Dartsifying Rugby League

[sam4731]

I know there was talk of the Hearns getting involved in the game a few years back that never came to fruition but what could've been?

What would you do to add the glitz and glamour that darts has been given?

Personally, I would bring back 9s (I know, I know, it's not everyone's cup of tea). I'd scrap loop fixtures and magic and have a mid season 9s tournament, 4 rounds and a finals day at 5 different city stadiums. A full tournament at each round which would take place over a weekend.

I'd also chuck every novelty I could at it. A goal kicking competition for bonus points (extra points for props), mascot races and big name pre match entertainment. Throw in a few t shirt cannons and you've got an event that can be packaged to a marketeers dream.

Now before you all choke on your cornflakes, I know this isn't to everyone's taste but there is a group of people that are willing to throw tradition our of the window just for a chunk of the season to put RL in the spotlight.

[Just Browny]

Darts has had a lot of attention over the last few weeks and its profile has been growing.

But have they really implemented lots of change to deliver that success? I don't think so,  and I think they have changed absolutely nothing about the way the game is played.

At the heart of its success is giving people what they want:

- a good stage which looks like a fun place to be

- built stories around good players 

- plenty of booze

All of those things are at RL's fingertips. At the heart of all of it is always a set of stars you can build a buzz around, we have lots of players who could be that.

[HawkMan]

The problem is if all this gaiety and novelty is happening with heartland teams in or around the heartlands then as now the rest of the country will shrug their metaphorical shoulders and not care.

To have these events in Bristol or Birmingham or London with teams representing these places to get newbies involved takes money money and more money,  and is a financial risk. Cricket did it with but it already was a national sport,  you need rich backers and confidence and a TV company to back it. The only tv company to put serious dosh in is now paying half of what it did ten years ago for double the games, and channel 4 are considering their position now they might actually have to pay for coverage.

Edited January 4 by HawkMan

[Gerrumonside ref]

18 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

I know there was talk of the Hearns getting involved in the game a few years back that never came to fruition but what could've been?

What would you do to add the glitz and glamour that darts has been given?

Personally, I would bring back 9s (I know, I know, it's not everyone's cup of tea). I'd scrap loop fixtures and magic and have a mid season 9s tournament, 4 rounds and a finals day at 5 different city stadiums. A full tournament at each round which would take place over a weekend.

I'd also chuck every novelty I could at it. A goal kicking competition for bonus points (extra points for props), mascot races and big name pre match entertainment. Throw in a few t shirt cannons and you've got an event that can be packaged to a marketeers dream.

Now before you all choke on your cornflakes, I know this isn't to everyone's taste but there is a group of people that are willing to throw tradition our of the window just for a chunk of the season to put RL in the spotlight.

Will the clubs risk the top players for the sake of a 9s tournament though?

If they don’t will it lose the support of fanbases?

Sorry to be negative, but I always think that’s the issue with the 9s idea.

Edited January 4 by Gerrumonside ref

[whatmichaelsays]

20 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

At the heart of its success is giving people what they want:

- a good stage which looks like a fun place to be

- built stories around good players 

- plenty of booze

There's a fourth, and arguably bigger factor, which is that they revamped how the sport comes across on TV to make it easier for the TV viewer to get and stay hooked. 

They played in bigger arenas so that the events look much bigger on TV and to move the sport away from that "pub game" image - you can have those large, sweeping camera shots to create a sense of scale and the walk-on's are deliberately drawn out to create that image. The Premier League is a format that's deliberately designed to fit neatly into a regular weeknight TV schedule - packing four games into around three hours of content. The presentation on screen is cleverly designed, with stats used at the right time, and graphical cues are used well to build anticipation for moments like "9-darters". 

Formula1 does this very cleverly as well. In what is a very technical sport where not a lot can happen for long periods, they use graphics to tell the story very cleverly to non-technical audiences, and use data to predict when overtaking moments are likely to happen, or when moments such as pit-stops and tyre changes are likely. 

