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Latest IMG proposals for Super League

Perth Red

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One area IMG need to take a good review of is SL reserve grade. At the moment its a mess and a big part of why we arent seeing the depth of talent come through in SL we should be seeing. Opening game called off for HKR v Leigh, allegedly due to Leigh being unable to field a side.

 

Perth Red

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The new RL Commercial Board have held their first formal meeting, heralding another significant step in a new era for Rugby League.

RL Commercial was formed in 2022 as part of the realignment between the Rugby Football League and Super League Europe, which also led to the unique 12-year partnership with IMG, who have been charged with working with RL Commercial on reimagining the sport.

The Board is chaired by Frank Slevin, with IMG Media represented by Ed Mallaburn, their Head of Sport.

They have been joined by Simon Johnson, the Chair of the RFL; Anna Chanduvi, the Sports and Entertainment Media Partnerships Lead at Meta; Peter Hutton, a vastly experienced sports media specialist who has held senior roles with Eurosport, Fox Sports and most recently Meta; and Jonathan Murphy, the CEO of the listed medical property specialists Assura who is also Chair of the North West Business Leadership Team.

The first Board meeting was held on Monday January 16 in Manchester, at the new headquarters for Rugby League which was opened on the Etihad Campus in 2022.

Frank Slevin said:

“We have assembled a high-calibre Board which offers a wide range of experience and expertise, and our first in-person meeting reflected a common desire to drive Rugby League to fulfil its commercial potential.

“It was important that we hit the ground running ahead of the February start to the 2023 season, and with memories still fresh of the Rugby League World Cup in the autumn of 2022.

“RL Commercial was born from the realignment of the sport which allows us to build on the successes of the World Cup, where we saw the value of the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair competitions running in parallel.

“We are determined to continue that momentum as we look forward to celebrating the inclusivity of our Super League and Challenge Cup competitions – in each case with Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair competitions, and not forgetting the Physical Disability and Learning Disability Super Leagues.

“That determination will be obvious when the 2023 competitions are formally launched over the coming weeks."

Clubs have today been informed of the next stages of IMG’s Reimagining of Rugby League.

Grading criteria will be presented at a Special General Meeting on March 9, with a number of consultation sessions scheduled for the next six weeks until another SGM, including a vote, on April 19.

 

Perth Red

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latest Update

So what exactly have they done? There are three main areas; an overhaul of the sport's digital strategy, a project understanding what a new fanbase would want and finally, and perhaps most crucially, the construction of the grading system.

The answer is a lot. We basically had an enormous data request. We started with 100 variables that we need the data for. A large part of pre-Christmas was getting all that data because as we've said before, we want this to be detailed and transparent. So we had to get all that data and clean it up so it was comparable and that took a lot of time.

"That then shifted to analysing the data and going through the details to determine what is important here to what we want to do and incorporate it into the criteria, which was into January. Now it's developing the model. We have the shortlist of variables and now it's pulling it all together to work as a model we can then use for the criteria. That's where we are today. We have a draft of a model we're tinkering with and doing the testing on, which is mainly if Club A does this, what does it do and does that give us the result it's meant to or does it skew the whole thing?


There's a trend across sport where they're following players rather than clubs and that's across every sport," Dwyer said. "An extreme example is Ronaldo. When he left Madrid for Juventus you almost saw the same drop in Madrid's accounts as you saw the increase in Juventus'.

"It's something Seven League (IMG's digital arm) are calling the star creation and building programme, where we will be helping players to understand what it is the fans want to hear from them so we can increase their profile. These star athletes have great stories but we aren't necessarily getting that out there at the right level we can compare to people who have this under control. We have to get them on a level to get stuff out there for their fans and that's really where we're focusing on."
 

Perth Red

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Draft Criteria announced for determining g license grade


FANDOM (25%)​

Encouraging clubs to attract more fans in stadia, both at home and digitally, and improve fan engagement, contributing to both club and central revenues.

PERFORMANCE (25%)​

Incentivising clubs to perform on the field and drive fan awareness and engagement. Teams will be ranked between 1 and 36 based on where they finish in the leagues for the previous three seasons. Bonus points will be awarded to teams who win league and cup competitions in the previous season.

FINANCES (25%)​

Reflecting the success of fan engagement and business performance and rewarding sustainable investment, as well as diversified revenue streams and sound financial management.

