RL on Channel 4

[M j M]

25 minutes ago, redjonn said:

To be precise and as I remember it was from the licence fee announced in 2006 over a period to cover costs of switchover.  This followed a campaign from Ch4 to receive a public subsidy to cover the costs.

So I guess depends how you view the licence fee.  It's a public subsidy which was used.

I don't believe it ever happened.

Channel 4 switchover cash shelved

[redjonn]

3 minutes ago, M j M said:

I don't believe it ever happened.

Channel 4 switchover cash shelved

fair enough but I read that Ch4 still needed the money and looked forward to alternative (my words) so I'd have to dig to see how it was resolved.

Having said that it reinforces my comment as to how one see the risk of Ch4 ever being under cost or loss pressures in a more completive environment.  I guess on one hand the treasury see's that as a risk, on the other hand others don't.

Edited May 3, 2022 by redjonn

[The Future is League]

Channel 4 are happy with the way things are going

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/18442798/channel-4-super-league-england/

[Damien]

37 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

Channel 4 are happy with the way things are going

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/18442798/channel-4-super-league-england/

And that is the main thing. As long as C4 are getting bang for their buck and are happy then that's all that matters. All the debates around viewing figures being higher or lower, better or worse are somewhat irrelevant. C4 knows what are good rating to them in that timeslot, on that day and against whatever competition. They may be just as happy with 270,000 in a particular slot as they would be with 750,000 in another.

[The Rocket]

On 04/05/2022 at 19:03, The Future is League said:

Channel 4 are happy with the way things are going

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/18442798/channel-4-super-league-england/

Wrap up of the television ratings for first six games shown on Channel 4. 

Bit of a bump for the latest game which is promising after a bit of a lull after the initial interest.

Makes me wonder if the extra attention surrounding the CC final could be responsible for more people tuning back in and if so shows the advantage of high profile games/events throughout the season to re-engage viewers that may have drifted away.

Six Channel 4 Super League games covered so far - which fixture has pulled in the most viewers? - Rugby League News (seriousaboutrl.com)

 

 

[Scubby]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

Wrap up of the television ratings for first six games shown on Channel 4. 

Bit of a bump for the latest game which is promising after a bit of a lull after the initial interest.

Makes me wonder if the extra attention surrounding the CC final could be responsible for more people tuning back in and if so shows the advantage of high profile games/events throughout the season to re-engage viewers that may have drifted away.

Six Channel 4 Super League games covered so far - which fixture has pulled in the most viewers? - Rugby League News (seriousaboutrl.com)

 

 

Or the 2pm kick off as opposed to 12.30pm

[fighting irish]

40 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

300,000 k average for last game is decent.  Would be curious to hear what c4 thinks would grow it. 

So would I.

I reckon, though that a regular weekly timeslot would do the trick.

They already know which (timeslot) has produced the highest viewing audience.

[Oxford]

4 hours ago, fighting irish said:

I reckon, though that a regular weekly timeslot would do the trick.

Spot on, the inconsistency of C4 coverage will be why it is seen to fail and no doubt the attractiveness of RL for the wider public will take the blame.

[The Rocket]

On 12/06/2022 at 21:31, fighting irish said:

So would I.

I reckon, though that a regular weekly timeslot would do the trick.

They already know which (timeslot) has produced the highest viewing audience.

Not sure whether the journalist writing this article knows something that we don`t, but hopefully he does:

"At the beginning of the year, Channel 4 only gained access to ten Super League games – including play-off matches – but that will surely change from 2022 onwards with how well it has been received."

Thought this was interesting as well:

"It was the first time that both of those sides have been broadcast on Channel 4 in 2022 as the broadcasters attempt to get round all the Super League sides."

Shows that part of the deal was to show all teams at some stage, that`s not going to help with the ratings some weekends as less attractive teams have their go. 

You`d like to think that if C4 are so happy with it they may be prepared to stump up a bit of cash for a weekly match and perhaps a greater say in who they can broadcast. Might see that upper band of viewing figures reached a bit more consistently in that case.

