37 of 42 back IMG’s proposal

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

34 minutes ago, Oxford said:

And right on cue

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/img-wait-set-to-go-on-with-key-meeting-over-grading-criteria-scheduled-for-march-3986211

Could it be we'll get to the end of the year and all we'll have to show is criteria and categories.

"Man the lifeboats!"

If you think this project is only about competition structure, like it usually is in rugby league, then yes

But of course it isn't. It's just the bit the rugby league media are focused on, probably out of a combination of habit, the noise it creates (from people like Keighley), and it being the only element they understand

[RigbyLuger]

19 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

If you think this project is only about competition structure, like it usually is in rugby league, then yes

But of course it isn't. It's just the bit the rugby league media are focused on, probably out of a combination of habit, the noise it creates (from people like Keighley), and it being the only element they understand

Spot on. Not all the RL media, but those who need the clicks and clout.

[Toby Chopra]

3 hours ago, Big Picture said:

IMG wait set to go on with key meeting over grading criteria scheduled for March reports James O'Brien in the Yorkshire Post.

Oh gawd, imagine the state this thread will be in by March with no actual news to inform it. 

Still, that never stopped us before

[Oxford]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

Didn't bother to read the posts where this has already been linked?

Oh dear !

[steve oates]

22 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

You don't take very well to people questioning your opinion do you, you remind me of a kid that got all is own way growing up and still wants it.

Well said Harry Emojies all round 

 

[steve oates]

19 hours ago, gingerjon said:

"The Yorkshire Post understands that IMG will formally brief clubs at a meeting in early March to ensure the start of the new season is not overshadowed." Surprisingly sensible.

So when IMG come back in March they are to go back over the club gradings (again). I thought we wanted more fans and more TV money?  I wonder when IMG are going to actually meet SKY to work out how we can get the best contract with them, or get an appointment with any alternative potential broadcasters?  

[gingerjon]

Just now, steve oates said:

So when IMG come back in March they are to go back over the club gradings (again). I thought we wanted more fans and more TV money?  I wonder when IMG are going to actually meet SKY to work out how we can get the best contract with them, or get an appointment with any alternative potential broadcasters?  

Comedy gold.

Genuinely the best poster on here.

[Tommygilf]

19 hours ago, Big Picture said:

I hear quite a lot of marketing-speak and nice buzzwords there, their problem is going to be how to make a regional M62 league with one or two add-ons further afield appealing to the new audience required to underwrite an increase in the value of TV rights and sponsorships.  They'll find that one very tough nut to crack.

It is a tough nut, but fortunately there is a fundamentally good product, with some solid bases that can be built upon. Its not impossible by any means, but the ambition has to be realistic too.

[steve oates]

21 hours ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

IMG have actually provided a huge amount of detail on why they’re involved, what their vision is, and how they intend to ""execute"". There’s no guarantee it’s going to work

What is their "vision" as regards "executing" us a TV deal then, as we enter the final season of the current deal without one? Again, I can only see that they have given six clubs a stay of "execution", I can see "It’s with great sadness that we have to write this but the West Wales Raiders will not be competing within the RFL professional league in the 2023 season".

No TV deal will decimate the game?

[Tommygilf]

3 minutes ago, steve oates said:

What is their "vision" as regards "executing" us a TV deal then, as we enter the final season of the current deal without one? Again, I can only see that they have given six clubs a stay of "execution", I can see "It’s with great sadness that we have to write this but the West Wales Raiders will not be competing within the RFL professional league in the 2023 season".

No TV deal will decimate the game?

You happily ignoring the "Sky put RL on two year notice with stay of execution TV deal" reports then?

[steve oates]

12 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

You happily ignoring the "Sky put RL on two year notice with stay of execution TV deal" reports then?

I'm well aware of the £14M drop, and the prospect of "Execution"....  I'm well aware a continuing TV deal is vital......

But for me the answer to this massive problem for the game won't come from IMG fiddling about with "grades" unless you can explain how that will work in detail?  

