What's new
The Front Row Forums

Register a free account today to become a member of the world's largest Rugby League discussion forum! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Latest IMG proposals for Super League

The Daddy3

Juniors
Messages
129
If you can’t see that clubs improving in key business and fan engagement areas is a positive direction for the game I can’t help You!

what I’ve said is that your prediction of doom and gloom is ignoring some of the positive things happening in the game. Cheer up mate, it’ll be ok,
It's a positive thing within the narrow corridor that RL has cornered itself into. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter to casual sports fans.
 

taste2taste

Juniors
Messages
2,462
It's a positive thing within the narrow corridor that RL has cornered itself into. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter to casual sports fans.
Hasn’t rugby league always been in the same narrow corridor ?
it’s not like league has ever been popular in the Union loving south or any where else in the uk.

its the same as it ever was.
 

Wb1234

Immortal
Messages
33,512
Hasn’t rugby league always been in the same narrow corridor ?
it’s not like league has ever been popular in the Union loving south or any where else in the uk.

its the same as it ever was.
Sheffield made a challenge cup final

Games In London have always gotten good one off crowds going back to the 1930s

A huge chunk of the tv viewers are from down south

Clubs like Gateshead had decent success in super league with no tv money

They do stupid things like bringing in expansion teams and not give them a share of the tv money (Gateshead Toronto)

There’s no real effort put into expansion bc the game has no money

Part of the reason it has no many is small minded thinking

The best example was Toronto asked for a share of the tv money and the English game said no

The club that replaced them in super league, Leigh (a suburb of Wigan) were given 500k from the tv deal reverting back to full amount whereas Toronto didn’t receive a cent and had to pay accomodation and travel costs for itself and all traveling teams

If the English game wasn’t so insular there’s loads of places in England it can expend too

Even in its own tiny heartlands outside super league the game is dieing

Every year a club needs a bailout or they go broke
 
Last edited:

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,513
But Perth Red just told us RL in the UK is booming. Surely this must be a mistake. 🤦‍♂️
lol I didnt say it was booming, you said it was dying. context is everything in conversation.

re the post, clubs don't want change yet want things to change. So Rugba League!
 

taste2taste

Juniors
Messages
2,462
Sheffield made a challenge cup final

Games In London have always gotten good one off crowds going back to the 1930s

A huge chunk of the tv viewers are from down south

Clubs like Gateshead had decent success in super league with no tv money

They do stupid things like bringing in expansion teams and not give them a share of the tv money (Gateshead Toronto)

There’s no real effort put into expansion bc the game has no money

Part of the reason it has no many is small minded thinking

The best example was Toronto asked for a share of the tv money and the English game said no

The club that replaced them in super league, Leigh (a suburb of Wigan) were given 500k from the tv deal reverting back to full amount whereas Toronto didn’t receive a cent and had to pay accomodation and travel costs for itself and all traveling teams

If the English game wasn’t so insular there’s loads of places in England it can expend too

Even in its own tiny heartlands outside super league the game is dieing

Every year a club needs a bailout or they go broke
Don’t get me started on the Wolfpack, a free kick into the North American market and the SL clubs voted them out!
SERINITY NOW !!!
 

The Daddy3

Juniors
Messages
129
Sheffield made a challenge cup final

Games In London have always gotten good one off crowds going back to the 1930s

A huge chunk of the tv viewers are from down south

Clubs like Gateshead had decent success in super league with no tv money

They do stupid things like bringing in expansion teams and not give them a share of the tv money (Gateshead Toronto)

There’s no real effort put into expansion bc the game has no money

Part of the reason it has no many is small minded thinking

The best example was Toronto asked for a share of the tv money and the English game said no

The club that replaced them in super league, Leigh (a suburb of Wigan) were given 500k from the tv deal reverting back to full amount whereas Toronto didn’t receive a cent and had to pay accomodation and travel costs for itself and all traveling teams

If the English game wasn’t so insular there’s loads of places in England it can expend too

Even in its own tiny heartlands outside super league the game is dieing

Every year a club needs a bailout or they go broke
Great post. It's a complete cop out to say, well RL has always been a regional sport so it's no different. Not true, RL had a sizeable audiences in southern England and Wales, this is something that Sky themselves had said many times.
You even pointed out Sheffield Eagles reaching the cup final. On the back of that the Eagles got crowds of up to 8000, London up to 10000 on occasions. As someone that lives outside the so called heartlands I can tell you that a lot of that sentiment has gone and this is reflected in investment being pulled from Skolars, Broncos and Thunder. All 3 clubs are essentially on life support in one way or another. The Eagles are surviving.
The reduction in tv money is a genuine reflection of this lack of sentiment.

