I think I'm right in saying the TV deal expires at the end of this season?

Some interesting facts
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A significant increase in the Aussie NRL TV rights deal (from 2013) is planned which will (if reports are correct) lead to a massive hike in the salary cap over there ($7M or about £4m per year) as clubs will be able to afford to service higher wage bills based on the new TV deal.

Its plain to see that if the RFL fail to get a significant rise in the new TV deal, there will be no scope to increase the salary cap in the UK. If we arent able to increase it then there is a high risk we will begin to see the demise of the sport in this country. We will see a sharp increase in leading UK talent going to OZ, we will be unable to attract top class Aussie talent and Union converts.

It is absolutely vital that the TV rights deal delivers significant increased revenue to our clubs - the RFL need to get top class assistance in the negotiatiion process, or the game will suffer badly.

The salary cap doesn't need increasing until all clubs are spending the full cap.
We arent going to be able to compete with NRL tv deals and finances but given the strength of the NRL what makes you think there will be a mass exodus of British players? I can only see maybe a max of 4 or 5 top British players in the NRL, they don't anymore than that they've got enough good Aussies & Kiwis to pick from.

If the RFL gets any kind of significant increase they'll have done a good job in the current climate.

The Super League TV deal with SKY and highlights for the BBC and Challenge Cup deal with the BBC and final highlights for SKY come to an end at the conclusion of the 2011 season.

ESPN have heavily bought into the Aviva Premiership and the viewing figures for the Super League vs the rugby union premiership (not inc Heineken Cup) are much stronger in RL's favour. ESPN have replaced Setanta as the major market contender, but where the Irish company were a serious sports broadcaster back in 2007, they are not even the same animal that is ESPN, and even in this economy they have very deep pockets.

On the domestic broadcasters the BBC have enquired as to whether they can purchase the Saturday evening fixture, but I haven't heard back from anyone I know at the BBC whether it is sold as one live package and one highlights package, but I am told by friends that work in various departments of the BBC are "actively looking saturday evening sports entertainment that represents value for money for the license payer." None of them are in particularly senior positions, but they say that other network channels will have been approached for a highlights package with some tendering bids, some declining to bid and that some will ask the RFL to pay them to broadcast it, which I found hard to believe.

Unfortunately I haven't bugged anyone about the Challenge Cup, and the two people I know at Sky don't have any knowledge of that side of SKY's business. Sky can bid for everything but the final, would that interest them, I don't know. Sky do simulcast the CL final with ITV, but the do like their exclusives and the appeal of having everything but the final is not a great one.

The naming rights for both the Super League competition and the Challenge Cup are also up for auction from 2012 onwards. The RFL have made it a very interesting time for themselves, it could either end up with a bidding frenzy that will see a decent size increase in money in all four areas, but do not discount the possibility that the money could be less than before, unlikely but not an impossibility as we are basically playing others against SKY to get more money out of them or a better deal elsewhere. Were it me I would not have all four up for renewal at the end of this year, but apparently Richard Lewis wimp guy impression is all an act, he is regularly heard to say "Excuse me, scuse me... man with big balls is here to negotiate."

This makes no sense.... we need a bigger tv deal so that clubs have more money to spend on the cap!

i've always said we should give the BBC 1 game aweek.....it could actually entice people into getting sky to see the rest of SL on sky

Wow, It's actually really sad to be a RL fan

In every country on Earth, the highest rating sport gets the money.

England = soccer

USA = NFL

France = Soccer

NZ = Rugby Union

India = Cricket.

Yet in Australia, RL comes second to AFL and in England where the club game belts everything bar soccer, it gets less than Soccer, Union and Cricket in $$$ terms. even though Australia clearly has RL at #1 on TV and in the UK, RL is a clear 2.

Sometimes I get the feeling fox/sky drip feed the game to survive just. And i feel they do this because their agenda is to merge the Rugby's somewhere down the track.

Am I mad and being paranoid?

Not sure that we do need to increase salary cap . As a Cas fan I come at this from a different angle of course , but the whole idea of the salary cap is to keep the less fashionable clubs like Cas on a more equal footing with the richer clubs . I am all for an increase in TV revenue if that can be achieved , but the extra money should be used by the poorer clubs to either close the salary cap gap if they choose , or even to have a stronger financial footing for the future , especially after the recent administrations of Wakey and Crusaders

We should be saying to SKY and whoever else will listen that if they give RL decent money we can sign up the best RU talent and let them play a game in which they can use their skills.

As opposed to what happens now, viz some of our players waste their abilities in RU by standing around doing nothing for 70 out of every 80 minutes.

RL is a much better vehicle for quality rugby players and it's time the TV deals reflected that.

There was actually a big increase last time the TV rights were negotiated 3 years ago, this allowed for the increase in the number of teams from 12 to 14. If we can get a significant increase again, would people rather increase the number of teams further? Or increase the amount each club recieves?

Spot on.

My point was that we don't need to raise the cap to compete with the NRL since they are so far ahead finances-wise that it would take a huge rise in our salary cap to compete (which we can't afford even with a big increase in the tv deal) because there isn't going to be an exodus of British players to the NRL.

Also that the OP's doom and gloom is misplaced since the TV deal has had a smallish but steady increase and that if the RFL make even a small to moderate increase in TV money they'll have done well in this climate. Especially if they manage to get a different TV channel involved as well.

If no increase in sky deal the package needs to be broken up,one game to sky one to bbcigger returns in long run for bigger exposure] championship rugby needs to be sold on its own right and not lumped in with any super league deal as we get sod all for the thursday night fixture.

Break the package get more back,simple

sky - thursday (easter) friday,saturday & monday (easter) SL games

bbc - sunday SL game + SL highlights show

everyone is assuming the BBC are interested.

Which is unlikely as AFAIK they don't show any domestic sport live.