I think this might well get the thumbs up, reason being SL clubs may back it because nobody goes down this year, similarly two clubs coming up would presumably swing the Championship in favour of it.
One year further on would leave SL with only 10 clubs to share the bulk of the TV rights with 'SL 2' hopefully attracting a TV contract elsewhere. It would of course also result in multiple matches against the same team, but I would suggest financial stability is probably the most important goal for clubs atm.
I think this might well get the thumbs up, reason being SL clubs may back it because nobody goes down this year, similarly two clubs coming up would presumably swing the Championship in favour of it.
One year further on would leave SL with only 10 clubs to share the bulk of the TV rights with 'SL 2' hopefully attracting a TV contract elsewhere. It would of course also result in multiple matches against the same team, but I would suggest financial stability is probably the most important goal for clubs atm.
Joined: Apr 09 2010 Posts: 15081 Location: The Moon
It makes a lot of sense, yeh I get that there will be upset with those further down the food chain but end of day something as to change or the whole sport dies. By far it seems a good proposal and it gives Leigh a fair chance to stay up the next time around.
MorePlaymakersNeeded wrote:More loop fixtures, that'll have RL supporters thrilled to bits.
Yes, I am not a big fan of repetitive games against the same opposition, in the recent past we seemed to play Widnes every other week and it became boring. But loop fixtures are probably here to stay anyway because clubs need the income. If this new plan came to fruition we would ( presumably) end up with 3 games against 9 teams giving 27 games, one of which could be the Magic Weekend. That seems a much cleaner and fairer option to the one we currently use with a random selection of matches in the loop games.
I also think no relegation this year is fair to Leigh who only had a short time to get a SL side together once they knew they were going up. And finally it virtually green lights Toulouse into SL, providing them with plenty of time to get their facilities, team and backroom staff up to standard.I think strengthening the game in France with the possibility of more TV income / coverage is the way to go.
Just shows why our game will never be taken seriously. What other sports constantly changes the rules and the structure of the league. We are a joke simply as.
Joined: Jan 19 2009 Posts: 1609 Location: Purgatory
I have limited faith in the RFL as successful innovators or marketeers. When they announced Super League and RFL we're getting back into bed together, i just shook my head
I'm not a fan of loop fixtures, but playing Wigan / Saints / Leeds an extra time in 2023 instead of Salford / Wakefield / Leigh is probably still more appealing to me at present, but at this point the most important factor is increasing TV revenue. IF and its a big if, the sport can get a paid TV deal for a 'SL2' that would be massive. A SL2 could contain Wakefield, Leigh, Bradford, London, Widnes, Toulouse, Featherstone, Halifax, Newcastle, York (names picked from the top of my head). Would anyone be interested?
Two TV deals, 'Package 1' 2 X SL1 games per week, 'Package 2' 1 x SL1 game and 1 x SL2 game per week. (although its more likely we will stay tucked up in bed with Sky and have 2 x SL1 games and 1 x SL2 games per week).
For me 2x10 only works if you are confident of securing that extra TV deal for the second tier and no decision should be made unless we have firm interest from broadcasters in that model.
Pretty clear now why Superleague signed a 2 year deal with Sky, it was a holding option, Sky telling us to up our game, giving us the time to implement a change they think they can sell.
Something has to change, currently the top 12 clubs are providing TV revenues for 36 clubs across the RFL 3 league structure, if Sky and other broadcast partners are suggesting they are willing to pay for 2x10, can we afford to turn it down? A 14 team SL would weaken the second tier still further and make a TV deal impossible.
Potentially having a second French team as part of a SL model may encourage French broadcasters too?
I'd be surprised if there was any broadcaster interested in offering a TV deal for SL2. We weren't exactly spoilt for choice when we accepted the last Sky deal for SL.
MorePlaymakersNeeded wrote:I'd be surprised if there was any broadcaster interested in offering a TV deal for SL2. We weren't exactly spoilt for choice when we accepted the last Sky deal for SL.
Sky are the ones pushing this, they will be well informed and involved in any restructuring.
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