Do you want to know why? Because the value of any tv deal is a reflection of it's value to casual audiences and people outside its traditional areas. It's the casual viewer and the ability of the sport to project itself outside of its traditional boundaries that really determines the value of its content.
Fanbases in places like Leigh, Wigan, Wakefield have limited ability in increasing the value of SL TV rights.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,513
Great post. It's a complete cop out to say, well RL has always been a regional sport so it's no different. Not true, RL had a sizeable audiences in southern England and Wales, this is something that Sky themselves had said many times.
You even pointed out Sheffield Eagles reaching the cup final. On the back of that the Eagles got crowds of up to 8000, London up to 10000 on occasions. As someone that lives outside the so called heartlands I can tell you that a lot of that sentiment has gone and this is reflected in investment being pulled from Skolars, Broncos and Thunder. All 3 clubs are essentially on life support in one way or another. The Eagles are surviving.
The reduction in tv money is a genuine reflection of this lack of sentiment.

Do you want to know why? Because the value of any tv deal is a reflection of it's value to casual audiences and people outside its traditional areas. It's the casual viewer and the ability of the sport to project itself outside of its traditional boundaries that really determines the value of its content.
Fanbases in places like Leigh, Wigan, Wakefield have limited ability in increasing the value of SL TV rights.
You keep making it sound like its anyone's else's fault other than the clubs in those cities and the people who ran them, and the locals who refused to support them.
Sheffield are no longer in SL because they couldn't build a viable Sl club, same for London, same for Toronto same for Paris, same for Crusaders, same for Halifax, same for Widnes, same for Bradford and so it goes on. The owners failed time and again to have the finances to build the clubs properly and the locals didnt support them in big enough numbers to pay the bills.

English RL isnt the AFL where the RFL has tens of millions floating around to prop up expansion clubs until one day they can be sustainable. London spent the first 19 years of SL getting the big SL money, and still remain a basket case of a club off the field scoring lower than some tiny village clubs!

And your kidding yourself if you think this is just a RL problem. Go and take a look at the state of Union in England and the debts clubs they're are racking up. The English sporting landscape is suffocated by soccer with very little room for anything else.

The grading system is the first painful step of a very long road to make RL in England better than it currently is.
 
Last edited:

Wb1234

Immortal
Messages
33,512
Great post. It's a complete cop out to say, well RL has always been a regional sport so it's no different. Not true, RL had a sizeable audiences in southern England and Wales, this is something that Sky themselves had said many times.
You even pointed out Sheffield Eagles reaching the cup final. On the back of that the Eagles got crowds of up to 8000, London up to 10000 on occasions. As someone that lives outside the so called heartlands I can tell you that a lot of that sentiment has gone and this is reflected in investment being pulled from Skolars, Broncos and Thunder. All 3 clubs are essentially on life support in one way or another. The Eagles are surviving.
The reduction in tv money is a genuine reflection of this lack of sentiment.

Do you want to know why? Because the value of any tv deal is a reflection of it's value to casual audiences and people outside its traditional areas. It's the casual viewer and the ability of the sport to project itself outside of its traditional boundaries that really determines the value of its content.
Fanbases in places like Leigh, Wigan, Wakefield have limited ability in increasing the value of SL TV rights.
I actually went to a game at skolars

London could go from two pro clubs to zero

The time to be bold was when super league came about but they bottled it not enforcing mergers

The reality is there isn’t the money in the English game for expansion

Maybe Toulose but not likely anytime soon
 

Wb1234

Immortal
Messages
33,512
You keep making it sound like its anyone's else's fault other than the clubs in those cities and the people who ran them, and the locals who refused to support them.
Sheffield are no longer in SL because they couldn't build a viable Sl club, same for London, same for Toronto same for Paris, same for Crusaders, same for Halifax, same for Widnes, same for Bradford and so it goes on. The owners failed time and again to have the finances to build the clubs properly and the locals didnt support them in big enough numbers to pay the bills.

