Latest IMG proposals for Super League

[Perth Red]

Maybe they needed a PVL to ask hard questions of Toronto before accepting the expansion team

Ironically they did when he wanted to buy the titans license and was found not to be fit lol

 

[Wb1234]

Ironically they did when he wanted to buy the titans license and was found not to be fit lol

lol torontos home crowd average in the championship was higher than hull kr got in super league

Literally the only club that knows how to market league one and championship rugby league came from Canada

Your club ended up copying their game day experiences by having their own kind of craft beer tent

 

[Perth Red]

lol torontos home crowd average in the championship was higher than hull kr got in super league

Literally the only club that knows how to market league one and championship rugby league came from Canada

Your club ended up copying their game day experiences by having their own kind of craft beer tent

and yet couldnt pay the players or their bills. HKR now top of Sl with 10k crowds, Toronto, well lets just say they arent. If only they had had an owner as committed as Hudgell!

Toronto Wolfpack to face legal action over £1.2m of unpaid player wages

Legal proceedings are set to be launched against the owners of the former Super League club Toronto Wolfpack in a bid to recoup unpaid player salaries in excess of £1m

www.theguardian.com

 

[Wb1234]

and yet couldnt pay the players or their bills. HKR now top of Sl with 10k crowds, Toronto, well lets just say they arent. If only they had had an owner as committed as Hudgell!

Toronto Wolfpack to face legal action over £1.2m of unpaid player wages

Legal proceedings are set to be launched against the owners of the former Super League club Toronto Wolfpack in a bid to recoup unpaid player salaries in excess of £1m

www.theguardian.com

Toronto would’ve shown the rest of the league how to market the game day

Their crowds were full of women and young fans

Killing off Toronto is typical English rugby league

It’s why expansion isn’t worth trying they will be lucky to keep what they have going

 

[Wb1234]

 

[RedVee]

Does it have similar qualification rules to Origin? Born in x or living in x before a certain age ?

 

[Wb1234]

Does it have similar qualification rules to Origin? Born in x or living in x before a certain age ?

Think so

This is the historical context

Wars of the Roses | Summary, History, Family Tree, & Facts | Britannica

Wars of the Roses (1455–85), in English history, the series of civil wars that preceded the rise of the Tudors. Fought between the houses of Lancaster and York for the English throne, the wars were named years afterward from the supposed badges of the contenders: the white rose of York and the...

www.britannica.com

When it last was played it was during the week in between super league rounds

Attendance was poor

 

[adamkungl]

Reviving War of the Roses is a fantastically stupid idea only the backwards English league fans could come up with as the way forward.
When so much of their league are imports, and a decent number from France or London, it is a regressive move.

It is clear that England need competitive NH fixtures and also that France right now are not up to it, but this aint it.

How I would approach it. Firstly, some background tasks:

1. Restore Great Britain as the pinnacle. The reasons for this will become clearer below. Caveats: For test series and tours, Great Britain will play. For Euros and World Cups, England and the individual home nations will play. If WC Qualifiers are running simultaneously, GB will not take players from home nations that need them. Otherwise, GB should always include some players from each nation.

2. Guarantee 2 French teams in Super League, in return for those clubs guaranteeing x number of French-raised players on full time roster. 10? 13? I dunno the exact answer but it is crucial for the change we need to see. We could do similar for Wales in the Championship too, and perhaps even Ireland and Scotland further down the track.

For the mid-season England matches I would propose a tri-series.
Play it as a 3 mid-week fixtures during Challenge cup rounds. Clubs must be on-board with releasing players or it goes nowhere. Round robin through the season playing once each, with a final to be played as the first international in October the week after the Grand Final.
Team 1 - England. Super League players only, no NRL players.
Team 2 - France. self-explanatory.
Team 3 - Celtic Nations. Combined Wales, Ireland, Scotland eligibles.

Celtic is likely controversial but I'd argue that if you can play as GB you can have a valid 'probables' game with England v Celtics. If you can have a meaningless Exiles/World team you can sure as shit have a Celtic team. Combining their players gives them a strong enough team to give England a shake and gives them a fair selection trial for GB. If it includes some Championship players it gives them a chance to showcase on a higher stage which lead to Super League contracts, boosting their individual nations competitive prospects in future. They could alternate home matches between the 3 nations, promoting the sport further afield than we have in decades.

Lock it in for the next World Cup cycle and review afterwards. Far more interesting and future potential than some outdated regional game, IF they put the investment and belief behind it to succeed.

 

[Perth Red]

IMG has launched a strong defence of its partnership with British rugby league, stating that progress has been made in reimaging the sport but that the global marketing company ultimately does not run the sport and only makes recommendations for change.

IMG was appointed by Rugby League Commercial and the RFL in early 2022. Last month RL Commercial revealed the full gradings for all the clubs in Super League, the Championship and League 1.