[Tommygilf]

1 minute ago, steve oates said:

I'm well aware of the £14M drop, and the prospect of "Execution"....  I'm well aware a continuing TV deal is vital......

But for me the answer to this massive problem for the game won't come from IMG fiddling about with "grades" unless you can explain how that will work in detail?  

IMG go to sky saying we are laying a clear roadmap to build a stronger league with more interest and are advising clubs of both what they can improve and how they can go about it. We appreciate the sport hasn't kicked on in recent times but we think we have already and will going forward provide the impetus for improvement.

Bit better than going to Sky saying we spent 2 years doing sweet FA, we think everything is fine here and we are changing nothing. Don't you think?

[steve oates]

1 hour ago, Tommygilf said:

It is a tough nut, but fortunately there is a fundamentally good product, with some solid bases that can be built upon. Its not impossible by any means, but the ambition has to be realistic too.

That's fair enough. What "solid bases" would you (or others) build? Genuine question I'd be interested in from you and  others?  

[Tommygilf]

Just now, steve oates said:

That's fair enough. What "solid bases" would you (or others) build? Genuine question I'd be interested in from you and  others?  

The bases are already there. There's a proven if somewhat limited audience both in person and on TV, a strong following particularly in Hull, West Yorkshire and old South Lancashire. They are your solid bases to build from that enable you to bring the North East, South Yorkshire, London, Birmingham, Cumbria if it ever got its act together, for example. It also is not just geographic but demographic expansion that is needed, and as such there is still plenty to go at in the areas with those solid bases.

[steve oates]

1 minute ago, Tommygilf said:

IMG go to sky saying we are laying a clear roadmap to build a stronger league with more interest and are advising clubs of both what they can improve and how they can go about it. We appreciate the sport hasn't kicked on in recent times but we think we have already and will going forward provide the impetus for improvement.

Bit better than going to Sky saying we spent 2 years doing sweet FA, we think everything is fine here and we are changing nothing. Don't you think?

Many thanks you got there first. Better a thread of everyone's analysis of where we may believe things are becoming a problem in the game, and what ideas do we have on real life solutions.  I don't see how a "grading system" is the answer at all. The 66 pages so far seem to divide between "In IMG we Trust" and "In IMG we do not trust"........

For me I was an avid fan of watching the games live AND on SKY for many many years, but I have slipped into a take it or leave it mode in recent years. I think the pandemic is to blame for this. I am certainly looking forward to the new season and hope those who have also lost interest somewhat can start to come back. Certainly the World Cup must have stimulated re-growth of interest? Or has the cost of living crisis meant people have cancelled subscriptions to SKY with a heavy heart??

[steve oates]

19 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

The bases are already there. There's a proven if somewhat limited audience both in person and on TV, a strong following particularly in Hull, West Yorkshire and old South Lancashire. They are your solid bases to build from that enable you to bring the North East, South Yorkshire, London, Birmingham, Cumbria if it ever got its act together, for example. It also is not just geographic but demographic expansion that is needed, and as such there is still plenty to go at in the areas with those solid bases.

It's not for me Tommy with respect, I'd look to have the most attractive clubs fan wise all in Superleague and would push hard for Bradford Bulls and even Widnes to somehow get back into the mix...  Derbies and all that ........

I personally think that the attraction is the traditional clubs and their derby's. Not just to the locals but to northerners who have left to live elsewhere and look forward to seeing the game on SKYTV....  Certainly not Sheffield Eagles, not even if they got an "A" grade......

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

1 hour ago, steve oates said:

What is their "vision" as regards "executing" us a TV deal then, as we enter the final season of the current deal without one? Again, I can only see that they have given six clubs a stay of "execution", I can see "It’s with great sadness that we have to write this but the West Wales Raiders will not be competing within the RFL professional league in the 2023 season".

No TV deal will decimate the game?

Would you like me to tell you how they take their coffee too? They’re probably sat in Starbucks now, having downed tools after that half an hours work you think they did.

