

Breakaways are not franchising.

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6 hours ago, Eddie said:

The Jags only play 7 home games a year and there are thousands upon thousands of empty seats for those games. I’m certain Wembley (or Spurs) would be full every game, considering London series tickets sell out in minutes. I think they could have two UK franchises and it would be a success. 

A reason for the empty seats is that the Jags are not a good team. If they do move over here I’m not sure how long the novelty value will last if they are not improving.

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6 hours ago, RP London said:

do enjoy a night out i cologne as well.. not very good for the next day exhibiting at the Koln Messe though!

When I was young I'd always thought 'double vision' was a silly joke that people just came out with. One epic night in Colongne and I saw the truth of the matter. Twice!

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TESTICULI AD  BREXITAM.

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Blimey, even Radio 4 deigned to mention the start of the season just now, then follow that with an interview with Adam Hills! 🤯

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Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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