We are surely the only game that lets it's live broadcast game be completely compromised by playing 2 sometimes 3 other games at the same time on Friday night. I'm suprised Sky allow it to be honest cos it must knock many thousands off their live viewing figures. Needless to say the RFL won't bother to do anything about it. The live game should be THE only game played on a Friday night!

and Saturday?

Saturday is normally the only game played, there's usually no clash. Friday can see up to 4 games being played at the same time, it really must knock thousands off the Live viewing figures.

Definately

Apart from Salford, who always seem to have preferred Friday nights, most teams kicked off on Sundays (once the Sunday Observance Law was relaxed obviously). Since the advent of Sky televised live games, a number of clubs have elected for a Friday preferrance, in order to bring a degree of consistency in game turnaround but mainly to maximise on corporate hospitality.

Hull moved from Sunday to mainly Friday gamedays last year and despite all the doom & gloom predicted, gates actually increased. Rarely have Sky switched a scheduled game from Friday to Saturday or Sunday, they often switch, at very short notice, from Sunday to Friday, so disrupting the training schedule of many clubs.

Sky won't be bothered about the few hundred, not thousands, of people not watching, in the most part, they'll already have banked their subscriptions anyway.

football and union don't do it do they. add to that cricket.

stop thinking of ways to knock the game you make yourself look like a numpty.

Totally agree, it's another way that the game shoots itself in the foot. The televised game should be THE only game. Like you say other sports don't compromise their Live games.

It does get annoying to keep missing Sky games being at matches. It's not the same watching them delayed.

Having said that I'd hate Wigan's home matches to move from Friday Nights. This is our 10th season since switching and the routine is set in.

So your response is to compromise the financial viability of the clubs?

You could have a whole shelf full of these soon

in the current financial climate, clubs need to do whats best for them not whats best for tv figures, friday night at hull brings in more sponsers and coporate sales, i do miss sunday rugby, but it has worked well for us and that has shown in our profits

there are numerous football premiership matches played on a sunday that clash with other games that are covered by sky, more often when the european matches are played midweek

First of all, please learn how to use the quote facility, I've had to edit your post because of your inability.

Do you honestly think that Sky are that concerned?

If you do, then maybe Sky should be reminded that the game's first priority is the welfare of those playing the game. They are involved in a dynamic collision sport, player recovery time is all important to retaining the spectacle that is Rugby League. If Sky don't have a spectacle, they don't have a product to sell, if they have no product to sell, they have no money to invest in that product.

I have infinitely more confidence in the RFL to negotiate TV rights with Sky than I have in your potical smokescreen tactics. You have already shown, on another thread, that you have no idea about how to account for player valuations.

You've now shown you know buggerall about how televised TV works. In fact you're rapidly getting to the point where you appear to know buggerall about RL at all

If you have such faith in the RFL How come our game gets such a comparitably poor deal compared to the Guinness premireship? Our viewing figures need to improve for the RFL to have a good base for negotations next time as the "good times" may well soon be over in today's very poor economic climate. Glad you can be so blaise about Sky viewing figures being unimportant.

do you not have any of the following:-

sky+
dvd recorder
video recorder

all usefull for tv games

I agree with the OP and this was brought up by Martyn Sadler in his column last week.

I don't know why anyone would think this could equate to just a few hundred fans, when the likes of Wigan, Leeds and Saints all play on a Friday night, which could equate to over 40k RL fans.

As for the corporate stuff, it is a valid point to an extent, however a few clubs still go with Sundays, so there obviously isn;t a black and white solution.

When viewing figures can be as low as 100k at times, having up to 40k fans at their games at the same time really could make a difference.

Bit harsh that considering Martyn Sadler was saying precisely the same in last weeks League Express ...

I`d suggest Sadler knows rather more about RL/Sky than you Coddy ...

And three years ago and three years before that, Sadler was proclaiming to anyone who would listen, that Sky would screw us. The first time prompted me to get in direct contact with Richard Lewis, he said enough on both occasions to assure me that we'd be OK. Sure enough Sadler's predictions of doom were unfounded.

If I had to rely on Sadler, I'd have given up on the game years ago.

Slight side issue, but it was interesting to see that for the first time in a few years we kept our game against Leeds on a Sunday, rather than accomodate them with a Friday night fixture in line with their preference of home game. The result was a significantly higher attendance than last year and the latter our two fixtures of 2008. It certainly seemed like the Leeds fans came out in much bigger numbers for the Sunday game.

should the rfl push for a live game on sunday? i think this would give blanket tv coverage for the whole weekend = more TV money in the long run?

Sky+ it. You can fast forward the adverts and 'Elbows and Knees' Cullen when he's on at half time.

What about a late Tea Time Sunday Sky televised game? A 6pm ko?

Done years ago, may work.
At the end of the day, the Crusaders viewing figures was 350,000, much much higher than regular and i'd be willing to give this idea a try

Don't have Sky. I have a Telly Freeview Box 7 pvr. I watch plenty of Live Sky games but always at the Pub/Club or Gym . I am also a season ticket holder at York and regularly watch Leeds Rhino's.

Have none of em, just a TV Freeview Box and PVR. Always watch Sky Live games at the Pub/Club or Gym.

sounds good. especially during soccer season, a game following straight after suer sunday on Sky sports 1 could get a fairly larrge audience potentially