Eddie Hearn talking SL again......

[JohnM]

29 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Fair enough I stand corrected . But still an NCL coach is hardly the nationally recognised character that the game needs to grow. 

I'd argue that he IS nationally recognised and that he DOES carry the Rhino's brand to the nation through his appearances.

I'd also argue that his coaching at an NCL club matters not one jot to the wider public.

 

[Damien]

2 hours ago, sweaty craiq said:

I couldn’t name you a single RU player, 30 years ago I could name most international ones. Love cricket but couldn’t name Lancs players that don’t play for England. We simply need regular top drawer internationals on terrestrial TV

I think you inadvertently show why its not as simple as matches being in terrestrial TV. RU has many top internationals on terrestrial TV but you still cant name a single player. 

[Mumby Magic]

5 hours ago, sheddingswasus said:

 

Get rid of IMG and bring in the Hearns!

Very RL esque not following things through.

[Just Browny]

4 hours ago, gingerjon said:

If I were to write a sociology essay about it, I’d say Littler himself is defined almost by an absence of “character” in the sense that marketers and nostalgics usually mean.

Yep he's just a young lad who enjoys football, rugby and video games, and is exceptionally good at darts. No reason why he has to be a 'character' and he isn't.

[Eddie]

57 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

Yep he's just a young lad who enjoys football, rugby and video games, and is exceptionally good at darts. No reason why he has to be a 'character' and he isn't.

Tbf he is a character on stage, which is what counts, whatever he’s like off it. 

[sweaty craiq]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

I think you inadvertently show why its not as simple as matches being in terrestrial TV. RU has many top internationals on terrestrial TV but you still cant name a single player. 

And cricket which I do watch?

[Damien]

2 minutes ago, sweaty craiq said:

And cricket which I do watch?

What about it? It's hardly rocket science that people who watch a sport will be familiar with those players. The fact is RL even when on terrestrial TV has low viewing figures. RL actually gets decent terrestrial coverage too compared to many other sports but it takes far more than that to become a household name, especially in this day and age.

[Damien]

13 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Tbf he is a character on stage, which is what counts, whatever he’s like off it. 

Yeah I think he's a character too, I don't really get the view that he isn't.

[Poptart]

The thing about Hearn and his success is that he's done it with individuals in individual sports.

Its different for team games to pick out the superstars.

It's kinda up to the individual teams to market their players.

Marketing the sport also requires money centrally and we don't have a lot of it. The clubs would need to give up some sky money.

[graveyard johnny]

any promoter is there for one thing and thats to make money - hearn or anyone else wont get involved with anything that doesnt furnish their pockets 

[JohnM]

43 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said:

any promoter is there for one thing and thats to make money - hearn or anyone else wont get involved with anything that doesnt furnish their pockets 

A bit like having a job?

A bit like being a pro rugby player? 

A bit like an employee of a rugby club?

[graveyard johnny]

50 minutes ago, JohnM said:

A bit like having a job?

A bit like being a pro rugby player? 

A bit like an employee of a rugby club?

no- not at all like that

[EggFace]

4 hours ago, Vyvyan said:

Funny how history repeats itself.  The challenges the game has now are similar to that of the late 70s and early 80s.  Anthony Broxton's excellent book covers it all.

 

Back then we had the great Des Drummond as first of a new breed of stars.  His performances on BBCs superstars kicked things off.    Then the likes of Henderson Gill and Ellery Hanley came through with Schofield and later Offiah.

Wasn't the late 70's the start of the upwards popularity of TGG.

[graveyard johnny]

modern society is set up to breed mediocrity  - stars are not made they are born - everyone falls in to line these days too scared to be any different  to the next person - supermarket society mentality - circumstances made characters in the past - diversity is conformity - obsessed by been judged  online for the latest tattoo or pair of trainers - its just the way its set up these days - sad but true

[sam4731]

There's a lot of discussion about creating stars/personalities and the comparison with Littler, but let's be clear, Littlers rise to fame isn't because of his personality. In the same way that Sports Personality of the Year isn't handed out to the person with the best personality, Littlers prominence has stemmed from a perceived moment of sporting history.

A moment of sporting history can be achieved in different ways. Being the first to do something, being the youngest or oldest to do something, breaking an ancient or unobtainable record etc. but the key to the ease of creating a moment of sporting history is the sport itself.

England footballers need to reach the semi finals of a major tournament.

Darts players need to be 16 and need to reach the World Championship final on their first go.

I imagine an archery player would need to win Olympic gold,  with the winning arrow going through the board and accidentally going up Piers Morgans backside.

