The last deal was set out by Martyn Sadler in terms of where every £Pound was to go. Very large sums indeed didn't go to Superleague clubs so this current deal certainly [i"pays for a lot more than Superleague". [/i

But all the indications are that Superleague take the view SKY money is for clubs who fulfill the SKY contract, and it seems SKY also take that view, and it is not for clubs who do not fulfill the contract. The last deal was negotiated and distributed by the RFL.

[i"This deal has been negotiated by Superleague and again the indications are that they will take the "Lions share"........."The new deal is thought to be worth around UK£25 million a year, compared to UK£40 million a year at present. After the 12 Super League clubs take their share, it could leave little for the Rugby Football League (RFL), which lost the right to conduct the broadcast negotiations when Super League clubs broke away from the governing body in 2018, and the clubs in the second and third tiers of the professional pyramid"[/i

The 12 SL clubs were given "£1,825,000 per club per year" from the existing deal so £25M a year shared by twelve SL clubs would be just over £2Million each.......An increase for the 12 SL clubs...... a greater increase if SL was 10 clubs, and a greater increase still if SL includes the French on their own TV deal....

Way things are going with funding and protectionist attitude of the bigger clubs we will be down to a Supper League of about 8 teams! What a joke. We need a new business model. What are people’s thoughts about the 14 next year and 10 year after could be some mad pressure games mid table! 10 clubs lots of loop fixtures is that what fans want?

People were wrong to assume Leigh's elevation to Superleague made it inevitable they would go down, I was wrong to assume Salford would make way for them by losing their ground thus their SL place. It looks like the 12 will be joined by Fev and TO to make the 14 so French clubs do not look like they will be rejected even if there is no French TV deal.

That 14 clubs are to fight it out for the ten spots means there are no politics, all clubs are even, all 14 clubs have the right to be in a 10 club SL1 league 2023. That's fine.

But once the first division of 10 is finalised do the 4 clubs who get relegated then join the six top clubs in the Championship to make a 10 club SL2? What about the clubs outside the 2x10's??? It'll be great fun at the top end of the pyramid, but carnage amongst those at the broader base?

Will there be a division 3 and if not....................
Will RL in Cumbria be effectively wiped out?
What about Newcastle hoisted up out of League2 by SL clubs favourability if they don't make the top 20?
What about York - well out of the top 20 now?
What about Dewsbury's 146 year history?...........And so it goes on. For me the real "Mad pressure" is on clubs beyond the 20

This is the point about 10 clubs in SL.

It delivers third fixtures between all top clubs. Purists & attendees at grounds are already moaning they don't want to see Wigan play their club three times and prefer that the plan was for 14 Superleague clubs 26 games home and away plus magic.

So does the game listen to SKY or does the game listen to this group of fans? I'd suggest SKY will get what SKY wants as SKY pays and that will be the best viewer ratings, ie. Saints and Wigan for a third time or Salford.v.Huddersfield for a first time

Relegated twice actually.

We never survived on points difference. The year we finished 2nd bottom there was no relegation.

If anything that probably enhances your point tbf..

I'm not necessarily a fan of going to 10 but if it's a starting block and as reported the difference in money between SL1 and 2 won't be huge then once there are a handful of super League 2 sides hitting key targets like attendances sponsorship deals then we could look to increase numbers.

25m for super League 1 is a great deal unfortunately it's more than likely it's for the top two leagues with super League 2 getting the championship treatment of no TV games. Surely there has to be a way of getting SL2 Gabe's on an other broadcaster or free to air TV as a minimum ? Hopefully with two french sides there's s better chance of a TV deal from France these deals don't have to be the same figures sky are paying but will certainly help get more money into all of the league's ontop of sky's money.

Ii did read something about the planned talks and reduced numbers in the league but also mentioned was a new cup somp as would be fewer fixtures ? There are still a few meetings planned so hopefully there will be some info on that ?

Reducing the league to 10 is just an easy solution in trying to get a division which would be higher in quality with a strong league top to bottom.

Its a ridiculous idea which would say that Super League has been a failure and not 'Super' at all.

Most new projects start and then the plan is through time expand the league with new teams but no not Super League. There idea is to cut the top league to 10 teams lol.

Make SL a 20 team league with no salary cap......but a limit on overseas trained players
Year 1, every side gets an equal share of the TV money
Year 2 onwards, your finishing position decides how much central funding you get......210 shares of the TV money......1st place gets 20, last place gets 1. If the cash is £10,000,000 then last place gets you £50k.......first place gets you £1,000,000

A number of things will happen. Firstly, wealthy owners will be allowed to buy success, but more importantly, medium sized and below clubs will be 100% in charge of their own destiny....more fans = more income from tickets, bars, food, merch and sponsors......SL clubs have become lazy and have their 1.8 million a year allocated and spent by Feb each year....this will ensure they have to fight for survival. Every game will matter, with each step on the ladder (table) worth 50k.......Wigan for example will be able to field an academy squad against Swinton, but over time clubs will rise up. The Likes of Argyle are out there....blokes with a passion for the game and deep pockets, but the closed shop of SL with 3k crowds rattling around Salford isn't going to attract them....but clubs like Bradford, Featherstone etc will have a real incentive to get out into the community and get bodies through the turnstiles.

and if clubs go bust, then so be it. They have no right to exist if they solely rely on hand outs and a wealthy owner.....sod bemoaning 130 years of 'istory.....its a professional sport in a busy marketplace...shape up or ship out!

