Lets get French RL on TV in Aus!

[langpark]

I've started a petition to get French Rugby League shown in Australia starting with the 2007/08 season. Please sign it:

http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=3632

You will be sent an email for verification once you've signed (please check you junk mail folder in case). Thanks.


As I've previously stated on here, i think this will benefit both Australian and French Rugby League and i hope it happens sooner rather than later.

 

[Quidgybo]

So is the French league already telecast, and is an English commentary already produced?

Leigh.

 

[langpark]

I don't think there is English commentary, but it wouldn't be hard to get done i'd imagine. Even so, i'd watch it with french commentary, altho i doubt Fox Sports would wanna broadcast that

 

[Quidgybo]

Mate, I'm all for promoting and spreading the gospel but this is fantasy land stuff. There's no way an Australian network would pay for the costs of adding an English commentary and re-packaging the content. And it's even more a dream that they'd pay to do this live or anywhere near live. It's a third tier competition with players and teams that most Australian's have never heard of, let alone would be able to pronounce. It certainly wouldn't be a subscription driver. The Bartercard Cup is much more likely to get on Australian television. Pick a cause that has half a chance.

Leigh.

 

[hutch]

signed it anyway. might happen one day if there is a rugby league channel.

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

Done, I won't hold my breath though.

 

[ocko]

Mate, I'm all for promoting and spreading the gospel but this is fantasy land stuff. There's no way an Australian network would pay for the costs of adding an English commentary and re-packaging the content. And it's even more a dream that they'd pay to do this live or anywhere near live. It's a third tier competition with players and teams that most Australian's have never heard of, let alone would be able to pronounce. It certainly wouldn't be a subscription driver. The Bartercard Cup is much more likely to get on Australian television. Pick a cause that has half a chance.

Leigh.

well said

 

[langpark]

Thanks to all who signed it.

As for the pessimists, lets just wait til a french poster comes here and can tell us wat the current tv situation is over there.

And Leigh, that's stupid to say Aussies won't watch 'things they can't pronounce'. Why don't we ignore South American soccer coz Ronaldinho and Riquelme are too hard to pronounce. It borders on racist, and is the kind of attitude that will limit our game to Aus and UK coz they speak english and have nice little names like Smith that we can pronounce.

It will also give exposure to French players who are NRL or SL worthy.

 

[Quidgybo]

As for the pessimists, lets just wait til a french poster comes here and can tell us wat the current tv situation is over there.

Hold on, don't you know?!? You are running a petition on the matter.

And Leigh, that's stupid to say Aussies won't watch 'things they can't pronounce'. Why don't we ignore South American soccer coz Ronaldinho and Riquelme are too hard to pronounce. It borders on racist, and is the kind of attitude that will limit our game to Aus and UK coz they speak english and have nice little names like Smith that we can pronounce.

Come on, don't be like that. You know what I meant - lack of familiarity or identification. The reason we don't ignore South American soccer is because they are some of the top club competitions in the world, consistently producing world champion players and World Cup winning national teams. Not a third tier amateur league from a second tier country with players and teams no one has ever heard of. You still have yet to outline what's available, how to relay and package it for Australian television, and who'll pay for it. I'm talking practicalities here, you want to spout off on a tangent about racism and pessimistic attitudes.

Leigh.

 

[AlbertRosenfeld]

Mate, I'm all for promoting and spreading the gospel but this is fantasy land stuff. There's no way an Australian network would pay for the costs of adding an English commentary and re-packaging the content. And it's even more a dream that they'd pay to do this live or anywhere near live. It's a third tier competition with players and teams that most Australian's have never heard of, let alone would be able to pronounce. It certainly wouldn't be a subscription driver. The Bartercard Cup is much more likely to get on Australian television. Pick a cause that has half a chance.

Leigh.

A few facts to consider.