The full article.

Exclusive: Channel 4's Super League hosts revealed for rest of 2022 - Rugby League News (seriousaboutrl.com)

 

Edited June 14, 2022 by The Rocket

[RP London]

I would guess the movement of times is deliberate to test what time works best for their audience and therefore now they have some data (which will take into account the teams) they can nail something down. They're not daft and they know how this works.

[RigbyLuger]

14 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

Not sure whether the journalist writing this article knows something that we don`t, but hopefully he does:

 

The source of the article doesn't usually breed confidence.

[The 4 of Us]

What chance of the first live on free to air SL Grand Final at 6pm on a Saturday night. That would be something! 

[iffleyox]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

Not sure whether the journalist writing this article knows something that we don`t, but hopefully he does:

"At the beginning of the year, Channel 4 only gained access to ten Super League games – including play-off matches – but that will surely change from 2022 onwards with how well it has been received."

Thought this was interesting as well:

"It was the first time that both of those sides have been broadcast on Channel 4 in 2022 as the broadcasters attempt to get round all the Super League sides."

Shows that part of the deal was to show all teams at some stage, that`s not going to help with the ratings some weekends as less attractive teams have their go. 

You`d like to think that if C4 are so happy with it they may be prepared to stump up a bit of cash for a weekly match and perhaps a greater say in who they can broadcast. Might see that upper band of viewing figures reached a bit more consistently in that case.

The full article.

Exclusive: Channel 4's Super League hosts revealed for rest of 2022 - Rugby League News (seriousaboutrl.com)

 

yes, but I'd still expect them to want to go round all the teams over the season - it fits with C4's remit much more than chasing ratings. Obviously I appreciate that they've got to have one eye on ratings (I'm not that naive), but the point of them is not to be overtly commercial, it's why the entire channel exists.

It's not C4's job to start demanding 'we want Wigan v Saints' or whatever - that's literally what highest bidder rights auctions are for. To that extent I think the inconsistent ratings are going to be baked into their coverage -whether for good or ill.

[Dave T]

2 hours ago, RigbyLuger said:

The source of the article doesn't usually breed confidence.

Indeed. And the line about more games is early just his opinion, so means nothing unfortunately. 

The deal was for 2 years, 10 games per season. 

Obviously things can change, but a few lines in that article read like they were written by a 12 year old fan. 

[RigbyLuger]

4 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Indeed. And the line about more games is early just his opinion, so means nothing unfortunately. 

The deal was for 2 years, 10 games per season. 

Obviously things can change, but a few lines in that article read like they were written by a 12 year old fan. 

The problem with the internet is a lot of people who can't write are able to. This forum proves that.

[The Rocket]

The latest tranche of figures from Channel 4. 

Channel 4's viewing figures revealed for all Super League games so far with the likes of Castleford Tigers, Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos broadcasted - Rugby League News (seriousaboutrl.com)

For Castleford Tigers’ debut on Channel 4 against Wigan Warriors, the increase in viewers rose sharply despite the fact that it was a Bank Holiday weekend in celebration of the Queen’s 70th year on the throne.

There was a peak of 390,000 with a match average of 302,000 which equated to 5.4% of the TV share at the time and a broadcast average of 268,000 or 4.8%.

 

Seem pretty solid to me, makes you wonder what they might get if they could get on weekly.

 

 

[Dave T]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

The latest tranche of figures from Channel 4. 

Channel 4's viewing figures revealed for all Super League games so far with the likes of Castleford Tigers, Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos broadcasted - Rugby League News (seriousaboutrl.com)

For Castleford Tigers’ debut on Channel 4 against Wigan Warriors, the increase in viewers rose sharply despite the fact that it was a Bank Holiday weekend in celebration of the Queen’s 70th year on the throne.

There was a peak of 390,000 with a match average of 302,000 which equated to 5.4% of the TV share at the time and a broadcast average of 268,000 or 4.8%.