Who don't last five minutes.....Koukash?

As I say...if clubs fold, they fold! We need to stop this protectionist malarky and realise we're a sport fighting for a share of the pot and if we spend less time worrying about Salford or London's reliance on rich blokes and more about figuring out how to attract fans to games we'd be in better shape.
4k+ at PO road today for the top of the table clash....5.5k for Wigan v Wakey last week.....superleague isn't the be all and end all.....there's clubs outside the fence at the moment that could be bigger if given the chance, so stop paying £1.8 million life support and let the dice fall where they will....

Where are these "new teams" going to come from "through time"?

In the 25 years of Superleague there hasn't been much of a "fence" at all most years involved promotion?

The 1.8M isn't life support it's money to pay for the best professional team the SL clubs can find?

There's been a few years where finishing last didn't = relegation......and after being saved, Huddersfield are still 100% reliant on Ken's cheque book.


Take 1.8 million from Wakey, Huddersfield, HRK, Leigh, pretty much any of them and they struggle against Fev or Toulouse (or batley, fax, bradford)......in Salfords case, 1.8 million is probably 70% of their income!

I've just read the LE report saying 10 team SL1&2 are on the cards....which is simply reducing the top tier to try and ring fence the money and improve the product....It only does one of those things IMHO and it's not improving the product!
If they go to a top tier 10 with 2 French sides taking no money, I suspect the game will be dead as a pro sport inside a decade..........

In trying to justify this new proposed set up, Sky saying the poor quality of some games featured raises [at least three points:

Wigan v Wire was dire - big clubs don't equal good games.

They don't seem to have the same concerns when chucking stupid money at the utterly boring soccerball game.

10 teams playing each other at least 3 times is boring.

The moment you mention association football you miss the point.......soccer is as boring as bat but it's in a different galaxy.......and remember, without SKY, we'd have a semi-pro comp reliant on benevolent rich guys and fans.....we have neither in great numbers at present.

20 team 1st division....38 home and away top 4 play offs.....no cap......let the sport evolve because we've tried more new formats in 25 years and they haven't worked.

Nah 38 team comp next year all teams play each other once on neutral grounds top ten become SL1, second 10 become SL2 and clubs outside this relegated to the amateur game....

1. So cubs will have to agree to play an open game.

2. In the case of soccer it's Soccer that control the broadcasters.

3. You may take this admirable personal view but I would guess a third Saints.v.Wigan will beat a first Featherstone.v. Batley in terms of ratings.

The problem is not the clubs. The problem is the league structure.
Most SL games are completely pointless in the current structure.

Wigan v Saints on a bank holiday monday. Two big teams with great support, both have "quality" players, and will produce a good game of RL. BUT, the result is meaningless. Both these teams will be in the playoffs and that is the only point in our season where results actually matter.

With the overseas player reduction, I'd argue that you'd struggle for 10 teams.

Any increase in teams will meet opposition from the poorer teams in the league because it means their cut of the central money will be reduced.

Can someone tell me where i can read what Sky have said about poor quality games.

According to newspaper articles and some wireless content this morning people have realised what garbage the rah rah boys served up this last couple of weekends emperors new clothes etc

Our RL leader should have been on all points north all day hammering home the differences between rl/ru without taking the mick.We should be seeing articles tomoz with the compare stats time ball in play/tries scored metres gained passing movements etc
What chance......none

Sky's not going to belittle the product they are trying to sell are they

and yet sky pay top dollar to show it and vodafone paid £6,500,000 to have their logo on the lions shirt.......sky are on record

back to the shirt deal......that's 25% of our entire sky deal for 8 games........it may be turgid dross but its popular in a way we will never be

but we should have been positively promoting our game for years we have gradually had less coverage hardly anything in the nationals now no magazine show to build characters poor commentators has all pandered to the establishment who we know run that game still.its another example of the north south divide.maybe we have a chance to ride that levelling up wave to get us moving in the right direction

i am trying to be optimistic.we have to do something. do we cut right back no overseas players proper effective enforced salary cap and build up participation at community level

Without incurring the wrath of moderators on here, I'll cease from posting a map of the uk, but I can assure you the North/South divide is one purely of our own making. we have 4 in West Yorkshire, 3 in greater manchester, 2 in East Riding, 1 in cheshire 1 in merseyside and a French Club.....Somerset, Bristol, Exeter, Gloucester, Middlesex (2) Leicester, greater London, Tyne & Wear, Northampton, greater manchester, , Coventry & Worcester is where Unions top teams are based.....

We are a Northern Sport and we need to accept as much or we need to stop half d chopping and changes and support clubs like London, Newcastle and York in the same way the NRL backed Melbourne