English RL isnt the AFL where the RFL has tens of millions floating around to prop up expansion clubs until one day they can be sustainable. London spent the first 19 years of SL getting the big SL money, and still remain a basket case of a club off the field scoring lower than some tiny village clubs!

And your kidding yourself if you think this is just a RL problem. Go and take a look at the state of Union in England and the debts clubs there are racking up. The English sporting landscape is suffocated by soccer with very little room for anything else.

The grading system is the first painful step of a very long road to make RL in England better than it currently is.
If Toronto got a share of the tv money they would’ve been fine

If it wasn’t for covid loans (which Toronto couldn’t access) your whole league would’ve gone broke
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,513
I actually went to a game at skolars

London could go from two pro clubs to zero

The time to be bold was when super league came about but they bottled it not enforcing mergers

The reality is there isn’t the money in the English game for expansion

Maybe Toulose but not likely anytime soon
Why do you say that when Paris, Sheffield and London were all invited to join SL and given big money to be there? They were given a chance, and blew it. No ones fault but their own.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,513
If Toronto got a share of the tv money they would’ve been fine

If it wasn’t for covid loans (which Toronto couldn’t access) your whole league would’ve gone broke
Questionable, they were already in serious financial strife and built on a pack of cards.

which was same for many sports clubs, and businesses, around the world. A worldwide pandemic will do sht like that!
 

Wb1234

Immortal
Messages
33,512
Questionable, they were already in serious financial strife and built on a pack of cards.
Wakefield and Salford voted to exclude Toronto

Literally a few weeks later both clubs almost went broke

And that’s with a full share of the tv deal

Toronto had a rich backer who as usual the insular English game found a way to drive him out

Like they did koucash
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,513
Wakefield and Salford voted to exclude Toronto

Literally a few weeks later both clubs almost went broke

And that’s with a full share of the tv deal

Toronto had a rich backer who as usual the insular English game found a way to drive him out

Like they did koucash
haha they didnt drive hm out, a pandemic got in the way of being able to fulfill fixtures and his personal wealth took a hit and he couldnt pay the bills. Built on such a flimsy model it was only matter of when not if. If SL made a mistake it was admitting them in the first place when it didnt have the money to cover their issues.

How do you think KouKash was driven out? Like a lot of blow in owners they give up after a couple of years when the going gets too hard or the investment isnt paying the returns they though it would.

“My decision is nothing to do with the operation of the game or the RFL, with whom during my time I have challenged but also enjoyed a fantastic working relationship, especially during 2017 and they have my ongoing respect."
 

RedVee

First Grade
Messages
7,022
haha they didnt drive hm out, a pandemic got in the way of being able to fulfill fixtures and his personal wealth took a hit and he couldnt pay the bills. Built on such a flimsy model it was only matter of when not if. If SL made a mistake it was admitting them in the first place when it didnt have the money to cover their issues.
Maybe they needed a PVL to ask hard questions of Toronto before accepting the expansion team
 

Wb1234

Immortal
Messages
33,512
haha they didnt drive hm out, a pandemic got in the way of being able to fulfill fixtures and his personal wealth took a hit and he couldnt pay the bills. Built on such a flimsy model it was only matter of when not if. If SL made a mistake it was admitting them in the first place when it didnt have the money to cover their issues.
He made a joke about swinton (which was pretty funny and aimed at what a dump it was) then English fans decided that was racist

He put ten million into it and got sick of the insular English mindset
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,513
He made a joke about swinton (which was pretty funny and aimed at what a dump it was) then English fans decided that was racist

He put ten million into it and got sick of the insular English mindset
No he was pssed he couldnt break the salary cap and get away with it and he was annoyed the good people of Salford werent turning out in big numbers. He has since been declared bankrupt lol.
 

Latest posts

Top