As of now there is no telecast of French domestic competition matches in France, except for the finals of the Cup and the regular competition. So any weekly telecast for Australia (and UK perhaps) would have to be funded by a new source (eg Foxtel).

The principal rugby league commentator in France, Rodolphe Pires, speaks English quite well, but with a French accent. He is a smart man, and very passionate in his calls in French, but I don't know how comfortable he would be calling a game in English. But he could try. He could also enlist the former coach of Carcassonne, Danny Divet, as analytical commentator. Danny is fluent in French and English, and is Australian raised with an Aussie accent.

There would be little likelihood of Foxtel taking a live feed via satellite, because it would cost too much relative to the financial return. So they would want to receive it by the same method as they receive their Super League broadcasts each week -- on tape in an international air express package.

If that were so Rodolphe Pires could broadcast the match live in French for France, and then overdub his call in English that night or the next day, as could Divet with his commentary, for Australia and the UK. Rodolphe and his Frencg commentator Louis Bonnery already do their French overdubs of State of Origin, keeping an audio track of crowd noise, but replacing the English call and commentary of the Channel 9 team completely with their (post match) call in French.

There would be some Aussies to identify with. For example Dean Bosnich (ex Cronulla prop) now at Pia, and Mark Hughes (ex Newcastle, and SOO), now at UTC, and James Wynne (ex Newcastle) and Trent Clayton (ex Penrith and Roosters) both at Toulouse.

The question of the standard of play is an issue though. Only matches between the top teams (Toulouse, Pia, UTC and maybe St Gaudens and Carcassonne) would be good enough to be shown, and they would not be shown anytime other than Saturday morning and lunchtime, or after midnight.

 

[Quidgybo]

So any weekly telecast for Australia (and UK perhaps) would have to be funded by a new source (eg Foxtel).

End of discussion. We can't even get NSWRL Premier League matches on Foxtel and that's when they've already got cameras and crew at the ground for the NRL game. How on earth are they going to fund a complete weekly production of a third tier amateur league half a world away for re-broadcast in graveyard timeslots? As I said, I'm all for promoting the game but pick a cause that has half a chance.

Leigh.

 

[AlbertRosenfeld]

End of discussion. We can't even get NSWRL Premier League matches on Foxtel and that's when they've already got cameras and crew at the ground for the NRL game. How on earth are they going to fund a complete weekly production of a third tier amateur league half a world away for re-broadcast in graveyard timeslots?

Leigh.

I don't know the economics of setting up a crew at a match, and whether what Foxtel might pay would cover it enough to make it attractive for the French to do it for their own domestic market as well.

The Sports + broadcast team is based in Paris. It goes south to Perpignan every weekend that Les Catalans is playing at home. The Catalans games are Saturday nights, and most French LER games are on Sundays. So it would not be an extra transport expense those weekends, and the financial offer that Foxtel could make might be enough for the French channel to decide to do it for themselves as well.

All Toulouse home games are already televised by a local Toulouse station.

The "complete weekly production" you refer to would not be of every game each week. It would only be of one match a week --- the so-called "match of the day" as they used to call it in the old days of radio broadcasts in Australia. If it is financially attractive for the French and Australians to copay the costs, it might happen.

 

[Quidgybo]

The "complete weekly production" you refer to would not be of every game each week. It would only be of one match a week --- the so-called "match of the day" as they used to call it in the old days of radio broadcasts in Australia.

Also known as a Production. Involving an Outside Broadcast van (or vans), Director, Assistant Directors, camera equipment and Operators, Soundmen, and Commentators. All up at least 20-30 highly qualified people and hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment. Per match. Neither Foxtel or anyone else in Australia will foot the bill for that just to fill up airtime between the big money events that actually drive subscriptions or advertising - buying off the shelf pre-packaged darts or snooker from Sky UK or Arena football from the US, or kick boxing from Thailand is much more economical.

Leigh.