The marketing consultancy has come under criticism from some clubs and fans over its controversial grading system, and its wider role in the sport. But Matt Dwyer, the IMG executive running the rugby league partnership, insists his company is not the key decision-maker but are merely advisors to those in charge.
“I don’t run the sport,” he said.

“IMG doesn’t run the sport. We don’t make the decisions, but what we do is we do the recommendations. Now, some of those recommendations, we then execute for them, because that’s services and the life that we have in our sport.

“But ultimately, all we can do is say this is what we recommend you do and why, and then the sport needs to decide what they can and cannot do, and what they are willing to do and what they’re not willing to do. And then so you go through some of the recommendations.

“Some of those things are being implemented and some of those things haven’t been as you take you can take a real simple example there, which one of them is loop fixtures. Our recommendation was to remove loop fixtures. But there’s a there’s a trade-off of that, because obviously that is home games for the clubs as well.
“And so ultimately, the clubs decided they weren’t in a position to be able to remove loop fixtures at this stage in their path, which I can understand as well. Our role is here is to is to put recommendations out to them and help them execute off the back of those recommendations.

“But ultimately this is RL Commercial that runs this sport, and our job is to be advising them and giving the best support that we can.”

Dwyer said IMG is pleased with the progress being made in British rugby league with every game now being broadcast and produced by Sky, with crowd attendances holding up and with digital engagement increasing almost 100%.

But he admitted it was always going to take time to turn the sport around and conceded he would like the progress to be faster.

IMG launches staunch defence of rugby league role following criticism

IMG has launched a strong defence of its partnership with British rugby league, stating that progress has been made in reimaging the sport but that the global marketing company ultimately does not …

www.totalrl.com

 

[Pippen94]

RFL chief executive Tony Sutton has stated that there won't be any 'fundamental' changes to the IMG grading criteria—at least in the next year or two. However, he has conceded that there could be more 'intricate' alterations made on a year-to-year basis.

Sutton believes that it wouldn't be in the best interests of the sport to make said fundamental changes, with the first consultation process of IMG's 12-year partnership still ongoing.

All professional clubs are now judged on five pillars: performance, fandom, fianance, stadium, and community—with 15 points needed to achieve Grade A status. The top 12 highest-scoring clubs are then allocated into the Super League, with those below making up the Championship and League 1 competitions. The process then starts again for the following year, with clubs needing to match or better their existing scores to guarantee their status season by season.

The first official scores for the 2025 season have now been handed out, with nine clubs awarded Grade A status. But such grading has come under criticism from clubs since last Wednesday's confirmation, with stadium ultilisation, TV viewership, catchment, LED screens, and more all bringing frustration. It has also come to light that play-off attendances are not counted towards the attendance criteria, despite play-off results used in the performance pillar. Elsewhere, Derek Beaumont, a longtime critic of the IMG system, confirmed the manipulation of the finance pillar to guarantee Leigh Leopards' Grade A score, with Salford Red Devils one club to air their concerns.

Speaking on the potential for criteria to be amended, Sutton said: "I think it will evolve, but it wouldn't be a great position for us to change things fundamentally in the short term. We're in the middle of a consultation period with clubs, and if it's going to be anything fundamental, my view would be that it should be at least three years away.

"It depends what it was, but if it was going to be a facility point, it would take time, funding, planning, and so on. If it's going to be something fundamental, it should therefore be an appropriate timeframe to do so.

"However, going back to another element I mentioned, if it's about a different broadcast landscape, and therefore should the thresholds change? Yes, they should. Should they be next year? Probably. I think there's a range of how it may look. It depends on what you're talking about, and we've discussed a number of things in open sessions with clubs, and rightly so because we can learn things on how the model is operated."

On the scope for more minor changes, Sutton believes there is more wiggle room. For instance, tweaks to cirteria such as attendance brackets and LED screen specifications. Hull FC were one club to air such frustrations, with the pixel pitch on the MKM Stadium's two big screens deemed not good enough for IMG despite being UEFA standard. Elsewhere, Doncaster have missed out on points due to their TV gantry being a fraction too small despite Sky using a different space.


"Those more intricate things we'll do year by year," Sutton added. "The agreement we've got with clubs is that if we're going to do that, you need to know before the season and year have started.

"The timescale between now and the end of the year is that there's an RFL Council meeting on the fourth of December; if we're going to learn things from this year and last, that should go in front of clubs at that meeting so they know then if we're going to make those types of tweaks. Anything more fundamental should be longer."

IMG grading tweaks could be made with key date set for potential changes

Changes to IMG's grading criteria have not been ruled out.

www.hulldailymail.co.uk

Game is going backwards under img

 

[Perth Red]

IMG supremo Matt Dwyer admits Super League could expand beyond 12 teams in the coming years: but not before the competition signs its next broadcast deal at the end of 2026.

