Quote: bramleyrhino "In reality it's a bit of both, but before we can go to broadcasters and demand more, we need to look at whether we as a sport are offering more.
The clubs simply have to expand their reach and grow their audiences. We need more people engaged with the sport, and we need more of the sort of people that broadcasters and advertisers are willing to pay to reach engaged with the sport.
And this is where I disagree with the anti-expansion sentiment, because I don't see heartland clubs doing that. I don't think they are capable of marketing the sport to those people, simply because I don't think they're good at marketing, because those new audiences aren't there, or because they have saturated their market. I simply don't see certain clubs growing their reach and their crowds beyond what they currently have. Clubs like Huddersfield are still giving away season tickets for £120-odd every year - is under selling the product really what passes for marketing over there?
I see teams like Catalans, like Toronto and like London as a way to address that. Clubs with potentially big markets, with an opportunity to reach the audiences that broadcasters and sponsors will pay to reach and an opportunity to expand our playing talent pool.
I keep reading that the sport needs to "focus on the heartlands", but what does this mean? Does it mean giving clubs more money? If so, from where, and what should this money be for? Does it mean giving more a place in Super League? If so, can those clubs sustain a competitive team - and how do those clubs enhance the sports appeal to new audiences? In short, what is the "end game" of "focusing on the heartlands"?'"
I think it's a fine balance of expansion whilst not throwing away tradition. Expansion needs to be exactly that, expanding the comp not just the geography. What I mean is that introducing eg. Toronto will be good but to do that we shouldn't collapse leigh which is what we seem to do.
TV is critical but to appeal to tv we need to fill stadiums as well. Why would tv be interested in a product fans can't be bothered to attend.
No easy answer