[urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/8356391.stm[/url

Not good for the sport.

No but surely Sky will buy the rights which will then provide a much better coverage than the BBC could ever dream of.

Swings and roundabouts.

Meaning less people will be able to watch one of the highlights of the Rugby league season, how does that help the sport grow?

Sky or ESPN

Lets face it, the CC has been dying on its feet for years, attendances prove it. Old Trafford is the be-all and end-all nowadays.
I'd much prefer to see the old Lancs/Yorks cups brought back, with the winners of each playing the final at Old Trafford or Elland road in mid august.

The good news is, the Epsom derby will no doubt be shown on ch4, the bad news is the boat race will no doubt still be shown.

its the old school tie network, i'm afraid.

The sport will never grow, its always been and always will be a northern sport that the southern softies have no interest in what so ever.

The RFL should concentrate on making the best out of what they have got. Sky's excellent coverage will continue to help and I for one will be glad if they start giving the Challenge Cup the coverage it deserves. It will be a shot in the arm for the Challenge Cup.

Too many times in the previous years the bbc's coverage has been woeful to say the least and that in itself does RL and its reputation no good.

I would like to invite the opinions and views of Wolfette on this matter...

Over to you.

What do RL fans care anyway?

They all call it a Mickey Mouse competition and that the only proper trophy in RL is the Super League trophy.

The only people who watch Rugby League on Sky are Rugby League fans....The Challange Cup on the BBC, however poor the coverage, is the only time the sport gets seen by the people who the RL bosses say they are trying to open the game up to.

Its a bad day for the sport....

Grow up

Any loss of publicity is bad for the sport, particularly a prestigious final such as the Challenge Cup which has lots history behind it.

I personally don't like BBC coverage on the sport but some publicity is better than nothing. So I for one am disappointed, unless Sky take it over.

Very disappointing if it means losing the Challenge Cup from 'proper tv'.

I thought there was some rule that prevented one perticular service provider having a monopoly over the rites to any one perticular sport?

Bad news - no question.
I agree that the attendances etc haven't been the best - for the qualifying rounds in particular, but it's still a top class event.

Moving to Sky means it's not in the public mainstream.

Sky coverage is arguably better than the beebs but that's irrelevant to me in the whole context of the sport.

ESPN could get it or the BBC could still keep it this just means they are no longer made to show it

i love the challenge cup, its the weekend i look forward too the most in the year

The BBC now pay through the roof for the Grand Prix and soon to be paying for the England Cricket Rights as well. It is no suprise the Rugby League has been dropped!!

People are getting a mixed up here....The ruling specifies that the Challenge Cup is now open to all bidders, including pay-TV, such as Sky or ESPN....Previously, it could only be shown on Free-to-air TV. The BBC did not have the monopoly at this point, its just that they obviously bid more than ITV, Channel 4 or Channel 5 did (if they actually bid at all).

As for the cricket rights (well, actually the Ashes rights), the BBC will not neccessarily have the rights. Channel 4, who had the rights before Sky for 6 years, could easily come back in for it, or even Channel 5, who have been showing highlights since Sky got the coverage.

It will be interesting if Sky actually go for the Challenge Cup, considering that Eddie & the gang look upon the competition with such disdain at the present time, in comparison with their beloved Super League...

a very valid point, and considering that every one will be digital by 2011 or whenever it is, so the amount of free to air channels will be considerably increased

Yes, we could have the Ashes cricket on Babestation or Bangbabes, or one of those other channels that none of us fellas 'accidentally' skip onto when the wife is out of the room...

CORRECT

I've said for a while now, that i think ITV could do wonders with the Challenge Cup broadcasts. Watching them on BBC is chuffin cringeworthy.

As long as that moron Steve Rider is at ITV, there is no way I would want RL to be taken on by them.

The best thing to happen to RL on the BBC was when that idiot left for ITV.

Not quite sure how opening up the bidding for the Challenge Cup can actually be detrimental to the game. It's not like they're actually having to force the BBC against their will to show it at present.....

However I did read in one of the broadsheets that the viewing figures for this year's final was as low as 300,000, so perhaps it's not that attactive a proposition.

It would still remain, perhaps, within the RFL's remit as to whether they wanted to sell the rights to a pay per view broadcaster, or whether they wished only to consider bids from free to air channels.

Good to see Andy Burnham (from Newton Le-Willows) marginalising our local sport.