STADIUM (15%)​

Based on a number of factors, including facilities and utilisation, which add value to the fan and broadcast or digital viewer experience, and match or exceed competition from other sports and events.

CATCHMENT (10%)​

Based on area population and the number of clubs in the area, with a view to maximising growth of the sport in the largest markets to generate new fan bases and incentivise investment.

 

Perth Red

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Also confirmed british rl will be rebranded for 2024

However, they have also confirmed that the rebrand of the men’s and women’s Super League will be complete in time for the new season.

That stated that: “IMG sister company and cultural marketing agency 160over90 expects to complete the wider rebrand of the Men’s and Women’s Super League competitions later this year ahead of the 2024 season launch.”

What exactly this means is unclear. However there has been talk of a new name, a new trophy and an overall new feel to the competition which has had the same title and same trophy since its inception in 1996.

What name would be considered remains unclear at this moment in time.

 

Gobsmacked

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Also confirmed british rl will be rebranded for 2024

However, they have also confirmed that the rebrand of the men’s and women’s Super League will be complete in time for the new season.

That stated that: “IMG sister company and cultural marketing agency 160over90 expects to complete the wider rebrand of the Men’s and Women’s Super League competitions later this year ahead of the 2024 season launch.”

What exactly this means is unclear. However there has been talk of a new name, a new trophy and an overall new feel to the competition which has had the same title and same trophy since its inception in 1996.

What name would be considered remains unclear at this moment in time.

It's all positive stuff. Scraping P R is massive! Giving the clubs players and fans some stability and consistency will be god send . The grading criteria gives them a blueprint on where they need to grow their brand , not just buying whoever you can to win some games in a short period of time so you don't die.
The game would be so much bigger if this was how it was run 50 years ago.
 
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The grading criteria gives them a blueprint on where they need to grow their brand , not just buying whoever you can to win some games in a short period of time so you don't die.
The game would be so much bigger if this was how it was run 50 years ago.
Before SL and salary caps the short-termism could take a further egregious twist if misguided new owners took control of a middle-ranking club. A handful of better players would be recruited with the hope that playing success would increase gate revenue and cover the costs.

Halfway through the season, when higher crowds hadn't materialized, they faced the doom-laden fact that "winning pay" was bankrupting the club i.e. they couldn't afford to win any more games. Panic kicked in and the more expensive players were hastily offloaded, often with no transfer fee.

When the lights had been kept on and the dust had settled, some local mug with realistic expectations would have to come in and pick up the pieces.
 

Gobsmacked

Bench
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2,649
Before SL and salary caps the short-termism could take a further egregious twist if misguided new owners took control of a middle-ranking club. A handful of better players would be recruited with the hope that playing success would increase gate revenue and cover the costs.

Halfway through the season, when higher crowds hadn't materialized, they faced the doom-laden fact that "winning pay" was bankrupting the club i.e. they couldn't afford to win any more games. Panic kicked in and the more expensive players were hastily offloaded, often with no transfer fee.

When the lights had been kept on and the dust had settled, some local mug with realistic expectations would have to come in and pick up the pieces.
My god that's a bleak outlook.
And fundamentally flawed.
This system will allow clubs to BETTER manage their salaries and over a longer time! You can get the right players for cheaper given you can offer long term deals. Also the stability will give clubs not only the opportunity but insensitive to invest in juniors! And bring through thier own talent!
Currently clubs who are in the relegation zone have no choice but to pay overs ! For whoever they can get for a short amount of time.
Look no further than Toulouse!
If Toulouse weren't facing relegation, they wouldn't have needed to overspend towards the back end of the season. They would have focused on bringing through and nurturing talent for the next few years. In a few years we would have had more talent and a stronger club. Instead we have less talent, a relegated club in financial ruin...
Onwards and upwards from here now that nonsense is in the rear view mirror 🤘
 

Perth Red

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Have they confirmed if they will quarantine spots for non English/French teams or will they be graded along with everyone else? Specifically what does Toulouse's future currently look like?
No.
It’ll be hard for clubs not in SL to stack up to clubs in SL in the grading, especially in fandom and finances. this sounds like it keeps the door open for ambitious clubs but not sure it really does.
 

Perth Red

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Perth Red

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Said on sky it’s:
15 points plus for an A grade
7.5 points plus for a B grade
Under 7.5points C grade
 

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