It know it's a bit trite to compare RL to darts or The Hundred, because you're right that when it comes to the match-going experience, we do a lot of what they do. But what RL has done poorly for some time now is think about how the game comes across to the TV viewer - and that's where the biggest revenue opportunity is. 

Edited January 4 by whatmichaelsays

[gingerjon]

We have more money, more viewers across the year, more opportunities to view, more sponsors, more participants than darts.

There's things we can learn but a one-off boost around one player should not really lead to threads as embarrassingly wrongheaded as this.

[Dave T]

Darts does well with what it is, and has packaged their sport nicely around the Premier League to give it a proper season for TV, but I don't see them doing anything that we haven't already done. We went through this in the 90s, we changed calendars, team nicknames, music, entertainment, cheerleaders, more tv coverage, created events (Grand Final, Magic etc). 

[Damien]

It always seems like people are eager to shoehorn 9s into any conversation like this. Quite what that is learning from Darts I don't know. We do also need to realise that RL and Darts probably couldn't be more different and just trying to ape darts with a gimmicky RL format isn't going to work. Darts certainly didn't fundamentally change the format of the game.

People that I know that have been enthralled by Darts the last couple of weeks have been so because of the ebb and flow of a match over a 1-2 hour period. Obviously the Littler story has captivated people too, and has certainly been a hook for some, but those that have started watching because of that have found it to be rather good. Sure the atmosphere is great and the nature of Darts help players to become personalities but it is fundamentally the game itself that has delivered. It has also been growing in popularity and improving over a long period of time and this has been the icing on the cake where all the stars have aligned.

Arguably this season in particular clubs have adopted many of the things we have seen in Darts with great success. Clubs like Leigh have really upped their game on the entertainment front with great success. Others have similarly made great strides. If everyone is upping their game and standards are continually being driven up then the benefits will flow. That is what is happening in Darts now, its not just an overnight thing.

The greatest failings, and where the sport really falls down for what should be the hooks to get people into the sport, are the RFL ran events. We can certainly improve those and the match day offering for finals, internationals and semi finals and make each one of those a festival of RL and a fantastic day/weekend with all the pre and post match entertainments and novelty games.

[Dave T]

3 minutes ago, Damien said:

It always seems like people are eager to shoehorn 9s into any conversation like this. Quite what that is learning from Darts I don't know. We do also need to realise that RL and Darts probably couldn't be more different and just trying to ape darts with a gimmicky RL format isn't going to work. Darts certainly didn't fundamentally change the format of the game.

People that I know that have been enthralled by Darts the last couple of weeks have been so because of the ebb and flow of a match over a 1-2 hour period. Obviously the Littler story has captivated people too, and has certainly been a hook for some, but those that have started watching because of that have found it to be rather good. Sure the atmosphere is great and the nature of Darts help players to become personalities but it is fundamentally the game itself that has delivered. It has also been growing in popularity and improving over a long period of time and this has been the icing on the cake where all the stars have aligned.

Arguably this season in particular clubs have adopted many of the things we have seen in Darts with great success. Clubs like Leigh have really upped their game on the entertainment front with great success. Others have similarly made great strides. If everyone is upping their game and standards are continually being driven up then the benefits will flow. That is what is happening in Darts now, its not just an overnight thing.

The greatest failings, and where the sport really falls down for what should be the hooks to get people into the sport, are the RFL ran events. We can certainly improve those and the match day offering for finals, internationals and semi finals and make each one of those a festival of RL and a fantastic day/weekend with all the pre and post match entertainments and novelty games.

It really should also be pointed out that darts was always massive when I was a kid, and probably way before that. It was a Christmas/NY tradition. It used to be massive on the BBC and it isn't the razzamataz that has suddenly put it where it is. 

The difference is the emergence of the Premier League, and I don't think there is too much to learn there. 

