Re: Harlequins sell out crowd : Tue Jan 18, 2011 8:08 pm  

kit80 wrote:

The Rugby Union World Cup is required to be on terrestrial TV

....DON'T CARE WHY IT IS....IT IS! That's the point......even here in NZ you will need to be a sky subscriber for all but the AB's games which have to be free to air.......and even then, Sky's free to air channel show them........
The fact that ITV will show the England games Live will mean that at the end of 2011.....Rugby Union games will feature in the top 10 watched programmes of the year......with Millions watching. RL needs to look long and hard at itself and its aspirations to be a national sport....it needs SKY to share the coverage of the RLWC or at least show it on a free to air channel. If they unscrambled one of their channels for the duration it would increase viewing figures, ad revenue and potentially interest in the game.

Re: Harlequins sell out crowd : Tue Jan 18, 2011 9:27 pm  

gutterfax wrote:

....DON'T CARE WHY IT IS....IT IS! That's the point......even here in NZ you will need to be a sky subscriber for all but the AB's games which have to be free to air.......and even then, Sky's free to air channel show them........
The fact that ITV will show the England games Live will mean that at the end of 2011.....Rugby Union games will feature in the top 10 watched programmes of the year......with Millions watching. RL needs to look long and hard at itself and its aspirations to be a national sport....it needs SKY to share the coverage of the RLWC or at least show it on a free to air channel. If they unscrambled one of their channels for the duration it would increase viewing figures, ad revenue and potentially interest in the game.

One of the biggest differences between the England RL team and the England RU team is that the Union side actually show up for their world cup tournaments and usually do pretty well.

And in a country where the oval ball game will always play second fiddle to the round ball game that goes a long way in attracting support.

Re: Harlequins sell out crowd : Tue Jan 18, 2011 9:51 pm  

PHIPPS wrote:

One of the biggest differences between the England RL team and the England RU team is that the Union side actually show up for their world cup tournaments and usually do pretty well.

And in a country where the oval ball game will always play second fiddle to the round ball game that goes a long way in attracting support.

Anything that England "do well' in will be lauded by the country at the moment......and if England RL can get anywhere near the RLWC final it will be a big thing......

Re: Harlequins sell out crowd : Tue Jan 18, 2011 9:52 pm  

PHIPPS wrote:

One of the biggest differences between the England RL team and the England RU team is that the Union side actually show up for their world cup tournaments and usually do pretty well.

And in a country where the oval ball game will always play second fiddle to the round ball game that goes a long way in attracting support.

I don't think that is a particularly significant factor. Despite being a relatively recent introduction the RUWC is much more credible as an tournament. I agree England have a good record but I am not convinced that better GB or England performances in the RLWC would have generated that much more interest.

The format and scheduling of the RLWC has been inconsistent as the organisers struggle to make the concept interesting enough to even the Australians.

Re: Harlequins sell out crowd : Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:48 am  

To ad to the RL/RU discussion;

I started Secondary School in 2003 and the buzz surrounding England RU getting to the Quarter Finals and then Semi's was clear to see throughout my school year. Boys who were fans of Football teams suddenly got interested in the game, presumably because of the success the RU team were having on the pitch, unlike the Football team in the 2002 World Cup. If England would have been knocked out in the Quarter Finals then the interest would probably have ended in many boys. A lot of those boys are still playing RU seven years on and a few have represented Essex, so success looks to be the key.

The problem with the 2008 World Cup and 2010 Four Nations is the time difference in Australia and Britain. Most England games were Saturday mornings (our time) and many teenagers spend Saturday's lying in bed till 12-1 o'clock. England did reach the Semi's like there Union counterparts, but I think the fact that the RU team won is a major factor. Also, the games should be on terrestrial tele. The next RLWC is a massive one for the English game, if worked correctly the game could kick on. For example, England meet New Zealand in the Semi's at the DW Stadium and it kicks off at 6pm on Saturday night and is shown live on BBC, then it gives youngsters and anyone else a good time to watch the game. Kids can go upstairs and watch it in their room if Mum wants to watch rubbish TV or Dad and Lad can watch it and get an interest in the game.

Re: Harlequins sell out crowd : Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:11 pm  

Essex Quin wrote:

To ad to the RL/RU discussion;

I started Secondary School in 2003 and the buzz surrounding England RU getting to the Quarter Finals and then Semi's was clear to see throughout my school year. Boys who were fans of Football teams suddenly got interested in the game, presumably because of the success the RU team were having on the pitch, unlike the Football team in the 2002 World Cup. If England would have been knocked out in the Quarter Finals then the interest would probably have ended in many boys. A lot of those boys are still playing RU seven years on and a few have represented Essex, so success looks to be the key.

