Eddie Hearn talking SL again......

[JDM]

22 hours ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

Stars relates more to what they do on the field, rather than sparkling personalities off of it. Nathan Cleary isn't very charismatic and in football, Rooney definitely wasn't but they're undoubtedly stars. 

agreed. Re: Cleary - Granted it was at the grand final but I was sat in the row in front of him and there was a constant stream of younger people wanting selfies with him throughout the game, more so than any other player in that area in all the years over sat there - he is definitely a star for the reason you state. He was patient and humble. 

[JohnM]

In my opinion, the "stars" issue is important. People like Cleary are important in securing existing fans and maybe attracting lapsed fans and that can be especially effective in promoting "events". 

But there's a similar or even bigger contribution to be made from exposing our stars to the world outside the game or getting stars from outside our game to promote the game. I don't mean the odd shot of Stuart Pearce in the grandstand at a game: that's passive. I mean the dynamic promotion by such icons. 

[PREPOSTEROUS]

5 hours ago, Wellsy4HullFC said:

Think people need to get with the times. Do the younger generations sit around watching terrestrial Tele these days? 

All about streaming. Viral video shorts. Podcasts.

People are suggesting 2005 solutions in 2025.

Agreed, hence my earlier post. People harking back to the 80's is purely nostalgic, it's not the future. 

[JohnM]

Rather "terrestial TV" , suggesting a forest of TV aerials, people still watch live sport on scheduled live TV in their millions....on terrestrial, satellite and th' Internet. That's just the transport service.

Just as I am about to do on my Android tablet....edit that... it's on iPlayer on the big TV set.

Edited January 11 by JohnM

[Dave T]

3 hours ago, JohnM said:

Rather "terrestial TV" , suggesting a forest of TV aerials, people still watch live sport on scheduled live TV in their millions....on terrestrial, satellite and th' Internet. That's just the transport service.

Just as I am about to do on my Android tablet....edit that... it's on iPlayer on the big TV set.

Yeah, not sure why people are referring g to aerials etc. The main 'terrestrial' channels appear on every smart tv, device and platform like Sky and Virgin. 

[The Future is League]

For game he says is dying he mentions it a lot= Wants to buy it on the cheap?

[Gerrumonside ref]

6 hours ago, The Future is League said:

For game he says is dying he mentions it a lot= Wants to buy it on the cheap?

He obviously sees an opportunity for him and the motives seem quite simple: DAZN UK needs better sports right content than it has.  

Obviously they would want some Premier League or Champions League rights to really shift the dial but may see UK rugby league as a stepping stone to that with a similar demographic in the way BSkyB did.

Otherwise why would he waste time chatting to Ralph Rimmer or talking about rugby league in any context?

Talking down the current state of rugby league and highlighting the opinion of others that do the same is a way of diminishing value and the price it would cost to acquire Super League.

That way he reduces the financial risk on his side and also increases the potential profit he might make.

Certainly there could be upsides to being essentially run and broadcast by Hearn and DAZN UK - he has a portfolio that he can point to as having expanded internationally.

But rugby league in the UK to me would be carrying more of the risk if he failed to make it a success certainly in terms of broadcast partners and also governance wise.  I don’t think any relationship would start with a financial windfall for rugby league in the UK for example.

So for me that’s his motives and there are the risks involved for all parties.  For some people reading this they might find it an acceptable risk and be prepared to give him Super League essentially at a knockdown price and for others it represents too bigger risk especially with the IMG strategy yet to fully play out.

 

 

Edited January 12 by Gerrumonside ref

[Charlie]

6 hours ago, The Future is League said:

For game he says is dying he mentions it a lot= Wants to buy it on the cheap?

It’s already on the cheap are tv deal is actually embarrassing 

[Dullish Mood]

7 hours ago, The Future is League said:

For game he says is dying he mentions it a lot= Wants to buy it on the cheap?

He’s mentioned it literally twice in about 5 years?  Both times when specifically and directly asked about it.

[HawkMan]

23 minutes ago, Dullish Mood said:

He’s mentioned it literally twice in about 5 years?  Both times when specifically and directly asked about it.

Irrespective of how many times he's mentioned it , or why, is he right? I suspect he's saying something uncomfortably close to the truth.

[Archie Gordon]

Hearn has no clue.

You can't create RL stars in order to bring visibility to the game.

You have have to bring visibility to the game in order to create RL stars.

Pics of George Williams in an F1 pit lane or shaking hands with Luke Littler at the darts aren't going to do it.

[Charlie]

1 minute ago, Archie Gordon said:

Hearn has no clue.

You can't create RL stars in order to bring visibility to the game.

You have have to bring visibility to the game in order to create RL stars.

Pics of George Williams in an F1 pit lane or shaking hands with Luke Littler at the darts aren't going to do it.

Think he’s got a better idea then you do and he’s not wrong there’s influencers with millions of followers where as our top plays have 10,000. We need to get them on main stream tv or working with top YouTubers 

[gingerjon]

1 minute ago, Charlie said:

Think he’s got a better idea then you do and he’s not wrong there’s influencers with millions of followers where as our top plays have 10,000. We need to get them on main stream tv or working with top YouTubers 

Where do I get tickets for this year’s World Championship of Ping Pong?

[Archie Gordon]

2 minutes ago, Charlie said:

Think he’s got a better idea then you do and he’s not wrong there’s influencers with millions of followers where as our top plays have 10,000. We need to get them on main stream tv or working with top YouTubers 

There are influencers with millions of followers, sure. The idea that they're on standby to turn Harry Newman into a celebrity ... hmmm.

