And people who go to games are to blame too. There I am sat in the stand with rugby going straight in my eyeballs with not a penny going to Rupert Murdoch.

To be fair though Steve lost revenue from ex subscribers now using firesticks throughout the country doesn't seem to impact on what they are prepared to pay for Premier League rights.

Murdoch hasn’t owned Sky for a while.

Although all money flows to him and his ilk eventually.

The reasons RL rights aren’t worth much are much bigger than RL, although better governance, leadership and competitive balance would mitigate things, the sport is largely a victim of circumstances beyond its control. It has always had to adapt and it will again - to digital innovations, to medical concerns and to economic challenges. At the moment it does feel like we’re slowly heading back to a semi-pro game on this side of the world, unfortunately. A small reduction in the Sky fee is a big deal in real terms, given what inflation has been like over the last year or so.

Also could mean they get some income in from overseas channels, there are Sports channels out there wanting cheap filler, also people are increasingly betting on random sports from around the world, thats a big reason the NRL are taking games to Vegas.

People who use fire sticks must be responsible for the hike in pass prices next year because of the fall in Sky revenue

I thought the idea was to get more fans into the grounds.
Cant see how live screening all S/L matches will do that.
IMG also came in supposedly with a no fee model where they make their money on increased crowds.
Not that i believe that but if that were the case and they are part of this negotiating team on TV rights then its another nail in their coffin.
12 years might last two

There's also the chance that more coverage through TV audiences via Streaming ,C4 or Youtube besides Sky could give the game more exposure to a wider audience thus possibly encouraging new fans to take in a live game .

To be fair I don’t think that’s something that IMG can do directly as that’s surely down to each individual club be it SL or below. Creating better over all coverage for the game itself and getting more exposure will help the game get more fans in to the grounds. Whilst I’ve been a little critical of IMG there is only so much that they can do and I get the impression there is still a reluctance by certain sections of SL to get on board of move forward.
The clubs and game sometimes hinders its progression due to the internal politics and a narrow minded view.

IMG wanted to scrap magic weekend, clubs voted against it, IMG wanted to scrap loop fixtures, clubs have voted against it...can't now say IMG aren't helping the game when the clubs reject their ideas, same self serving clubs holding the game back

Once again they bring in people to help improve the game and the clubs themselves continue with their narrow minded views & self interest within the game ignoring what the fans of the sport say. The loop fixtures are a farce and bring the integrity of the competition in to question as it creates an unlevel playing field with lopsided fixtures. Either play more games so they play every team once more or not at all, not play half the teams on a random lottery based on final league positions the previous season. The clubs need to look at themselves as individuals and a collective when they wonder people are losing faith in the game and nothing changes.
Not point continuing bringing in people to change things to rake the game forward when they just continue to keep their heads in the sand, ignoring change and carrying on with blinkers on.

can accept the loop fixtures for next season, but only if the league expands to 14 for 2025, but i cant see that happening now, as for the revamp of the cup, if it goes to group matches then thats the comp dead for me, go back to bringing SL clubs into the earlier rounds!

If we scrap the loop fixtures, where does the income cone from the 2 home games lost. Expand to 14, central funding reduces funding per team.

As it stands the loop fixtures have to stay until a viable replacement is available.

Apparently there's going to be 17 FTA games next season . Disappointed there's not going to be one every round .

Ideally you expand to 14, but then like you say there is the issue about less central funding, also depends whether there are two clubs out of York, Toulouse, Bradford, Sheffield, Fev, Widnes that can make a proper long term go of super league. The other option is scrap loop fixtures and all clubs adopt a Leigh style approach and really try to make home games an event to increase crowds and revenue to offset the loss of two home games. Fans don't want to play the same team up to 6 times a season (home, away, loop, magic, cup, playoffs), might also mean some fans are less likely to go to a game v a certain team if they know the same fixture will take place again in a few weeks

Anything more is a plus, its possible SKY want exclusivity of Easter weekend and the final round also Channel4 may have some weekends they are busy with othet stuff.

Challenge cup 24 teams in 8 groups of 3 , Winners of the groups go straight into Q/Fs . Extra home game aswell .

I kind of like the format, it is certainly something different.

Oh no, can see the draw now. Saints, Rovers and Leeds will get drawn against 2 championship teams and we’ll get Wigan and Wire. Deep frozen balls and all that

It'll work if they do scrap the loop fixtures in super league, makes super league fairer too as all teams play other teams the same amount of times, offsets the loss of a home league game with the removal of a loop fixture, and if the leagues are seeded, means you should play someone from outside SL which keeps it interesting

Not a fan of that at all. What if every team in a group wins one and loses one? You shouldn't be able to win the Challenge Cup if you've lost one game in five. I know this can happen in the World Cup or football's Champions League etc. but the Challenge Cup should just be a straight knock out with the luck of the draw.

Just bring the Super League clubs in at the round of 32. More games for Championship and League One clubs against Super League clubs.

making the challenge cup into a group format is just a way of disguising the loop fixtures, teams will still play each other 3 or 4 times a year still, even before the play offs, will they be home and away group fixtures or lob-sided like the loop fixtures atm? Cant see many fans paying separately for that format!

Totally agree
Another change that does nothing to enhance S/L .
Its a knockout competition leave it alone
Doing really well that IMG

Main advantage of this format is its guarantees a home game so teams can sell an extra game on season tickets and it increases crowds which have dropped a lot for the early CC rounds.

You could also seed the draw so the groups contain an SL, Championship and League1 side meaning some different matchups, though unfortunately likely to be some one sided scores.

Eight groups of three presumably means twelve Championship / League One clubs joining the twelve SL clubs so four groups will have two SL clubs and four will have one. Knowing the RFL this would be based on the previous year's placings so the top eight from this season will be seeded one per group and the bottom four will join the twelve qualifying lower league clubs in the draw.

My other long held thought about the CC is go back to SL teams entering earlier but make the lowest ranked team get the home game, gives the lower league sides a pay day and some different grounds for SL fans to visit. The BBC also like to cover games in unusual places early on, they do that for the FA Cup.