Watching the Warriors

[moto748]

I agree about the BBC treating the Six Nations as if it was the biggest sporting event in the world ever, but having said that, they still go a far better and more professional job of showcasing the Challenge Cup than Sky and their abysmal goons do (Yes, I do hate them that much. And the more I see of them, which has been a lot lately, the more i hate them!).

Watching a lot of archive games, as we all have lately I'm sure, did lead me to pick up on one important fact about Wiggy and co: yes, the (often so bad, it's almost funny) anti-Wigan bias has always been there, but there's another thing. Earlier in SL history, Sky were really praising and talking up the game. "What a great contest, what an exciting sport", and so on. They don't do that now. And none of the "for viewers who may not be familiar..." that Nobby, say, does on the BBC, on the assumption that casual viewers might be watching, perhaps more familiar with union than league rules. Hell, with the arrival of CV, and the NRL now being beamed all over the world, even Vossy is doing that in commentary to some extent.

It's a measure of how jaded Sky's coverage has become.

[the pieman]

so bang on topic i have just had an email from the RFL with details of the challenge cup ties being played in August.

the RFL should now be working with the BBC to get these 2 games as much exposure as they can prior to them being played. The public are crying out for live sport because of the current pandemic, so we should be jumping on the wagon as the majority of us on this thread have been saying and get the game promoted. Whilst it may not look good in an empty stadium (assuming that fans wont be present at games by then), some of the crowds generally for RL dont look good, but 2 good hard games are what should be seen by all

[Nezza Faz]

so bang on topic i have just had an email from the RFL with details of the challenge cup ties being played in August.

the RFL should now be working with the BBC to get these 2 games as much exposure as they can prior to them being played. The public are crying out for live sport because of the current pandemic, so we should be jumping on the wagon as the majority of us on this thread have been saying and get the game promoted. Whilst it may not look good in an empty stadium (assuming that fans wont be present at games by then), some of the crowds generally for RL dont look good, but 2 good hard games are what should be seen by all

It'll look like normal at Huddersfield

[the pieman]

so bang on topic i have just had an email from the RFL with details of the challenge cup ties being played in August.

the RFL should now be working with the BBC to get these 2 games as much exposure as they can prior to them being played. The public are crying out for live sport because of the current pandemic, so we should be jumping on the wagon as the majority of us on this thread have been saying and get the game promoted. Whilst it may not look good in an empty stadium (assuming that fans wont be present at games by then), some of the crowds generally for RL dont look good, but 2 good hard games are what should be seen by all

It'll look like normal at Huddersfield

[nathan_rugby]

I’m just being realistic.

Why hasn’t the challenge cup and rugby league World Cup not raised the profile of the game? They’ve been on BBC.

But that’s not what we are talking about.

If you had regular matches on BBC,ITV or C4 then you would have more chance of attracting fans. Then they would be more inclined to be invested in the World Cup and the Challenge Cup.

As it is once a month there’s a couple of CC match on bbc. Brilliantly presented and appreciated by many people. That’s not enough to capture fans.

Any better suggestions are welcome. But this is a brilliant idea. And as I suggested earlier it does work. Worked on me.

Why hasnt the challenge cup raised the profile of the game on the BBC?
IMO poorly marketed as only RL fans will know (some probably dont even know) that there is a game on the BBC. it gets moved from pillar to post, and often cut off to show something else, so it feels like a poor relation at times. the cup draw could be anytime, any place, any where to the point we dont know its happening, and i also dont like the current structure of the challenge cup as it is too drawn out and then semi and final in space of no time at all (but that is for the RL to sort out, not a broadcaster)

when the 6 nations is coming up, there are BBC adverts weeks / months in advance building it up, but RL gets nothing other than the advert they use as its coming on, and then, they may as part of the show mention either another challenge cup game or poss upcoming world cup / test series etc. nothing like any other sport would get to promote what is being shown. A test series or world cup should be getting BBC airtime from July onwards if it is being played in Oct / Nov. just a couple of early adverts, and then build up to the event by increasing exposure through Sept / Oct to the point that prime time before or after Eastenders etc there is meaningful exposure and people know the game exists.

i agree re exposure to other channels and have said exactly the same myself previously. BBC, ITV, C4 all show Rugby Union games at different levels, whether that be league games, the european or internationals. Massive amount of exposure. ITV4 especially do lots of good coverage of other sports, which may not be mainstream, and some of that coverage is excellent. whilst they may not have the Sky budget, it is still well presented and worth watching if you enjoy that particular sport.

we have IMO jumped into bed with Sky too easily, especially the last TV deal, where there was little or no negotiation, and i dont believe any other broadcasters were considered (but happy to be corrected on this).

RL has grown massively over the last few years (despite what we may all see or think). There are more school children playing RL in London than ever before, and pretty sure someone told me that there are more playing league than union (came from a school teacher and coach at local amateur team). But, if that is the case, we must be doing something else wrong? Why arent we tapping into things like this and then raising the profile of the game through the countries media?

In the country or London?

[the pieman]

But that’s not what we are talking about.

If you had regular matches on BBC,ITV or C4 then you would have more chance of attracting fans. Then they would be more inclined to be invested in the World Cup and the Challenge Cup.

As it is once a month there’s a couple of CC match on bbc. Brilliantly presented and appreciated by many people. That’s not enough to capture fans.

Any better suggestions are welcome. But this is a brilliant idea. And as I suggested earlier it does work. Worked on me.

Why hasnt the challenge cup raised the profile of the game on the BBC?
IMO poorly marketed as only RL fans will know (some probably dont even know) that there is a game on the BBC. it gets moved from pillar to post, and often cut off to show something else, so it feels like a poor relation at times. the cup draw could be anytime, any place, any where to the point we dont know its happening, and i also dont like the current structure of the challenge cup as it is too drawn out and then semi and final in space of no time at all (but that is for the RL to sort out, not a broadcaster)

when the 6 nations is coming up, there are BBC adverts weeks / months in advance building it up, but RL gets nothing other than the advert they use as its coming on, and then, they may as part of the show mention either another challenge cup game or poss upcoming world cup / test series etc. nothing like any other sport would get to promote what is being shown. A test series or world cup should be getting BBC airtime from July onwards if it is being played in Oct / Nov. just a couple of early adverts, and then build up to the event by increasing exposure through Sept / Oct to the point that prime time before or after Eastenders etc there is meaningful exposure and people know the game exists.

i agree re exposure to other channels and have said exactly the same myself previously. BBC, ITV, C4 all show Rugby Union games at different levels, whether that be league games, the european or internationals. Massive amount of exposure. ITV4 especially do lots of good coverage of other sports, which may not be mainstream, and some of that coverage is excellent. whilst they may not have the Sky budget, it is still well presented and worth watching if you enjoy that particular sport.

we have IMO jumped into bed with Sky too easily, especially the last TV deal, where there was little or no negotiation, and i dont believe any other broadcasters were considered (but happy to be corrected on this).

RL has grown massively over the last few years (despite what we may all see or think). There are more school children playing RL in London than ever before, and pretty sure someone told me that there are more playing league than union (came from a school teacher and coach at local amateur team). But, if that is the case, we must be doing something else wrong? Why arent we tapping into things like this and then raising the profile of the game through the countries media?

In the country or London?

in London. this was about 3 years ago when we were chatting at a game. i was shocked when he said it, but he said that the kids playing love it