All Super League Matches Live - Confirmed

[LeeF]

http://www.skysports.com/share/12984274
 

from next season 

[Just Browny]

Hang on, surely not for less money than they are paying for two per round?!

[Damien]

2 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

Hang on, surely not for less money than they are paying for two per round?!

Indeed, giving away more content for less is just crazy and not really a good thing.

[StandOffHalf]

3 times as many games for considerably less money.

Only in RL!

[Tommygilf]

Absolutely tremendous news!

[East Hull Robins]

For less money does seem strange, it does however give opportunities to review sponsorship and commercial income knowing they now have a national platform for a minimum of 27 weeks per year. Good way to make up some shortfall with increased sponsorship revenue

[Big Picture]

17 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

Hang on, surely not for less money than they are paying for two per round?!

Just shows how low the game's value is in Sky's view.

[Chris22]

Quite a bit to unpack. I note the word "broadcast" rather than "televised", not sure if I'm reading too much into this but maybe plenty of games on YouTube or the Sky Sports App? 

The obvious upside is a lot more exposure, accessibility and visibility for the sport. Also a positive that all matches have video referees. Whilst I can take or leave a video referee, if we are to have it, then it really should be at all games. And that in turn should mean we are able to sell and produce higher quality highlights.

The obvious downside is Sky have purchased around 3x the content that they previously had for less money than when it was 2 matches per round. I'm sure they will argue some of that is made up in terms of video ref funding, better broadcast quality etc.

Will be interesting to see how this impacts scheduling. Will Sky want all games in a standalone slot, like we have in the NRL? From the point of view of the league, that would be ideal! From a more selfish point of view, I do prefer having a regular day and time for home fixtures.

[Chrispmartha]

This is a good thing, having every game filmed at broadcast standard with a VR is a massive step up for the game and the clubs.

I just hope they allow Channel 4 to cover some games if not that’s a step backward.

[Dave T]

It's a disaster of a commercial deal, giving a huge amount more for a lot less, but this is what happens when one side holds all the cards. 

As a fan though, showing all the games is great and it really is now uo to RLCom to capitalise on this with overseas and secondary rights etc. Even if the real benefits are only in 3 years. 

[sam4731]

People are saying that it's a backward step but it costs Sky a lot of money to broadcast each match as a lot of RL grounds aren't really equipped for broadcasting so something has to cover the shortfall. Also greater exposure (assuming they will now big the game up more), is big for the game going forward.

Very interesting to see that they're announcing this before the Champ GF tomorrow. Potentially having to take cameras to France every week.

[Ragingbull]

Sky much be laughing thier c * * ks off. Getting to broadcast 6 games a week instead of 2, and paying less money for the pleasure. 

Is this deal even worse than Stobart and Papa Johns? 

Im at a loss, i really am. How much longer can this go on?

[Dave T]

6 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

People are saying that it's a backward step but it costs Sky a lot of money to broadcast each match as a lot of RL grounds aren't really equipped for broadcasting so something has to cover the shortfall. Also greater exposure (assuming they will now big the game up more), is big for the game going forward.

Very interesting to see that they're announcing this before the Champ GF tomorrow. Potentially having to take cameras to France every week.

It'll still cost Sky far less than when they paid us £40m per year a few years back. It'll be interesting to see the quality of coverage of the lesser games. 

Edited October 14, 2023 by Dave T

[Chrispmartha]

6 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

People are saying that it's a backward step but it costs Sky a lot of money to broadcast each match as a lot of RL grounds aren't really equipped for broadcasting so something has to cover the shortfall. Also greater exposure (assuming they will now big the game up more), is big for the game going forward.

Very interesting to see that they're announcing this before the Champ GF tomorrow. Potentially having to take cameras to France every week.

I would imagine they will outsource the french game

[Chrispmartha]

4 minutes ago, Ragingbull said:

Sky much be laughing thier c * * ks off. Getting to broadcast 6 games a week instead of 2, and paying less money for the pleasure. 

Is this deal even worse than Stobart and Papa Johns? 

Im at a loss, i really am. How much longer can this go on?

It depends though doesn’t it, the game and the clubs should be able to capitalise on the back of all the games being broadcast and at broadcast standard.

[Dave T]

8 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

 

Very interesting to see that they're announcing this before the Champ GF tomorrow. Potentially having to take cameras to France every week.

I mean they won't take cameras to France. They'll just pay a French production company instead of an English one for those games. 

[Dave T]

Just now, Chrispmartha said:

It depends though doesn’t it, the game and the clubs should be able to capitalise on the back of all the games being broadcast and at broadcast standard.

I'd hope we have retained international rights to sell on. As well as trying to claw some money back from terrestrial, having 6 games per week should be more attractive to overseas channels. 

[Chrispmartha]

Just now, Dave T said:

I'd hope we have retained international rights to sell on. As well as trying to claw some money back from terrestrial, having 6 games per week should be more attractive to overseas channels. 

Clubs also should be able to leverage the coverage with better sponsorship aswell.

[Dave T]

Just now, Chrispmartha said:

Clubs also should be able to leverage the coverage with better sponsorship aswell.

Hopefully, but I always think things like that get overstated. 

[sam4731]

2 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I mean they won't take cameras to France. They'll just pay a French production company instead of an English one for those games. 

Or have they negotiated for a French TV deal, offering to pay for part of the coverage.

[GeordieSaint]

I am alright with this - particularly for the parity with video referees etc. But only if we grow the free to air coverage currently. 

Edited October 14, 2023 by GeordieSaint

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, sam4731 said:

Or have they negotiated for a French TV deal, offering to pay for part of the coverage.

I doubt it tbh. We haven't been able to get a French partner to pay for coverage for years. 

[Damien]

38 minutes ago, East Hull Robins said:

For less money does seem strange, it does however give opportunities to review sponsorship and commercial income knowing they now have a national platform for a minimum of 27 weeks per year. Good way to make up some shortfall with increased sponsorship revenue

The game and its clubs have shown a complete inability to do this for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure why people think they will suddenly begin to do something they've never managed before. They certainly aren't going to do that to the tune of circa £20 million a year, which is what it would take to make up the shortfall.

[Dave T]

Just now, Damien said:

The game and its clubs have shown a complete inability to do this for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure why people think they will suddenly begin to do something they've never managed before. They certainly aren't going to do that to the tune of circa £20 million a year, which is what it would take to make up the shortfall.

I agree. 

But, it'll be interesting to watch. Maybe getting Fred to invest a further 25% was linked to this deal, and maybe RLCom will work their magic and increase the portfolio of sponsors again. 

I would say, ignoring the £value, this level of coverage does rather get rid of many excuses. We now have the exposure. 

[sam4731]

Does this mean we're getting a bunker style system, I wonder.