You think giving the clubs the right to decide is terrible or the fact sky made an offer with some stipulation of duration of the offer is terrible?

The time period.

The RFL should have had enough bargaining power to say 'give us a week, or even 48hrs' to Sky, they could have done it under DNA with Sky and the clubs. The RFL were in a position where they could threaten to put out to tender if they weren't given that extra time - Sky a) knew that decision needed to be ratified by the clubs so would understand the request and b) would bot be keen to see it go out to tender. Really poor management of the deal by the RFL at a time when they're being criticised for this very thing.

If BT were interested I'm sure they would've made sly inquires towards the RFL even with so long left.

Plus IF BT offer more money, do they show as many games? They have less channels to put their content on.

If forced to put to tender at this point and we end up going to BT, what happens to the quality and quantity of Sky's coverage for the next 3 years? Do we get harmed by Sky sticking two fingers up in the last year knowing we're going elsewhere, if they weren't trying too hard to show the sport as well as possible previously then one can only guess what it would be like when we were heading elsewhere. With it being the first 2 years of this new structure that is not what we need.

It strikes me that the posters who think this was a bad call may be the same guys who like to trot out the old "If Sky ever pull the plug, we're screwed!" line.

Yep.
2 weeks ago

"we need stability and much bigger investment in our sport"

Sky give us 8 year deal and over 40% increase in money

"We've rushed into this deal"

, then a meeting was called within 24hrs. The meeting and discussions went for 2 hours at which point the clubs agreed to take a vote, they took a vote and almost unanimously deceived it was a good deal and would accept it.

How should the rfl have been able to tell sky the short time frame was unacceptable? Are you saying the rfl should have the right to veto taking money offers to the clubs if they feel it is not a good deal for SL? How do you think it would have played out if they had done what your suggesting and sky had said fine we'll pull the offer and speak again in a couple of years?

That's exactly what I was asking, the possible outcomes if the RFL told Sky to wait and looked elsewhere as some seem to think only good would come of it if we played hardball, when it could've ended spectacularly wrong instead. Kind of 'grass will be greener' thinking by some on here.

Freudian slip?

Do you honestly believe they voted to have a vote on something

It's pretty plain that when you start throwing logic out there, that some of these arguments disappear.

ie It's terrible the RFL rushed the clubs.

So you are saying the RFL should not put the clubs in the position of knowing there is a deal?

Erm No!

Are you saying the RFL should have played for more time and possibly scuppered the deal before the clubs had a chance to look at it?

Erm No!

Well are you saying the deal is a bad one?

Erm No!

There is no way you can justify that statement. Therein lies the problem, whether or not this is a "good" or "bad" deal is a judgement call.

In my opinion it is a bad deal as it was done in haste without knowing what the alternatives might be.

The question is will the people in the comfy seats at Red Hall sit back and say job well done until 2021 and not bother to promote and market the game.
For me the game needs a breath of fresh air a more dynamic approach a well thought out sporting model.......instead we might get 8 years of Groundhog Day.

There's some real miserable sods on here. I bet you were all writing off the World Cup before hand too.

In the last few months we've had that massively successful WC, a promising new structure put in place, new sponsorship and a huge TV deal signed that's worth £50million more than the Union equivalent.

If someone had predicted that last summer you'd have said it'll never happen and ripped the living **** out of the poster. Now it's happened it's not good enough and the RL aren't going to do this, that or the other.

Only in Rugby League.