If every match was televised live...

[langpark]

I've been thinking about this, NRL has reached the point where every match is televised live. If the same were to happen in SL, would this be a good or bad thing?

Are there perhaps some matches we don't want to be televised? For example, Salford vs Catalans, with only 2000 spectators there? Also, would it have a negative effect on attendances?

With only 6 matches per round, I'm sure it could be done, so that no matches overlap, for example:
- Thursday 8pm
- Friday 8pm
- Saturday 4pm
- Saturday 6pm
- Sunday 2pm
- Sunday 4pm

Would this be a good thing or bad thing for the game? Would the good outweigh the bad?

 

[roughyedspud]

Personally i think all super league games should be played on thursday (hate it but sky call the shots,friday & saturday.....and leave sunday for all championship & league one games..

All 6 ESL games live will never happen with sky..4 is the best we can hope for...thurs,fri & sat covered by sky & catalan home games covered by whoever does it now?

4 out of 6 ain't bad...imo

 

[BODISGOD]

Sky don't show any league, PL included, in its entirety. They have no real incentive to do so either, as long as they get the subs it's good enough for them and they don't have to pay for more outside broadcast crews

EDIT: actually they did for the Champions League before BT won the rights, but they were really just taking feeds from other stations all over Europe

 

[southwalesrabbitoh]

I'd like to see Channel 5 have 1 SL live match every Saturday, 3pm kick-off, I've said Sunday in the past but if Sky insist on Thursday Night Rugby then yeah, gud idea to have all SL on Thurs-Sat.

 

[roughyedspud]

Ive been saying for years we should splt the tv deal between 2 broadcasters...sky and ,ideally, BBC

 

[southwalesrabbitoh]

oh please, not the BBC.

 

[roughyedspud]

RL has been on the BBC for 60odd years

 

[southwalesrabbitoh]

fine having highlights on the bbc, but not live matches. bbc shouldn't be able to show live sport.

 

[BODISGOD]

The BBC with their current funding will never ever show league games of any sport again.

In fact they rarely have. Whilst I love the BBC an unfortunate part of their model where they took up a huge % of broadcast time was that sports, like in Australia and the United States, never took off as a prime time ratings winner.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Why not BBC? I know pay TV in england has a big amount if subscribers. But if you could get a couple on free to air you would gain more casual supporters which could only be good for the sport

 

[roughyedspud]

fine having highlights on the bbc, but not live matches. bbc shouldn't be able to show live sport.

by the end of the england v kiwis test series and including the challenge cup the BBC will have showed 10 live RL games this year...


and the bbc broadcasts hundreds of hours of live sport every year....so i dunno what your problem is?

 

[Evil Homer]

Why not BBC? I know pay TV in england has a big amount if subscribers. But if you could get a couple on free to air you would gain more casual supporters which could only be good for the sport

BBC is publicly funded, so the amount of money they could offer would be tiny compared to one of the commercial FTA channels. Sadly the others have never really seemed to be interested in RL.

 

[Matua]

What the hell. Not all Superleague games are shown live? That's nuts. Sky NZ plays 7 live games of NPC rugby every weekend.

I guess there is too much competition for broadcast facilities and equipment in the UK?

 

[BODISGOD]

What the hell. Not all Superleague games are shown live? That's nuts. Sky NZ plays 7 live games of NPC rugby every weekend.

I guess there is too much competition for broadcast facilities and equipment in the UK?

Not all English Premier League games are shown either. There are about 5 broadcast out of 10 a week.

 

[PacificCoastRL]

There is a reason the Big 4 American sports are so popular. Every NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB game is broadcast on at least two TV feeds. Plus every game is broadcast on the radio with both home and away feeds. And they still pack the stands, with some exceptions, on a regular basis. It's like the four major sports are advertising their product and being paid to do it. The closest Big 4 team to me is the Vancouver Canucks - I have watched every game both home and away on television for years, just like everyone else, yet they manage to sellout their arena, and have been for about ten years now. Having all ESL games on television would be nothing but good.

 

[langpark]

I think for the time-being, not televising all matches live is a good thing. I think 3/6 is perfect for now.

Two of the negatives: It could not 10% (or more?) off the crowd figure.
Some of the 'crap' matches, perhaps are better if less people see them ;-)

 

[PacificCoastRL]

Whatever the number would be that don't show up to the matches (in the beginning) of total broadcasting of games, would be compensated for with numbers watching at home as rugby league gained traction with the viewing public. TV numbers is what drives things. Look at the NRL's contract with television. I will also direct you to the granddaddy of all TV contracts - NFL teams have all their expenses covered by the television contract. Any butts they put in the seats, any other advertising they do at the stadium, in short, any other money they can get their hands on is gravy.
I understand this would not happen overnight for the ESL, but, what are they waiting for.
I also agree that some of the "crap" matches could be a problem. That's why there needs to be a reduction in teams in the ESL down to eight. In time that number would grow again as ESL teams realize more revenue from television and can compete monetarily for stars from other countries, getting them in their prime instead of at the end of their careers.

 

[Evil Homer]

Whatever the number would be that don't show up to the matches (in the beginning) of total broadcasting of games, would be compensated for with numbers watching at home as rugby league gained traction with the viewing public. TV numbers is what drives things. Look at the NRL's contract with television. I will also direct you to the granddaddy of all TV contracts - NFL teams have all their expenses covered by the television contract. Any butts they put in the seats, any other advertising they do at the stadium, in short, any other money they can get their hands on is gravy.
I understand this would not happen overnight for the ESL, but, what are they waiting for.
I also agree that some of the "crap" matches could be a problem. That's why there needs to be a reduction in teams in the ESL down to eight. In time that number would grow again as ESL teams realize more revenue from television and can compete monetarily for stars from other countries, getting them in their prime instead of at the end of their careers.

As mentioned, no domestic British sports league is televised in its entirety, including the Premier League which is arguably the most high-profile sports league in the world. For ESL to get that type of coverage it would mean splitting the TV deal, which would lose a huge amount of money that Sky Sports pay for exclusivity and probably bankrupt the sport. Additionally, the only channels that would be willing and able to provide blanket coverage would likely be small, subscription-only channels with a much lower profile and viewing base than Sky Sports. The chances of getting matches broadcast on one of the main FTA channels would be virtually zero even if we gave away the coverage for free, because they just don't televise domestic sports like that.

 

[roughyedspud]

Reducing ESL to 8


Lol

 

[PacificCoastRL]

Well, ESL needs something to improve the numbers, both on television and at the park. I guess if there is nothing that can be done, just plod along like they are now - a second rate competition living in a fantasy world thinking they are number one.