I think the vision is to improve the presentation of the product, create forward impetus, and start to better engage with audiences in the ways outlined in the podcast. TV buyers want sports that are progressive, present themselves attractively and have optimism about the future. They buy the sizzle as much as the sausage. There’s no magic wand other than doing that hard, granular work.

The previous strategy saw rights values fall by 38%, would you rather continue along that path? 

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

1 hour ago, steve oates said:

That's fair enough. What "solid bases" would you (or others) build? Genuine question I'd be interested in from you and  others?  

You keep asking a question we’ve already answered, in several different ways 

[Hemi4561]

10 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

You keep asking a question we’ve already answered, in several different ways 

I get it now, you work for IMG, spouting double speak,gobbledygook gook,  nebulous "concepts" and "visions" that will be the saviour of Rugby League. The same crock of shxxte that was promised in 1995.

[dkw]

36 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

You keep asking a question we’ve already answered, in several different ways 

Thays his entire posting history, I don't understand why people are still replying to him. He doesn't want to actually discuss anything.

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

17 minutes ago, Hemi4561 said:

I get it now, you work for IMG, spouting double speak,gobbledygook gook,  nebulous "concepts" and "visions" that will be the saviour of Rugby League. The same crock of shxxte that was promised in 1995.

Nope. I’m answering Steve’s questions in good faith. He keeps asking the same ones of course so that might influence my tone of voice in the 57th reply, but there you go! 

Without what happened in 1995 Rugby League in this country would be a part-time, semi-pro sport. At best. We were literally dying on our a*** without a pot to p*** in, and Union was on the verge of going professional. But don’t let those minor details get in the way of anything. 

[Big Picture]

1 hour ago, Tommygilf said:

IMG go to sky saying we are laying a clear roadmap to build a stronger league with more interest and are advising clubs of both what they can improve and how they can go about it. We appreciate the sport hasn't kicked on in recent times but we think we have already and will going forward provide the impetus for improvement.

Bit better than going to Sky saying we spent 2 years doing sweet FA, we think everything is fine here and we are changing nothing. Don't you think?

A bit better, yes, but whether it will be enough remains to be seen.

42 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

You keep asking a question we’ve already answered, in several different ways 

LIkely he sees the game's bases as weak rather than solid, and considering the decline in the non-professional game and the player pool along with its aging fanbase that's an understandable view.

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

1 minute ago, Big Picture said:

 

LIkely he sees the game's bases as weak rather than solid, and considering the decline in the non-professional game and the player pool along with its aging fanbase that's an understandable view.

The game’s base is weak, totally. That’s why we need to do something. None of that explains why someone would ask a question, get some reasonably detailed responses (from multiple people), and then just ask the same question again as if that whole dialogue never took place. It’s surreal. 

[RigbyLuger]

1 hour ago, steve oates said:

It's not for me Tommy with respect, I'd look to have the most attractive clubs fan wise all in Superleague and would push hard for Bradford Bulls and even Widnes to somehow get back into the mix...  Derbies and all that ........

I personally think that the attraction is the traditional clubs and their derby's. Not just to the locals but to northerners who have left to live elsewhere and look forward to seeing the game on SKYTV....  Certainly not Sheffield Eagles, not even if they got an "A" grade......

Bradford and Widnes are not what they were, and haven't been for well over a decade. The sooner we accept that, the better. They can both grow, as can every club, but neither are top clubs right now.

[Oxford]

23 minutes ago, dkw said:

He doesn't want to actually discuss anything.

If that was true he would have alot of company on here.

 

1 hour ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

You keep asking a question we’ve already answered

Although you may have responded it's really up to the person you've posted to to decide if the question's been answered or not.

2 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

IMG go to sky saying we are laying a clear roadmap to build a stronger league with more interest and are advising clubs of both what they can improve and how they can go about it. We appreciate the sport hasn't kicked on in recent times but we think we have already and will going forward provide the impetus for improvement.

This is a sensible analysis but what's the evidence for IMG going to Sky at all never mind with a better argument?

And what's the evidence for the opposite suggestion you made ever happening?

I know we had a reduced contract but I think that had more to do with Sky than any efforts by the RFL.