An England RL player would need to (and won't be able to for many years to come) simply win the World Cup on home soil.

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

2 hours ago, graveyard johnny said:

modern society is set up to breed mediocrity  - stars are not made they are born - everyone falls in to line these days too scared to be any different  to the next person - supermarket society mentality - circumstances made characters in the past - diversity is conformity - obsessed by been judged  online for the latest tattoo or pair of trainers - its just the way its set up these days - sad but true

Clearly you have no concept of reality.

[gingerjon]

11 hours ago, Damien said:

Yeah I think he's a character too, I don't really get the view that he isn't.

Is he? He does a bit of crowd banter but mostly focuses on his game.

Away from the dartboard, he seems pretty reserved.

If he wasn’t extraordinarily good at darts and very young then he’d not stand out.

By which I mean: it’s the darts not the character that is the reason he’s become what he’s become. 

[Eddie]

23 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Is he? He does a bit of crowd banter but mostly focuses on his game.

Away from the dartboard, he seems pretty reserved.

If he wasn’t extraordinarily good at darts and very young then he’d not stand out.

By which I mean: it’s the darts not the character that is the reason he’s become what he’s become. 

That’s the same with any successful sportsperson, nobody ever got good at sport and therefore famous for it by being a talentless character. There are some who are more famous than other better players because of who they are (for example Beckham over Scholes, or Vinny Jones over Michael Carrick) but the more famous ones are still very good at their sport. 

Edited January 11 by Eddie

[gingerjon]

8 minutes ago, Eddie said:

That’s the same with any successful sportsperson, nobody ever got good at sport and therefore famous for it by being a talentless character. There are some who are more famous than other better players because of who they are (for example Beckham over Scholes, or Vinny Jones over Michael Carrick) but the more famous ones are still very good at their sport. 

To stop the talking in circles then.

We really don't need characters. Not least because on the standards we appear to accept from other sports, we already have plenty.

We also don't need the Hearns. That's been long established as an essential truth.

[Just Browny]

3 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

To stop the talking in circles then.

We really don't need characters. Not least because on the standards we appear to accept from other sports, we already have plenty.

We also don't need the Hearns. That's been long established as an essential truth.

Can we have that fella who does the MCing at the darts?

[gingerjon]

2 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

Can we have that fella who does the MCing at the darts?

To make a change from the guy who does the tannoy at every RL major event (who I like and who is very good at what he does but it is always him)?

[Gerrumonside ref]

I’d speculate that he’s looking for more content for shifting DAZN UK subscriptions as compared to the other DAZN TV regions then it is sparse.

Ideally he’d want Premier League or Champions League football in the UK but until (or even if) he gets there then he may want stepping stone content like Super League which shares some of the same demographic.

It might well be a strategy to talk down the current state of affairs in UK rugby league to acquire us cheaply and also to get people to come around to his ideas for renewal I.e. raising the profile of star players.

To me it would represent a risk given the overall DAZN portfolio in the UK is a lot smaller than SKY and we’ll have a lot fewer people to watch at the start with subscriptions in the UK.

There could be upsides too but no question in my mind you’d have to accept the big risk if you were going to pitch in with Hearn and DAZN UK at this point.

Edited January 11 by Gerrumonside ref

[Eddie]

24 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

Can we have that fella who does the MCing at the darts?

To replace Baz and Tez, yes. 

[Eddie]

9 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I’d speculate that he’s looking for more content for shifting DAZN UK subscriptions as compared to the other DAZN TV regions then it is sparse.

Ideally he’d want Premier League or Champions League football in the UK but until (or even if) he gets there then he may want stepping stone content like Super League which shares some of the same demographic.

It might well be a strategy to talk down the current state of affairs in UK rugby league to acquire us cheaply and also to get people to come around to his ideas for renewal I.e. raising the profile of star players.

To me it would represent a risk given the overall DAZN portfolio in the UK is a lot smaller than SKY and we’ll have a lot fewer people to watch at the start with subscriptions in the UK.

There could be upsides too but no question in my mind you’d have to accept the big risk if you were going to pitch in with Hearn and DAZN UK at this point.

There is zero chance that Hearn has any intention of getting involved. 

[Gerrumonside ref]

1 minute ago, Eddie said:

There is zero chance that Hearn has any intention of getting involved. 

You’ve said that before but it doesn’t really hold up as he clearly has an interest and spends time talking about the sport.

Given that he’s a hard nosed businessman that suggests to me that’s he’s exploring an opportunity for him.

if he had zero interest or intentions he wouldn’t mention us at all in any context.