Super League has been tipped to extend to 13 or 14 teams after the reveal of the gradings for 2025 last month, in which nine top-flight clubs secured Grade A status.
It had been admitted previously that when all 12 Super League teams reached the highest grading bracket, the competition would then open its doors to more teams: with the expectation that as many as 11 clubs could be graded as an A this time next year.

But Dwyer said that while expansion of Super League is something which remains on the agenda, it is highly unlikely to happen at present due to the fact that there is not enough money in the sport to sustain more top-flight clubs.

He said: “I’m not sure if we’ve said this publicly, but we’ve said it with clubs. There was always an asterisk surrounding the fact that if we get to 12 Category A clubs and we then look to expand: it’s only if the game can afford it.

“I’m happy to say that we’ve got to more Category A clubs quicker than I expected, and that’s great. There’s a couple of clubs you can really see have embraced it, Wakefield being a great example.

“They went away, sat down and worked out what they had to do to get up to the highest level. The intention is expansion but that asterisk remains, and we’ll need to see where we’re at. I would think that would be after we do this next renewal for the broadcast rights, given current projections. So we’ve got a season or two to work it out.”
Super League currently gets around £21.5million per season for its TV contract with Sky, significantly down on recent years. And Dwyer acknowledged that with less funding to give out to clubs, it makes the challenge of allowing more teams into the elite competition difficult.
He did, however, admit he was pleased with how IMG’s partnership with the sport was progressing.

“It’s well known we had a reduction in the broadcast fees so there’s less to spread around for the club,” he admitted.

“We’re trying to ensure the clubs can operate but also trying to grow the sport. Am I happy with the direction we’re heading? Yes. Am I happy with the pace we’re going? I’d like to be going a little bit faster.”

Dwyer also corrected inaccurate reports stating that IMG had received £1.3million so far for their work in the sport. They have received £450,000 to date for their work across three years, much less than had been reported.

IMG make Super League expansion admission as RFL fee paid revealed

IMG's Matt Dwyer admits Super League could expand beyond 12 teams: but not before the competition signs its next broadcast deal at the end of 2026.

www.loverugbyleague.com

 

[Perth Red]

@Wb1234 I guess you shouldnt believe everything you read on X lol

Dwyer also corrected inaccurate reports stating that IMG had received £1.3million so far for their work in the sport. They have received £450,000 to date for their work across three years, much less than had been reported.

 

[Perth Red]

Contenders for club 13&14 if they do eventually expand. (Based on this years gradings)

13. Toulouse Olympique – B – 13.58 – Championship
14. London Broncos – B – 12.65 – Championship
15. York Knights – B – 12.42 – Championship
16. Bradford Bulls – B – 12.15 – Championship

Any 2 of the those 4 would be welcome additions to SL.

 

[Wb1234]

@Wb1234 I guess you shouldnt believe everything you read on X lol

Dwyer also corrected inaccurate reports stating that IMG had received £1.3million so far for their work in the sport. They have received £450,000 to date for their work across three years, much less than had been reported.

Pretty sure I posted that figure of 400k

I even said I could’ve done the same job for 40k lol

 

[Wb1234]

Contenders for club 13&14 if they do eventually expand. (Based on this years gradings)

13. Toulouse Olympique – B – 13.58 – Championship
14. London Broncos – B – 12.65 – Championship
15. York Knights – B – 12.42 – Championship
16. Bradford Bulls – B – 12.15 – Championship

Any 2 of the those 4 would be welcome additions to SL.

In toulose London and Bradford

Out giants

 

[Perth Red]

400k pa and the guy handling it lives in Australia

Pretty sure I posted that figure of 400k

I even said I could’ve done the same job for 40k lol

Pretty sure you didn't lol

 

[RedVee]

So the TV deal went down in money terms but now every game is televised?

 

[adamkungl]

So the TV deal went down in money terms but now every game is televised?

You would hope that results in a boost next time... I can only assume that's their gameplan.
Having standalone TV slots each week with the better games in prime time like the NRL does could only help too. Currently its a mess, 3 games on at once, different days each week. Yuck.

 

[Perth Red]

So the TV deal went down in money terms but now every game is televised?

Financially it went down a bit but a couple of important things were part of it. Deal is 21.5mill pounds (down 10%) on previous deal. 3 year deal '24-'26

1. Sky agreed to produce every game for first time ever.
2. They agreed to allow the SL to have the games to sell themselves on a streaming platform at $260 a year subscription rate. (https://www.superleague.co.uk/superleagueplus)
3. They agreed to increased games being shown on FTA.

So whilst the money went down there was some pretty important opportunities that have come out of it for SL. We dont yet know how SL+ is performing and what sort of revenue it is generating. Or what the BBC deal is worth.

 

[Wb1234]

And the rfl made basically zilch on streaming those games

Sky lost interest in league ages ago they put games on Thursday night

It appears they get nothing from showing super league games on free to air as well

A big chunk of viewers are from the south / London so losing their team doesn’t help the tv deal