 

Seem pretty solid to me, makes you wonder what they might get if they could get on weekly.

 

 

It'll be interesting to see how the playoff games go that they have. Those games are crucial and should be a good draw. 

[Tommygilf]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

The latest tranche of figures from Channel 4. 

Channel 4's viewing figures revealed for all Super League games so far with the likes of Castleford Tigers, Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos broadcasted - Rugby League News (seriousaboutrl.com)

For Castleford Tigers’ debut on Channel 4 against Wigan Warriors, the increase in viewers rose sharply despite the fact that it was a Bank Holiday weekend in celebration of the Queen’s 70th year on the throne.

There was a peak of 390,000 with a match average of 302,000 which equated to 5.4% of the TV share at the time and a broadcast average of 268,000 or 4.8%.

 

Seem pretty solid to me, makes you wonder what they might get if they could get on weekly.

 

 

I think its showing that scheduling is the most important thing here as the regular season has progressed. No single team or fixture has stood out as a major draw (Leeds aside of course ).

There is a lesson in that.

[Dave T]

5 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

I think its showing that scheduling is the most important thing here as the regular season has progressed. No single team or fixture has stood out as a major draw (Leeds aside of course ).

There is a lesson in that.

I maintain that scheduling is a huge factor for RL games. We see huge variations in numbers based on different slots and what other sports are on show. 

I think RL has a small core base but benefits from casual sports fans that enjoy the game. 

I really hope we focus on scheduling and clashes etc. 

[Tommygilf]

12 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I maintain that scheduling is a huge factor for RL games. We see huge variations in numbers based on different slots and what other sports are on show. 

I think RL has a small core base but benefits from casual sports fans that enjoy the game. 

I really hope we focus on scheduling and clashes etc. 

Agreed. Ch4 (indeed any broadcaster) should be lined up for regular slots. Sky are with Thursdays and Fridays (with occasional Catalan Saturdays), to the extent that a viewer can look for it with some certainty.

 

[Mark S]

On 14/06/2022 at 09:24, The 4 of Us said:

What chance of the first live on free to air SL Grand Final at 6pm on a Saturday night. That would be something! 

The play offs and grand final should be sold as separate packages. 

[Toby Chopra]

Grand Final is on terrestrial is an absolute must. 

I can't believe anyone would subscribe to Sky just for the GF - or indeed cancel it just because the GF was simulcast - so we must be able to make the case. 

Indeed if anything it could help Sky - can say to the biggest domestic RL audience of thr year: if you liked this, watch it every week on Sky. 

[JohnM]

4 hours ago, Toby Chopra said:

Grand Final is on terrestrial is an absolute must. 

I can't believe anyone would subscribe to Sky just for the GF - or indeed cancel it just because the GF was simulcast - so we must be able to make the case. 

Indeed if anything it could help Sky - can say to the biggest domestic RL audience of thr year: if you liked this, watch it every week on Sky. 

Grand Final is on terrestrial is an absolute must. 

If so, would the FtA rights income compensate for the reduced numbers though the turnstiles and possible reduction in Sky income?

[Eddie]

1 hour ago, JohnM said:

Grand Final is on terrestrial is an absolute must. 

If so, would the FtA rights income compensate for the reduced numbers though the turnstiles and possible reduction in Sky income?

Do you think fewer people would go if it was on C4? I’d have thought people go because they want to be at the match, not because they haven’t got access to sky sports. 

[JohnM]

38 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Do you think fewer people would go if it was on C4? I’d have thought people go because they want to be at the match, not because they haven’t got access to sky sports. 

In my experience, over many years, right back to the 1960s, over many games, attendances have reduced when games have been F2A.  Whilst I can see the advantage of having the GF on F2A, providing an opportunity for more people to be exposed to our sport, I am of the opinion that Sky would resist, given what it pays at present. Can Sky be persuaded to screen the game free of charge? How much would we have to compensate them?

Edited August 7, 2022 by JohnM