 

[AlbertRosenfeld]

Also known as a Production. Involving an Outside Broadcast van (or vans), Director, Assistant Directors, camera equipment and Operators, Soundmen, and Commentators. All up at least 20-30 highly qualified people and hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment. Per match.

Leigh.

I know for a fact that the French do not use a production crew anything like that size. It is smaller than the British SL productions. It consists of Rodophe and Louis in the commentary box, Herve doing commentary and interviews on the sideline, and three or four cameras (one or two on the side up high and two on the field) and a producer. Less than 10 men for sure.

 

[Quidgybo]

I guarantee you there is more than two men running the production. Typically the director watching the camera feeds and calling numbers, speaking to the commentators (ie directing) while others actually operate the equipment, monitor sound quality, tape recording etc etc. If there is significantly fewer then I'd suggest the quality of the production wouldn't be up to Fox Sports requirements anyway (which is why Sky have more for SL).

Leigh.

 

[AlbertRosenfeld]

I guarantee you there is more than two men running the production. Typically the director watching the camera feeds and calling numbers, speaking to the commentators (ie directing) while others actually operate the equipment, monitor sound quality, tape recording etc etc. If there is significantly fewer then I'd suggest the quality of the production wouldn't be up to Fox Sports requirements anyway (which is why Sky have more for SL).

Leigh.

I will try to find out for sure how many are there on the outside production and let you all know another day. But I have been told directly by Rodolphe that they use fewer cameras and crew than Sky.

 

[Quidgybo]

And I'm sure it'll be interesting, but it won't tell us why Fox Sports Australia would fund covering it instead of say - the Sydney domestic cricket competition, or the Victorian state soccer competition. Both would be significantly easier for them to mount coverage and would be readily recognisable by local audiences. I'm not trying to be negative but if you take a petition to Fox on French RL with these requirments you're going to get laughed out of reception. There are better battles to be fighting.

Leigh.

 

[Nz]

I've started a petition to get French Rugby League shown in Australia starting with the 2007/08 season. Please sign it:

http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=3632

You will be sent an email for verification once you've signed (please check you junk mail folder in case). Thanks.


As I've previously stated on here, i think this will benefit both Australian and French Rugby League and i hope it happens sooner rather than later.

How many signatures do you think you will actually get? I mean, you would need to take this alot further then a couple thousand signatures. You would have to extend to all sorts of places to get the results needed. How far are you willing to go?

 

[langpark]

Hold on, don't you know?!? You are running a petition on the matter.

Come on, don't be like that. You know what I meant - lack of familiarity or identification. The reason we don't ignore South American soccer is because they are some of the top club competitions in the world, consistently producing world champion players and World Cup winning national teams. Not a third tier amateur league from a second tier country with players and teams no one has ever heard of. You still have yet to outline what's available, how to relay and package it for Australian television, and who'll pay for it. I'm talking practicalities here, you want to spout off on a tangent about racism and pessimistic attitudes.

Leigh.

Sorry man, i didn't mean to be rude, it's just a bit frustrating that there's such pessimism and 'unwillingness' to support this. It only takes 2 seconds to sign. If we can't get people here to support this, how do we expect some Foxsports excecutive to?

I know online petitions can be a bit useless, but it's better than nothing. If i lived in Sydney, i'd love to visit Foxsports HQ, maybe Warren Smith even, but that can't happen.

Albert says Toulouse televise all their games, this gives us some hope, one game a week would be awesome. Then all the other clubs will likely start to organise some sort of broadcast as a result. and while we're at it, Albert, why have the French RL not negotiated some sort of a TV deal? It's an absolute must for any decent competition, and i'm surprised they haven't considering how crucial these next few years are for French RL.

 

[langpark]

How many signatures do you think you will actually get? I mean, you would need to take this alot further then a couple thousand signatures. You would have to extend to all sorts of places to get the results needed. How far are you willing to go?

I think 1000 signatures by the end of January would be brilliant, considering the salford stadium petition (on the same site) attracted about 500-800.