There's a thread on the Leeds board about the lack of big money transfers in RL, and he discussion inevitably led to he fact there's little money in the game... I floated an idea on that thread and thought it would be good to get people's opinions on here on the subject.....

Basically, I believe any changes to salary caps, marquee player allowances, number of teams in SL to try and increase interest in the game (and therefore potentially money into the game) would really be papering over the cracks - as these initiatives would only really entice existing fans of RL back to the sport - we need more casual viewers and a wider audience.

So... My thought...The key to increasing the amount of media coverage, sponsorship and money generally flowing into the game is to increase the awareness of our sport to 'non-RL folk' - get more people to know about and take an interest in RL, and I think there's a fairly obvious way we can do this - but it will take a bold and risky move... At the next set of TV deal negotiations, be prepared to take less of a cut from Sky and insist on a level of 'free to air' coverage of the game - even if it's just 1 game a week and a highlights programme.

There'd be a significant drop in the TV rights money earned on that deal I'm sure, but I think this would be short term pain for long term gain. The British public love live sport, our sport is great for TV, and there's minimal live sport available 'free to air'. A regular time slot on terrestrial TV could see us gain a huge national following.... The key here would be to make sure it's a good professional production, and not one the just backs up our 'Northern Working Class' reputation...

In the late 80's, early 90's, lots of non RL folk from all over the country could name players like Hanley, Schofield, Offiah, Edwards, Robinson, just from the amount of air play we got for the Challenge Cup and the odd GB series - People I work with from down South nowadays couldn't name a single current player.....

Going 'free to air' could open up a huge advertising market, make our players household names again and get big businesses interested in sponsoring our teams and our league...

What do people think? Is it plausible? Would the general public be interested?

Having successful teams in prosperous areas of the country ie the SE will be needed. Can' t see the finance being available to achieve that.

No. The only way to raise the profile of rugby league is to get more teams from outside the M62 into Super League. London and Toulouse are the obvious first choices. But more teams from the midlands or the south are needed, as well as two more French clubs, including one from Paris..

After that make a serious effort to get more sponsorship from national and international corporate entities.

After that is achieved, try to acquire one game a week on terrestrial, preferably BBC.

I'd agree that expansion is required and would benefit the game (if done and supported correctly), but I wouldn't say it's the 'only' way to raise our profile.

I strongly believe our product is good enough anyway to increase our profile if we have the right initiatives, but expansion would absolutely support and enhance this.

We've absolutely no chance of raising the profile of our sport in the short or medium term...............the horse bolted years ago.

Having sold out to SKY for cheap money, the RFL inept of procuring big MAJOR sponsors deals, a PR decline with the national media. Then we have the quality of super league player in rapid decline not helped by a Salary Cap that just can't compete with the Union Code and NRL comp. We are probably about 5 years away from all our players in the international side playing away from these shores because super league is so weak in intensity and challenge.
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The RFL won't come out of there comfort zone, won't risk the alternatives because they know failure will put us on the brink of disaster. We were promised new connections and media improvements via Brian Barwick who in 3 years of office has offered very little to enhance our sport.

I reckon on a more basic level, it also doesn't help how the majority of games start.

I've taken loads of people down to watch Wakey (tough sell already

) but in most games the first 15 - 20 mins are usually teams going through the sets, trying to establish territory and playing % rugby. Obviously while a dyed in the wool fan like me can see this is sensible, I think quite a few decide that it's just 5 drives and a kick and switch off.

On the other hand I've had people I've brought down get season tickets and come to other games but it still baffles me how it's such a hard sell. Such a great game.

......and as for Saints

International rugby is the only way to raise the profile.

More Internationals, with the best players in the World playing each other on a regular basis.

Cricket, Rugby Union, Athletics or any Olympic sports profiles are raised through International competition.

I think it has to be a multi-faceted approach. We are of course always hamstrung by lack of money which means we can't give up significant amounts of income and we can't embark on any kind of even mid-level publicity campaign.
We have to be establish a long term strategy. Sadly the RFL's version of long term is about 3 seasons when really we have to look at about 15 years. Because of our current position progress will be painfully slow in a country that does what the media tells it to and with a media that doesn't give a toss about anything north of Watford.
But we have to establish that strategy and then, crucially, have the balls to stick with it.

