Super League Coverage 2024

[Dave T]

So, four weeks in, how's it working for people?

I must admit, I'm loving it. Watched more RL on TV than ever, and am really enjoying having a steady stream of SL through the weekend. I haven't used SL+ so can't comment on that

Positives:

Loads of SL! I no longer have to wonder what the TV game is - they all are!

Enjoy multi-match Friday nights (guaranteed I'll be interested in at least one game)

Great highlights online

Better commentary overall as we've split up 'the mob' to cover more games.

Full match repeats - always RL on Sky Sports

Great BBC coverage

 

Negatives:

The Friday night overlap is a positive in many ways, but it isn't as enjoyable flicking through games as too much goes on in RL to lend itself to that. I'm coming round to 1 match per slot.

Whisper this one - spoilers

Some average production - fewer angles, poor Video Ref coverage, some below average commentary at times.

 

For me, it's been a great success - I expect numbers are modest, but having so much coverage guaranteed, all produced at a solid level (not perfect), and as someone who watches much of my RL on TV, I'm loving it. This is absolutely enough to make me never cancel Sky Sports.

Are other people enjoying it too?

[StandOffHalf]

To be honest, it's just a pass for me. The three games on Friday don't work for me - particularly given the score updates on-screen.

I think the quality of players in SL is the worst that I have seen in the 25 years I've been following the UK comp.

Jodie C, Sam T and Woods are good additions to comms and analysis. Full-game repeats are a positive as well, but I am less likely to watch if I know the result from the in-game updates.

C plus or B minus.

 

Edited March 11 by StandOffHalf

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, StandOffHalf said:

To be honest, it's just a pass for me. The three games on Friday don't work for me - particularly given the score updates on-screen.

 

 

This weekend we have only one on Friday. We cover 5 different slots, with only 3pm Saturday as a clash. Maybe that will suit you more. 

[Toby Chopra]

45 minutes ago, Dave T said:

So, four weeks in, how's it working for people?

I must admit, I'm loving it. Watched more RL on TV than ever, and am really enjoying having a steady stream of SL through the weekend. I haven't used SL+ so can't comment on that

Positives:

Loads of SL! I no longer have to wonder what the TV game is - they all are!

Enjoy multi-match Friday nights (guaranteed I'll be interested in at least one game)

Great highlights online

Better commentary overall as we've split up 'the mob' to cover more games.

Full match repeats - always RL on Sky Sports

Great BBC coverage

 

Negatives:

The Friday night overlap is a positive in many ways, but it isn't as enjoyable flicking through games as too much goes on in RL to lend itself to that. I'm coming round to 1 match per slot.

Whisper this one - spoilers

Some average production - fewer angles, poor Video Ref coverage, some below average commentary at times.

 

For me, it's been a great success - I expect numbers are modest, but having so much coverage guaranteed, all produced at a solid level (not perfect), and as someone who watches much of my RL on TV, I'm loving it. This is absolutely enough to make me never cancel Sky Sports.

Are other people enjoying it too?

Agree wholeheartedly with your analysis, and if the experts tell us that this is good for growth then I'm all for it. 

It hasn't really resulted in me watching any more rugby league, two or three SL games a week is enough for me, usually the Thursday and Friday games. So it's nice to have the choice on a Friday and I have switched games a couple of times when the first choice became a bit of a procession.

I'm planning to try and catch a bit more NRL this year in the mornings.

[RigbyLuger]

Thought the BBC coverage of Cas/Wigan couldn't hold a candle to Sky or C4. Sorry, but why Robbie Paul is still on TV in 2024 is beyond me. He hasn't got any better, and certainly shouldn't be doing interviews.

[LeytherRob]

I've enjoyed the freshening up of sky commentary, I've been very underwhelmed by superleague+ though. There have been miscommunication around what day games are coming on, and since round 1 they've added nothing to the archive sections despite there being an absolute mountain of classic games in the sky era you could add. Another really annoying feature of the sl+ is that when you select a club, only the highlights and player features appear, not any full matches making it frustrating to navigate. I bought it just before round 1when I already have sky as they had just dumped a bunch of archive GF/WCC/league games on there thinking it would be a regular thing but I've basically not touched the app since.

