It’s a drag to put the boot in every time something comes up but having thought about this deal it is lose lose all around. The number of likely subscribers and added content value to the TV company is so relatively small they can’t have paid anything so that’s a loss for the clubs and the RFL. The cost of hiring a presenter and filming the games will probably exceed the revenue from added content for current subscribers plus new subscribers interested in RL - so a loss for the TV company. And the players most apparently part time will have to travel up on a typical workday Monday with knock on impact for rest of working week - so a loss for them. The attendance at a Monday night game is likely to be lower than a weekend game-loss for the clubs and for supporters who would have gone to a Saturday/ Sunday game.
Likely additional visibility for the game - low. Likelihood of persuading Sky that others are interested in paying for RL rights - low. Sigh!

It's all very well saying "give it to a broadcaster" but said broadcaster has to be interested in showing it, and it's obvious no-one is. And I don't blame them - it's a part-time, second tier competition in a regional sport. Why would the BBC, ITV, C4 etc be interested in showing it? The only alternative to Premier Sports is doing it in-house on OurLeague, and it looks like the RFL would prefer the safe bet, which is reasonable.

If they couldn't give it away to a "free to air" broadcaster, it shows how low the rugby league stock has fallen. Clearly apart from their Challenge Cup efforts, the Beeb are clearly targeting their funding at Women's sport like Football & Union. ITV might have found a home for RL on ITV4 if it had anyone capable of selling the sport properly but it doesn't.

May well be the sign of things to come for SL too in the years ahead

The BBCs commitment to equality of sports coverage regardless of gender (or perhaps interest) is absolute. It’s interest in ensuring a northern sport gets coverage, less so.

Having said that they moved their HQ to Salford so they may feel they have done all they need for the North. The cabbies of Salford will be rolling in it with all those return fares to Islington, Mill Hill and Finchley for the stars commuting to the new HQ.

How many part-time, second tier competitions - in any sport - get terrestrial TV coverage?

Not sure Nadera 78 that the part time comes into it. 2nd tier makes it hard, being mostly played in towns very few may have heard of & fewer care about makes it harder so you need someone like Heart to sell it. But SL is hardly able to sell itself either & as Sky have intimated before, the lack of geographical spread across the country will always limit the big corporates that are attracted to Football, Union, F1 & the likes.

I would love to see a curriculum of his success stories in Rugby League! it will be a very very small piece of paper, and he received around £280K

Does this help jaybs?

Ralph Rimmer

Ralph Rimmer was appointed CEO of the Rugby Football League in July 2018, having taken the role on an interim basis in January 2018.

He has been a member of the RFL Board since 2013 after joining the organisation as Chief Operating Officer in October 2010.

He has a wealth of experience at every level of the game, coupled with extensive knowledge in stadia and leisure development.

He played community rugby league for many years as a junior and senior for Ulverston ARLFC and went on to captain the Liverpool University team and play at student international level, before playing for Wakefield side, Stanley Old Boys.

He began his professional career within the sport in South Yorkshire in 1991 as a Development Officer with Doncaster. He then took up a similar role with Sheffield Eagles three years later, going on to become General Manager and then Chief Executive of the then Super League club.

Following the club’s historic Challenge Cup Final victory over Wigan at Wembley in 1998, Ralph went on to spend five years as the Chief Executive at Huddersfield Giants before moving on to the board as a non-executive director and taking on the role as the managing director of the stadium company, Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd.

Ralph spent four years as a non-executive director of Huddersfield Town AFC, helping to take the club out of administration; and also managed the Ireland national rugby league team from 1997 to 2002 (including the 2000 Rugby League World Cup) and the Yorkshire Origin team in 2002. He was also non-executive Chairman of The Sporting Pride Community Trust, in Huddersfield, between 2007 and 2010.

As Managing Director of KSDL he was Project Lead on the £2m stadium redevelopment in 2007 and also on the £150m The HD One Leisure Development. He acted as a management consultant on several stadia developments including; Leigh Sports Village, Colchester United FC Stadium and also the Salford City Stadium.

Nothing here about his rugby ball shaped head. In my opinion. a big omission and then there is his nice line in natty green country style suits which I think should get a mention.

Right place at the right time? a lot of jobs!