[gingerjon]

4 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Darts does well with what it is, and has packaged their sport nicely around the Premier League to give it a proper season for TV, but I don't see them doing anything that we haven't already done. We went through this in the 90s, we changed calendars, team nicknames, music, entertainment, cheerleaders, more tv coverage, created events (Grand Final, Magic etc). 

The franchised Darts Premier League with players picked behind closed doors?

Imagine the chaos on here if that were replicated.

[Dave T]

Just now, gingerjon said:

The franchised Darts Premier League with players picked behind closed doors?

Imagine the chaos on here if that were replicated.

I did chuckle to myself on that after reading a Phil Taylor quote about Littler beibg picked for the PL. It stated that it's top 4 ranked and then the PDC and Sky Sports select others. 

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

3 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Darts does well with what it is, and has packaged their sport nicely around the Premier League to give it a proper season for TV, but I don't see them doing anything that we haven't already done. We went through this in the 90s, we changed calendars, team nicknames, music, entertainment, cheerleaders, more tv coverage, created events (Grand Final, Magic etc). 

Agree with that, but also I think that some clubs/RFL have taken their eyes off the bits in bold for the fan experience at games (e.g. whilst the SL Grand Final felt like an event, they made next to no effort for the CC Final, and no effort for the internationals). When Leigh threw everything at their matchday experience at the start of last season it was almost heralded as something revolutionary, but in reality Bradford started that back in 1996, and we just seem to have drifted away from it over time.

[gingerjon]

6 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I did chuckle to myself on that after reading a Phil Taylor quote about Littler beibg picked for the PL. It stated that it's top 4 ranked and then the PDC and Sky Sports select others. 

I was driving around a bit last night and Talk Sport were covering the darts. Whilst being very Sky-adjacent they sometimes give themselves a bit more leeway to speak out of turn. They didn't quite say that the Premier League selection was a corrupt fix but ... well, they didn't also shy away from giving the impression they would have nodded if someone had said that.

[Damien]

28 minutes ago, Dave T said:

It really should also be pointed out that darts was always massive when I was a kid, and probably way before that. It was a Christmas/NY tradition. It used to be massive on the BBC and it isn't the razzamataz that has suddenly put it where it is. 

The difference is the emergence of the Premier League, and I don't think there is too much to learn there. 

Very true. I don't think younger folk realise how big Darts, and Snooker for that matter, were in the 1980's with players being household names and TV shows like Bullseye and Big Break getting big TV viewing figures. Both were written off so it is great to see Darts get the spotlight again the way it has.

[Dave T]

One point that a couple of posters have touched on, that I agree with is around innovation and novelty. I do think RL has a decent structure and format, tweaks can help, sure, but broadly we are OK. 

But we did used to keep ourselves fresher. We were one of the first to adopt the nicknames, music, entertainment etc. in UK sport, yet we have fallen behind on things like this, often doing it on the cheap. 

We did used to have more areas of innovation, but it's all very rare now, and I think these things can help create a buzz. 

[Dave T]

41 minutes ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

Agree with that, but also I think that some clubs/RFL have taken their eyes off the bits in bold for the fan experience at games (e.g. whilst the SL Grand Final felt like an event, they made next to no effort for the CC Final, and no effort for the internationals). When Leigh threw everything at their matchday experience at the start of last season it was almost heralded as something revolutionary, but in reality Bradford started that back in 1996, and we just seem to have drifted away from it over time.

Agreed, as per my last post... 

[redjonn]

37 minutes ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

Agree with that, but also I think that some clubs/RFL have taken their eyes off the bits in bold for the fan experience at games (e.g. whilst the SL Grand Final felt like an event, they made next to no effort for the CC Final, and no effort for the internationals). When Leigh threw everything at their matchday experience at the start of last season it was almost heralded as something revolutionary, but in reality Bradford started that back in 1996, and we just seem to have drifted away from it over time.

Did it drift away because in reality it had little impact ?   I have no idea but if it was making a big difference I would not imagine it would have drifted away.

