Quote ="IR80"serious question, where is the value for any broadcaster in showing the lower leagues?'"
If I'd asked you of the value of showing a few blokes throwing arrows at a dartboard, watched by a load of pi55ed up fans a decade ago, you'd have said NOWT.
RL at what we consider 2nd tier level would/could be a nice little "filler" that could pick up a niche audience, sick of the razzamatazz of pro sports. I'd reckon a "joint" deal, with the clubs swapping a fee in year one in exchange for a broadcaster to produce and show games would be a fair way to test the waters.....
.....although Toronto paid to produce their own last year, gave them to sky and then sky wasn't happy to pay for them this year, so maybe not.
A Saturday afternoon game on FTA TV would be a start.