In my inexpert opinion, I think we need to do following:
1 - Internationals
We still need a proper set international calendar. I also think we need the Internationals to be mid-season. I think they get somewhat lost and feel like an add-on to the season rather than the pinnacle.
Having at least 1 England game at a big stadium in London is a must. It attracts so much more publicity than having them all up north.

2 - I think, due to our scarce resources, we have to pick an area for expansion. For me it'd be Newcastle and/or Manchester. Take an international to the place, tie in with the Magic Weekend, put money into increasing school and amateur take-up in those areas. Tie in with the local club (Thunder/Red Devils)

3 - Id introduce a 2nd cup competition and some version of Yorks v Lancs to give the season some variety.

4 - The most important aspect IMO - a huge focus on expanding participation at grassroots level. Even in the heartlands participation is rubbish. So to start with the focus would be on the heartlands and specified expansion areas. Change how the current amateur leagues work to encourage higher participation at all ages including adults. A big push on Touch, Tag, schools and girls/women's RL. Hopefully encouraging those people who either leave the sport or never even bother trying it to come and be a part. I'd also establish strong links between the RFL and the amateur/schools/touch clubs/organisations. Encourage attendance at RL events with either discounted tickets or a scheme whereby the club/organisation can make a bit of money from selling tickets for it.



If we want a higher profile we need more and different people involved in the game. To get more media (especially with the sh|thouses that masquerade as media) we need more than just "oh Leeds have beaten St Helens again". We need some variety in the season and some more easily marketable events such as Yorks v Lancs and another cup comp.
But we also need to involve people regularly. The amateur game is the entry point to a sport for many many people, and ours too often fails RL in that regard.

Now none of this will transform RL overnight. But a sustained, concerted effort, FROM THE WHOLE SPORT, should over time reap dividends in the future.

What we desperately, desperately need is a long term strategy, not short term panicking and chucking what little money we have at players. We did that in the 80's and 90's and that's what left us in the position we only just recovered from 20 years ago.

FTA sounds good in theory but I can't see any channels being interested in airing one match a week in a prime slot on Friday/Sat/Sun every week for the majority of the year.

As for internationals, we don't have enough top teams to have a proper international schedule. Yes playing at the end of the season creates an end of year add-on feel but basically just playing the same two teams is the big problem and it won't be taken seriously until we have several teams at the that level. Always said imagine how RU or cricket would do if it's internationals were basically just made up of Eng/NZ/Aus and the rest just "whipping boy rabble" that never came close to beating the top 3.

Red Hall need to get off the backside and sell the game to where the money investors are be it Russia, India, China even the USA. The game can'r raise its profile without money and media support, thats the be all and end all, we need something now in a similar process when Sky and Uncle Mo discussed and fast tracked the super league concept.
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Raising the importance of internationals is OK but we need a complete overall of Superleague it lacks quality, intensity and the sky presentation is stale. The Yorkshire v Lancashire re introduction is a good start but give it a lot more weight like the origin games, re badge it as Wests v Easts to get rid of the North of England (M62) vision. The RFL need to take a risk with the Challenge Cup and send it out for broadcast tender with a balanced fixture of rounds with the final in July away from the season starts of football and Union.
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The magic weekend should be a 9's comp over 3 days involving more clubs in a seeded preliminary couple of rounds and set in the Newcastle or Birmingham areas well away from any rugby league hot bed area. The RFL are just not dynamic enough to change things quickly and seem to be scared of all the eggs falling out of the one basket. Nigel and Brian are not the ones capable of taking the game forward with purpose and haste, the stobart deal was just one piece of proof of that fact.

Is this the same Uncle Mo who was hated by most supporters outside the Wigan area?

Still to this day the most visionary executive the game has had in modern history.

Re-introduced the World Club Challenges, tookinternationals to larger stadiums (Wembley), dragged the game from winter rugby with the invention of Super League. Not all his ideas were favoured (mergers) but I remember an interview from the mid nineties where he stated his dream would be to see a challenge cup final Birmingham v Wigan, full to capacity. Ahead of his time, unfortunately in a sport where risk and change is unwelcomed by a large majority.

I agree. Which is why I think we need a mid-season 5 Nations every year and we need to focus funding and support on Wales and France to try and get them to a position where they're able to give England a game.