For sure I think the match day experience needs to be focused on, but first the fundamentals which includes stadium facilities/food as well as improved corporate.  I do think clubs some clubs seem maybe under the influence of IMG are focusing more on corporate/hospitality, which is a good idea as its been a revenue stream under utilised and brings in a wider demographic.

Not saying having a band/music isn't a good idea to while away time whilst awaiting the game but its not something that gets me to the game earlier.  Maybe more exciting activities happening prior to the game but not sure what....

[Dave T]

35 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

I was driving around a bit last night and Talk Sport were covering the darts. Whilst being very Sky-adjacent they sometimes give themselves a bit more leeway to speak out of turn. They didn't quite say that the Premier League selection was a corrupt fix but ... well, they didn't also shy away from giving the impression they would have nodded if someone had said that.

The idea of invitational setups does make many uncomfortable. I can understand why, but I do think they have a place. 

A example of something darts does well is that their PL lineup is announced today capitalising on the World Final. 

I think we can maybe learn more around media events etc. and controlling narratives, which I think is something that IMG have pushed. 

[gingerjon]

Just now, Dave T said:

A example of something darts does well is that their PL lineup is announced today capitalising on the World Final. 

Yes. I was quite impressed (same Talk Sport coverage) to hear that the players - all of them - knew they had to be available, approachable and ready today because it is a set media day. Quite smart to fit that in with them being around and in London already.

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, redjonn said:

Did it drift away because in reality it had little impact ?   I have no idea but if it was making a big difference I would not imagine it would have drifted away.

For sure I think the match day experience needs to be focused on, but first the fundamentals which includes stadium facilities/food as well as improved corporate.  I do think clubs some clubs seem maybe under the influence of IMG are focusing more on corporate/hospitality, which is a good idea as its been a revenue stream under utilised and brings in a wider demographic.

Not saying having a band/music isn't a good idea to while away time whilst awaiting the game but its not something that gets me to the game earlier.  Maybe more exciting activities happening prior to the game but not sure what....

I think too often when we talk about stuff like this it comes back to having a band, and I think that's a touch too basic. The whole package needs to be better quality, and you touch on the hospitality etc which I think is a good point. 

Bands font always work, particularly if just thrown in the middle of the pitch, or in the corner of a large stadium, but there can be creative solutions. But basic things like being able to hear the music and announcements through the speakers, having good choices for playlist etc. Is all part of it imo. 

Often these things are cut because of costs, they aren't always delivering directly tangible benefits, but then neither does a lick of paint in concourses but we do it. We see it in many businesses, the cherry on top is the first to go. 

[JohnM]

2 hours ago, sam4731 said:

I know, I know, it's not everyone's cup of tea). ...

Corrected for accuracy.(I know, I know, it's not anyone's cup of tea).

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

1 hour ago, redjonn said:

Did it drift away because in reality it had little impact ?   I have no idea but if it was making a big difference I would not imagine it would have drifted away.

My guess is that it was one of many contributory factors that helped create a buzz around the team, amongst them the fact that they were very successful on the field at that time! Likewise with Leigh this season, the matchday event elements will have been one part of the feel-good factor, but the most significant would've been that Leigh had a successful season. Writing that makes me wonder though whether clubs choosing to spend money on matchday experience is a symptom of being successful - i.e. if the owners are prepared to do that, then they've probably spent money in other areas of their business to improve performance across the board.

[sam4731]

1 hour ago, JohnM said:

Corrected for accuracy.(I know, I know, it's not anyone's cup of tea).

Thanks everyone, nice to meet you.

[ATLANTISMAN]

It would be a total disaster and anyway darts is not a sport its a pub game.

Hearn would have made us look a laughing stock .

 

NO THANKS 

[RigbyLuger]

3 hours ago, Just Browny said:

- built stories around good players 

We sometimes focus on stories of those coming back from drugs bans or being bad boys rather than success. Never understood why.