Quote: Donnyman "Ultimately we exist because SKY pay for us to exist. SKY don't want a Transatlantic league they want an English league. The TV deal won't shrink it will disappear if we let all these phoney clubs in. The problem is the RL press doesn't have the guts or the honesty to make the slightest effort to analyse the effect of what this "expansion" as they call it will have on the game here. Lockwood and Sadler sit there saying how great it is, but they know darn well substituting English clubs for NA clubs is a death warrant.'"
Do you have any evidence from Sky saying this?
The argument that Sky would prefer Bradford, Leigh or Widnes in SL over TW or Toulouse seems to be based on the suggestion that there is huge latent demand from people in those towns for Sky Sports, if only those clubs were in SL.
Do you seriously believe that there is a significant proportion of existing and potential RL fans in those areas who, despite being willing and able to subscribe to Sky Sports, currently don't because Bradford, Widnes and/or Leigh aren't in SL? A big enough pool of people to make or break a TV deal? I think it's utterly fanciful to believe that.
Sky is not out only potential customer when it comes to TV rights. We had a deal with BeIn, until the great negotiator Elstone stuck his oar in.