I've said it before but I also think we need some rule changes in the game to avoid blowout score lines. You only need to be slightly better than your opponent in RL to run up 40-50 points, that doesn't happen in Union or football. The nature of those games keeps the scores closer. So I think we need other areas for teams to compete in other than the play the ball, such as scrums and maybe look again at the kickoff and some other areas as to where we can allow teams to compete and avoid one team easily establishing dominance in a game.

What like letting the other side get the ball back after one team score like in U8s

Didn't they used to do that?

Just hire the s from the Salford incident and get them to get drunk and kick off every week, we'll be on the main news permanently.

We don't have a big enough 13-a-side game to change the Magic Weekend to a 9s comp.

As it stands Magic Weekend is our third biggest weekend of the year so it must remain in the form it always has been. I know non-RL fans who have gone down to Magic Weekend each year when it was at the Etihad (they never bothered with it moving up to Newcastle last year) who never attend another RL game all season and who just watch the CC final and GF on tele. They really enjoyed what Magic Weekend was. They liked the rivalry in the stands too. With it being a meaningful table game it's really intense with the fans of the clubs too. Move that down to a 9s comp and fans interests will be far less intense.

In fact, i reckon that attendances would plummet if we made Magic a 9s comp.

More people live along the m62 corridor than nsw,Qland and NZ combined. Making it more popular in heartland would be at start! I do agree that until the game is on free to air to it is always going to struggle to build an audience either in heartland or further afield.

We definitely need to make it more popular in the heartland.

We need big Manchester and Newcastle teams in my opinion too. Keep swapping Magic Weekend between the two cities every other year. Etihad one year, Sid James' the year after... Sell it to the public of both cities; "can you beat last year's attendance figures from the other city" and say they can attend a game for free at Newcastle or Manchester Rangers/Salford RDs with their Magic Weekend ticket or something.

Dont know if its been mentioned on here, but our Nigel, signed a new contract at the RFL recently, think he's here another 3 years.

If the game won't scrap the Salary Cap, just scrap it in respect of any current or future club that is based "outside the heartlands", however you want to define that. Might, for example, the Bath RU owner establish an RL team to enter League 1 and aim to rise to Super League within two years if he could "guarantee" success by there being no salary cap imposed on him?

For heartland clubs, allow a 2nd marquee player allowance to be exempt from the Salary Cap to apply only to the signing of a current "6 Nations" international Union player. Not compulsory, just an option for clubs. See it as marketing spend.

I agree with the OP that getting games on Terrestrial TV is a must. International games have seen a big boost in exposure since they've been back on the BBC (even in early morning slots for the games in Aus/NZ) and surely there is an incentive for SKY in that improving the sports profile might tempt more people to subscribe to SKY Sports.

I also agree with another poster that focusing on Manchester and Newcastle for expansion is a good idea. Both have shown they are receptive to RL, and are big cities not small time towns that we generally have in SL currently.

Yep. And crucially both places already have an RL presence albeit only small. I'd love us to be Nigel Wood's waistline and expand on all fronts, but we haven't got the resources for that. Expansion cant just be a team plonked in an area. All the previous "expansion" teams have proved that doesn't work. The one where there was some existing groundwork and basis to start from, Catalans, proves that it can.

So we have to pick and choose. I'd take approx £300k from each SL clubs TV money giving us £3.6m a year to use on publicising/grassroots/whatever in these 2 areas. And I know it artificially benefits 2 clubs over others but I don't particularly care if it grows the game. If we could establish a foothold in both Newcastle & Manchester in, say, 15 years time, I think that'd be a huge step forward for the game. We'd then have a decent sporting presence in Leeds, Hull, Manchester and Newcastle.
That should give us some ammunition when negotiating with broadcasters and sponsors.

He's way past his sell by date, I get the impression he will never be challenged and will have one of those rare Jobs for Life. Has anybody any idea what Brian Barwick has brought to the table besides a handshake at the finals.

Unfortunately RFL may have talked about Manchester until it is too late! The RU under 20 World Cup is being held this year in AJ Bell and Man City Academy Ground. The RFU has said it's aim is to get as many school kids in the NW to see a completion involving over 30 countries, and to provide the resources for an extra 1000 schools in the NW to play and develop RU. I think it is June sometine, but is all ready being promoted heavily.

The RFU has planted it's tanks on RL's lawn and history has shown they have the resources to back it up ( and no doubt a few big names) I can only guess how much Sale Sharks will be all over it!. It may be the RFL has missed the Manchester ( as opposed to Gtr Manchester) boat.