[Archie Gordon]

Mixed bag.

Friday overload means I still watch broadly the same amount of RL - I guess an extra Saturday/Sunday game on TV has been a bonus. That said, I imagine that those with a team to support are enjoying seeing their team on TV every week.

BBC - it's hard to see the advantage over C4. BBC Sport has shown no additional enthusiasm for RL - everything is hidden away. Really disappointing.

We are still nowhere near the NRL in terms of making best use of video clips, highlights, stats, etc. No excuse for that now.

And nobody seems to know whether this Brave New World has delivered even 1 additional viewer.

[Dave T]

One of the things that I've liked about the Friday night overlaps is that in reality, not many of the games on a Friday have been classics on paper, so I'd probably not bother, but having a choice means there is more chance of finding a game that appeals to me. 

That has really appealed. But I can understand why people don't like that, and it'll be interesting to see how Leeds v Saints does this Friday versus other weeks. It be good to get some data - does having three games on a Friday get increased numbers, or does it just split our 150k?

[Dunbar]

I am enjoying the coverage and the choice.

From a purely personal perspective, I would like us to get to a point where we have 6 weekend timeslots for games and every round is played in those slots. This could be Thursday evening, Friday evening and then an afternoon and early evening slot on Saturday and Sunday (or an early afternoon and late afternoon if that works better).

This way, there are no clashes and everyone gets used to the game schedule.  One of those, the early Saturday could be the terrestrial game every week.

I accept that this is not ideal for fans who like to go to the game every week and prefer a regular kick off time, but I think it would take our coverage and exposure to the next level.

As for the product on the pitch this year.  I am really enjoying it.

[Taffy Tiger]

4 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

I am enjoying the coverage and the choice.

From a purely personal perspective, I would like us to get to a point where we have 6 weekend timeslots for games and every round is played in those slots. This could be Thursday evening, Friday evening and then an afternoon and early evening slot on Saturday and Sunday (or an early afternoon and late afternoon if that works better).

This way, there are no clashes and everyone gets used to the game schedule.  One of those, the early Saturday could be the terrestrial game every week.

I accept that this is not ideal for fans who like to go to the game every week and prefer a regular kick off time, but I think it would take our coverage and exposure to the next level.

As for the product on the pitch this year.  I am really enjoying it.

Hi Dunbar , 

In theory this would be ok , but with turnaround of matches I'm not sure it is really feasible . You will end up with teams playing Sunday and then the following Thursday which is a big disadvantage and too quick a turnaround . 

Ultimitaly this could end up with more player injuries .

Having 3 matches playing on a Friday may not be the best for TV coverage , but at the end of the day it is more suitable for players and the welfare of the players has to come first .

[Dunbar]

4 minutes ago, Taffy Tiger said:

Hi Dunbar , 

In theory this would be ok , but with turnaround of matches I'm not sure it is really feasible . You will end up with teams playing Sunday and then the following Thursday which is a big disadvantage and too quick a turnaround . 

Ultimitaly this could end up with more player injuries .

Having 3 matches playing on a Friday may not be the best for TV coverage , but at the end of the day it is more suitable for players and the welfare of the players has to come first .

To be fair, the NRL manage this and I am sure it can be done with a bit of planning so clubs don't have the Sunday to Thursday turnaround.

[Taffy Tiger]

Just now, Dunbar said:

To be fair, the NRL manage this and I am sure it can be done with a bit of planning so clubs don't have the Sunday to Thursday turnaround.

Yeah , maybe 

[Fly-By-TheWire]

Apart from a little glitch the other day, getting back on after half-time, SL+ has been good.   Easily worth the £10 a month on the yearly subscription..   I’m enjoying the fact they can’t show the adverts during the breaks. 

[Futtocks]

I think that, once the clubs get used to the benefits of being on TV screens every round, flexibility may creep in as regards kick-off times on the weekends. After all, you can screen the other matches in the clubhouse before or after your own match and sell many pints in the process.

[Dave T]

4 minutes ago, Fly-By-TheWire said:

Apart from a little glitch the other day, getting back on after half-time, SL+ has been good.   Easily worth the £10 a month on the yearly subscription..   I’m enjoying the fact they can’t show the adverts during the breaks. 

