With the Rugby League World Cup set to disappear behind a subscription paywall in Britain, Michael O’Hare argues that the sport is sacrificing a golden opportunity to reach new audiences in pursuit of short-term financial gain.
WHEN, back in 2023, following the demise of the French bid to host the Rugby League World Cup, we were analysing the state of the international game, we predicted with some despondency that the original vision of a 16-team competition would be diluted by whatever came along to replace it.
We predicted the rights would pass to Australia. We predicted the vibrancy brought to the tournament by the likes of Jamaica, Italy and Greece would be expunged. We predicted a slimmed-down, convoluted tournament (and, if you hadn’t yet noticed, it’s one in which a team can win all three of its group matches and not reach the semi-finals while a team winning only one can). We predicted the whole shebang would be designed to ensure Australia would quickly become champions and then the entire thing could be forgotten about. And we were right. On all counts. However, what we didn’t predict was that none of us would actually be able to see the darn thing.
But, unless you are prepared to subscribe to a subscription channel, or test the limits of legality by using a VPN, that’s what’s on offer. The BBC, for the first time in recent history, has chosen not to show any games from the tournament, probably for all the reasons listed above and despite broadcasting a conspicuously successful – in terms of viewing figures – Ashes series last year. And no other terrestrial broadcaster has opted in either. So, subscription channel Premier Sports got the gig.
Culture Secretary and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy was bang on the money when she said organisers should reconsider, pointing out that the sport is an integral part of what brings our communities together. And that won’t happen if the tournament is hidden behind a paywall.
She is right: sharing sport holds resonance. Everybody now knows who Amy Hunt is, thanks to terrestrial coverage of the European Athletics Championships. Had four-gold-medal-winning Amy been tucked away on a subscription channel, she almost certainly would not be a favourite for Sports Personality of the Year. Cricket and rugby union, as well as athletics, long ago realised sports not always at the forefront of the national consciousness cannot afford to conceal their wares on a subscription channel. But the self-interested approach rugby league always takes has come to the fore. A few quid in our pockets? That’ll do nicely. When Rupert Murdoch’s millions were plonked on the table in 1995, what happened? Eyes popping, club chairmen spaffed the money up the wall on inflated player contracts and propping up their fiefdoms instead of investing for the good of the game.
Of course, this is a story told ad infinitum – the proverbial banging one’s head against a brick wall. Nonetheless, it bears repeating that if this sport is to thrive it must recognise international rugby league as the pinnacle of the game. Yet ever since 1895 parochialism has always, always come before the bigger picture. Look at the ambivalence of club owners towards the inclusion of Catalans and Toulouse in Super League. Toronto, playing before excellent crowds, were ditched at the first opportunity. London Broncos are still considered with suspicion, mainly because “they don’t bring many speccies with them”. England will not play a warm-up international for the World Cup because not a single, measly weekend could be freed to accommodate one. The narrow-mindedness makes you want to scream. But it was ever thus.
The Premier Sports deal was brokered by the RFL’s consultants IMG, in conjunction with the International Rugby League (IRL), not by the RFL itself. The press statements announcing it included comments by IRL secretary-general Danny Kazandjian, who said: “Premier Sports has had a strong partnership with international rugby league events for many years and has showcased some of the sport’s elite tournaments. IRL is excited about renewing that relationship as we continue to develop our business, increasing the IRL’s capacity to invest consistently and in a meaningful way in the global game.” He failed to add “whether you lot are able to watch it or not”. He went on to say, somewhat ironically: “We have no doubt Premier Sports’ customers will be enthralled.” He didn’t say how many customers that might, or might not, be, but the use of the word “customers” rather than “viewers” rather hints at where the IRL’s priorities lie.
And it wasn’t made clear how much the rights were sold for (and this is no reflection on Premier Sports, which, wishing to promote its brand, will likely do a great job), although it would have to run to tens of millions to give it parity with the non-pecuniary value of showing the tournament to the nation for free. Doubtless those who struck the deal had good reasons and good intentions. None of this hides the fact that it is a calamitous blunder.
Imagine if England won the World Cup and barely anybody saw it. Even discounting those who simply cannot afford the extra outlay, not a single person who has never heard of rugby league before will buy a subscription. Nor will those who have heard of it, but aren’t committed fans, when there is so much televised and streamed sport on offer elsewhere for free. Nobody new will choose to sample our sport. Why would they?
It’s a blinkered decision for short-term monetary gain and it does not take into account the demographic of rugby league supporters, let alone that of neutrals. League fans don’t have money to burn. And we’re constantly told that rugby league is nothing without its fans. If that’s true, then this deal is doubly baffling.
Maybe there will be a change of heart. Our sport has friends in high places. Both the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the House of Commons are fans. Any chance of them knocking on the doors of a few broadcasting executives? Otherwise, a huge opportunity to promote rugby league to the average sports fan in our country will be wasted. That, we can predict.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 525 (October 2026)