The problem with the 2008 World Cup and 2010 Four Nations is the time difference in Australia and Britain. Most England games were Saturday mornings (our time) and many teenagers spend Saturday's lying in bed till 12-1 o'clock. England did reach the Semi's like there Union counterparts, but I think the fact that the RU team won is a major factor. Also, the games should be on terrestrial tele. The next RLWC is a massive one for the English game, if worked correctly the game could kick on. For example, England meet New Zealand in the Semi's at the DW Stadium and it kicks off at 6pm on Saturday night and is shown live on BBC, then it gives youngsters and anyone else a good time to watch the game. Kids can go upstairs and watch it in their room if Mum wants to watch rubbish TV or Dad and Lad can watch it and get an interest in the game.

where do you think the 2003 RUWC was held ?? The problem is that the RLWC is a non event.

Re: Harlequins sell out crowd : Wed Jan 19, 2011 8:33 pm  

jbuzza wrote:

I don't think that is a particularly significant factor.

It is.

Re: Harlequins sell out crowd : Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:54 pm  

Touchy GF? I was simply pointing out that it isn't the IRB seeing any benefit - it's not a choice.
You could equally say the RFL have seen the benefit of free to air by showing the Challenge Cup on BBC - which also has significant viewing numbers.

Re: Harlequins sell out crowd : Wed Jan 19, 2011 10:07 pm  

kit80 wrote:

Touchy GF? I was simply pointing out that it isn't the IRB seeing any benefit - it's not a choice.

SLY TV tried to get into the 6 nations via the back door a few years ago....The RFU negotiaded a deal seperately from the other home nations....the IRB "sorted" that problem out. They see the benefit of FTA TV.......the RUWC was never on the protected list of old....but it was placed on it once it came into being because (a) the BBC thought they would win the rights and (b) because the IRB wanted it so.
The IRB benefit because it is another competition other than the 6 nations that gets people up at 6am to watch ENGLAND play in a comp.......if they don't have SKY it doesn't matter...it's on FTA. The more people who watch it...know about it...are more likely to buy a replica shirt with a rose on the right tit....all of these things help the IRB because they help the game in general.

kit80 wrote:

You could equally say the RFL have seen the benefit of free to air by showing the Challenge Cup on BBC - which also has significant viewing numbers.

The CC gets 4 or 5 games a year....the 6 nations gets 3 games a weekend for 5 weeks....if the BBC stopped showing the 6 nations the championship itself would start to struggle for crowds IMO.

FTA is key.....Murdoch has spent Billions on soccer to get it where it is, yet the BBC get very good audience figures for 30 games of Union every year for very little cash outlay.

If SL was on FTA TV I believe that the game would double its audience and attendances within 3 years.......but without the 1.2 million each, the clubs wouldn't survive. SKY TV is the Crack Cocaine of RL.....in my opinion.

Re: Harlequins sell out crowd : Wed Jan 19, 2011 10:49 pm  

gutterfax wrote:

SLY TV tried to get into the 6 nations via the back door a few years ago....The RFU negotiaded a deal seperately from the other home nations....the IRB "sorted" that problem out. They see the benefit of FTA TV.......the RUWC was never on the protected list of old....but it was placed on it once it came into being because (a) the BBC thought they would win the rights and (b) because the IRB wanted it so.
The IRB benefit because it is another competition other than the 6 nations that gets people up at 6am to watch ENGLAND play in a comp.......if they don't have SKY it doesn't matter...it's on FTA. The more people who watch it...know about it...are more likely to buy a replica shirt with a rose on the right tit....all of these things help the IRB because they help the game in general.

The CC gets 4 or 5 games a year....the 6 nations gets 3 games a weekend for 5 weeks....if the BBC stopped showing the 6 nations the championship itself would start to struggle for crowds IMO.

FTA is key.....Murdoch has spent Billions on soccer to get it where it is, yet the BBC get very good audience figures for 30 games of Union every year for very little cash outlay.

If SL was on FTA TV I believe that the game would double its audience and attendances within 3 years.......but without the 1.2 million each, the clubs wouldn't survive. SKY TV is the Crack Cocaine of RL.....in my opinion.

You make some good points there GF,especially the monies we receive from Sky.
I think the other factor though is the way the media treat our game compared to union.
Let's be honest we have never been given a fair crack of the whip and it will be interesting to see the media coverage when the World Cup starts in 2013,but I am not holding my breath.