Can I ask, is there any commercialisation in the app yet? Do our sponsors get additional coverage and presence for example? Are SL controlled ads shown? 

[Futtocks]

Just now, Dave T said:

Can I ask, is there any commercialisation in the app yet? Do our sponsors get additional coverage and presence for example? Are SL controlled ads shown? 

No ads that I'm aware of. After the first half, you get a holding screen, then a few minutes of analysis, then another static screen, then the start of the second half.

In other words, instead of the adverts that Sky would be showing, you get a "be right back" message.

If SL+ can negotiate some simulcast advertising that helps pay for the service, that's fine by me, but it hasn't happened yet. Remember that this service was all rolled out pretty hastily, with the season almost about to start. The Fire TV app was announced on the afternoon of the first round 1 match.

[gingerjon]

24 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

To be fair, the NRL manage this and I am sure it can be done with a bit of planning so clubs don't have the Sunday to Thursday turnaround.

They manage it with European fixtures in soccer and they have (a) far more clubs and fixtures to juggle and (b) different competitions taking priority depending on the stage - so it must be doable. It's just if we want to do it.

I think the coverage has been fine and a definite improvement - but we had been, at best, treading water for seasons. The BBC are putting the highlights up and there seems to be more on the socials - but their actual match coverage needs to improve.

Overall, we're still quite invisible - but then most sports are most of the time now.

[Londonbornirishbred]

Loving getting up at 4am to watch London get spanked by Wigan....but then again, I'm strange

Think having every game on TV and FTA coverage is great and I can only dream of where we'd be if it has been rolled out even just a decade ago.

As football struggles with pricing, the other lot struggle with everything, we have a real chance here to build a must see league and inside the next 5 years see SL match tickets as a must have item....long may it continue.

As an aside, not sure how much IMG have done to make this happen but it's a hell of a coincidence if it's not down to their involvement.

[Rugbyleaguesupporter]

I'm really enjoying Sky coverage. Happy with 2 or 3 on a Friday- provides choice without saturation. 

Don't miss Wells at video screen. 

Woods, Wilson excellent additions. Good to hear different voices. 

Only downside is video ref and the extensive use of it and poor match direction at some of the non exclusive Sky games 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

The Friday overlap annoys me. I can't choose which game I want to watch and when I do, you know I'll end up not picking the most exciting one!

Came in late on Friday so chose to watch Leigh v Leeds after HT scores. Always fun watching Leeds get beat, right?...

Should have watched the Saints/Salford game!

First World problems!

[Curly perm]

I’m enjoying SL+ and am watching about 3 games each week. As others have said, commentary has improved with Woods, Wilson etc. The app is working great with AirPlay, all good. 

Would be great to get the catch up games out a bit quicker going forward e.g. if I miss a 3pm kick off, I’d like to be able to watch it at, say, 8pm. At the moment, you generally have to wait until the next day which is harder to avoid the score. 

[Vambo]

I watch all my RL these days on the TV so the biggest positive for me personally is that I'll be able to watch all the Wigan games this season. 

The overlapping of games isn't much of an issue for me because otherwise I'd probably end up watching most of them and sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.

The Sky coverage in terms of commentary and pundits is a big improvement as far as I'm concerned.

[Coggo]

The fixtures are still all over the shop and I think this is a problem for rugby league.

With Sky’s football coverage, everyone knows the slots, not just for the Premier League but also the EFL. This kind of programmes people mentally, it helps people get into a routine of watching.

Ideally we need to stick to the same scheduling for every round, with no clashes.

[Coggo]

On a more positive note, the Sky coverage has been enhanced by a less is more approach to broadcasts (one commentator + one pundit, no vestigial Eddie Waring type ‘comedy’ or Phil Clarke dodgy garb) and the long overdue demise of the 1990s techno try music.

Other than every game on the TV (and terrestrial live coverage on the BBC) the main plus for me is the digital output seems vastly improved, with highlights on the BBC website, the Super League app and better output on social media.

It feels like RL has finally arrived in the 21st century.

[Harry Stottle]

13 hours ago, Futtocks said:

I think that, once the clubs get used to the benefits of being on TV screens every round,

Could I please ask what you believe those benefits are along with published proof, thank you.