[gingerjon]

4 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

There are influencers with millions of followers, sure. The idea that they're on standby to turn Harry Newman into a celebrity ... hmmm.

Or that by doing this one simple trick, RL as a whole somehow is … bigger?

[Charlie]

6 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Or that by doing this one simple trick, RL as a whole somehow is … bigger?

Ok so we do what ? Carry on as normal only promoting the game to the locals in the working men’s clubs. It’s a different world now you can’t underestimate the reach influencers have. The NRL clubs have been inviting them to training and so on. Will this alone change things no! But we have to try new things 

[Damien]

7 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

There are influencers with millions of followers, sure. The idea that they're on standby to turn Harry Newman into a celebrity ... hmmm.

I think you are partly right. Influencers,  while they will obviously promote what they get paid to, don't just promote anything either. It has to also tie in with their overall brand/image too.

That said RL can obviously do much more in this space and you only ever see the odd piece. I suppose the elephant in the room is the sport doesn't seem to have young people creating this kind of content. I see my kids watching all sorts about Football, Fortnite and other sports but any/most RL content is for a much older audience. It's not as easy as just the sport creating this either, which is fundamentally uncool (or whatever the modern term would be!).

I think the NRL probably has far more scope here than SL with its image, profile and reach.

[Archie Gordon]

4 minutes ago, Damien said:

I think you are partly right. Influencers,  while they will obviously promote what they get paid to, don't just promote anything either. It has to also tie in with their overall brand/image too.

That said RL can obviously do much more in this space and you only ever see the odd piece. I suppose the elephant in the room is the sport doesn't seem to have young people creating this kind of content. I see my kids watching all sorts about Football, Fortnite and other sports but any/most RL content is for a much older audience. It's not as easy as just the sport creating this either, which is fundamentally uncool (or whatever the modern term would be!).

I think the NRL probably has far more scope here than SL with its image, profile and reach.

I agree. We should certainly keep on doing it. However, it is very marginal indeed and it won't actually create RL stars. A vibrant, visible game - like the NRL has created - might.

[Dullish Mood]

53 minutes ago, HawkMan said:

Irrespective of how many times he's mentioned it , or why, is he right? I suspect he's saying something uncomfortably close to the truth.

I was merely replying to the assumption that he’s somehow “mad keen” to get involved, he really isn’t.  The numbers involved really aren’t worth his while, they’re minuscule.  He’s 100 per cent correct on where the sport is in the public consciousness though, it’s as close to irrelevant as it’s ever been during my 40 years watching.  Truly grim.

[gingerjon]

33 minutes ago, Charlie said:

Ok so we do what ? Carry on as normal only promoting the game to the locals in the working men’s clubs. It’s a different world now you can’t underestimate the reach influencers have. The NRL clubs have been inviting them to training and so on. Will this alone change things no! But we have to try new things 

I am very much against doing what we’ve always done, which is why I am broadly supportive of IMG’s involvement.

[Dullish Mood]

56 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

Hearn has no clue.

You can't create RL stars in order to bring visibility to the game.

You have have to bring visibility to the game in order to create RL stars.

Pics of George Williams in an F1 pit lane or shaking hands with Luke Littler at the darts aren't going to do it.

Got to admit, I stopped at “Hearn has no clue”.

[sam4731]

2 hours ago, gingerjon said:

Where do I get tickets for this year’s World Championship of Ping Pong?

I think you can get a package deal with Superstars of Gymnastics, British Basketball Allstars and British Fast5 Netball Allstars for £3.50. I think you also get a Luke Littler face cutout and a traffic cone costume included.

[Wakefield Ram]

On 10/01/2025 at 15:42, 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

Exactly, if you're not on terrestrial TV on a regular basis then you can't be a national "star". I used to watch test cricket but now it's on Sky I could barely name 3 England players now. 

Edited January 12 by Wakefield Ram

[Father Gascoigne]

4 hours ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

He obviously sees an opportunity for him and the motives seem quite simple: DAZN UK needs better sports right content than it has.  

Obviously they would want some Premier League or Champions League rights to really shift the dial but may see UK rugby league as a stepping stone to that with a similar demographic in the way BSkyB did.

Otherwise why would he waste time chatting to Ralph Rimmer or talking about rugby league in any context?

PL rights in UK won't become available until the end of the decade, so they'll be waiting a while. But it's hard not to consider DAZN a major player in sports now. They own majority of Serie A rights in Italy, share La Liga rights in Spain, share Bundesliga rights in Germany, share Ligue 1 rights in France, have bought out Australia's largest sports pay-TV provider. 

It seems only a matter of time before they become a key player in UK. I think you're right; UK CL rights will come up in 2027. I'm guessing they wrest that and TNT's PL packages by decade's end. But because they'll have to move the needle as you allude to, it gives Sky an advantage in keeping Super League. 

With the Saudi's investing in DAZN, I think it's inevitable that they overtake TNT. 

[Just Browny]

1 hour ago, Wakefield Ram said:

Exactly, if you're not on terrestrial TV on a regular basis then you can't be a national "star". I used to watch test cricket but now it's on Sky I could barely name 3 England players now. 

Sports Personality of the Year 2024 shortlist was:

• Jude Bellingham (football)  

• Keely Hodgkinson (athletics)  

• Luke Littler (darts)  

• Joe Root (cricket)  

• Dame Sarah Storey (para cycling)  

• Alex Yee (triathlon)  

I'd be surprised if any of those were on terrestrial TV more than half a dozen times live all year.