Doesn't the Super League get some of the highest viewing figures? Highly doubt they would drop it.

Short term - probably bad news for RL. Less money for Sky to spend on our game and we could lose a few competitions. Annoying.

Long term - could be a good result for all sports. Other broadcasters should have more money to spend on bidding for rights and setting up sports channels of their own, and we could end up with a host of different broadcasters bidding for rights, other than hoping Sky and/or BBC stump up the cash. Fairer competition should improve the quality of broadcasting too. That's the theory, anyhow.

Plenty RL history before there was a man on the moon, nevermind a satellite or Sky Sports. RL would just cut it's cloth accordingly. Not that it would come to that.

But what your forgeting to mention is you need to the Xl package to get all that.

Even if Sky goes bust there will still be a top division of rugby league. People who want to watch league now will still want to watch it. The only difference is if there is less money from the TV rights deal, the players' salaries will drop over time. I'm sure there would be some statements from agents in the press etc threatening that all the players will leave the game, but that's not realistic. Rugby union clubs are under severe financial pressure at the moment so how many RL players can they squeeze into their salary budgets? In any case most of the RL players who have gone over to union in recent years haven't made it and have ended up coming back to league within a year or two. Neither will the NRL be waiting there to pick up all of our players, they generally don't rate SL anyway and only take the best of the best.

The biggest difference would be there would not be as many Aussie players coming over here as there are now. Over time if there was a vastly reduced TV deal, it would become more and more of a home grown league which is what most fans say they want anyway.

I really struggle to understand when people say there will be no more rugby league if Sky went bust.

Sally, that's because half the people on here believe what Sky tells them that RL started in 1996. Maybe in a cost cutting exercise Sky will stop flying Mick Stephenson half way round the globe twice a year & will stop signing the expense cheques for Just For Men which will get rid of the other two muppets from the commentary box; leaving Sky coverage fronted by Bill Arthur & Angela Powers with Barrie Mac, Terry O, Brian Carney & Paul Cullen as the experts which would get my vote...