It will be interesting when the new tv deal is done. With them not showing union i personally wonder if they would want more matches on and whether they would happily invest more money for a better and bigger comp.

Does anyone know if the RFL will have sounded out Sky as to what they think about their proposed league changes?

Its the first thing i would do. Point out good viewing figures and opportunity for tighter games etc etc and see what they would want and offer.

I really just hope they show more RL tbh. I hate the facts there is only two matches a week. Increasibg to three or even four should be schedule wise very easy.

The NRL is the premier Club Rugby competition in the world and I think Sky would of loved to of shown the NRL but its timeslot clashes with Super Rugby/Tri Nations and having foreign Rugby League/Union go h2h makes no sense.

I have been thinking about this, but the other way around. With the money in RU, might RL teams apply to join them? I think they would welcome Wigan and or Leeds with open arms, if only to help crush RL..

I wonder if Sky's problem at the moment is that they grossly overpaid for the new soccer deal and now haven't the loot to make a successful bid for other sports against BT's apparent cash pile (my personal opinion is that BT will crash and burn, but we'll see), which puts us in a rather comfortable position.

Sky bid and paid for SL before the bid for the PL. They will bid and pay for the next SL contract before they bid for the PL.

If BT sports is any kind of success at all i.e if they are still in the market for the next tranche of PL, then the value of SL shoots up rapidly.

That should be number one on Brian Barwick's agenda. This is more than just a contact network black book job, it requires the highest strategy.

That should be number one on Brian Barwick's agenda. This is more than just a contact network black book job, it requires the highest strategy.

That should be number one on Brian Barwick's agenda. This is more than just a contact network black book job, it requires the highest strategy.

That should be number one on Brian Barwick's agenda. This is more than just a contact network black book job, it requires the highest strategy.

That should be number one on Brian Barwick's agenda. This is more than just a contact network black book job, it requires the highest strategy.

Anyone any ideas what should be number one on Brian Barwicks agenda ?

I dunno but it should be of the highest strategy.

It's certainly likely to be more than just a contact network black book job.

I have some bad news for you regarding the tooth fairy and Santa JB

Say it ain't so !

Don't ask me. The man you need is Ronniequin.

Why should we be restricted to just Sky. You have Premier Sports investing in all areas of RL, BT starting it's sports packages and you have ESPN who have previously bidded for Super League rights. We could find ourselves in a little bidding war which would make the deal that bit sweeter.

I think BT will come to regret taking on RU, I believe they think its a massive coup for them but in the long term will lose them a lot of money. SKY obviously weren't to bothered to let it go due to its relatively poor veiwing figures. With less people subscribing to the BT sports channels the figures will more than likely become even worse.

We all know the problem is the leaders at the rfl. They seem to be grateful to take peanuts and thinks its a good deal. As someone has already eluded too, sky see RL fit enough to fill the Monday night spot; SKY clearly rate the sport of RL and why shouldn't they based on veiwing figures alone? I don't think sky would be to bothered about paying out a few more million to the sport because its a good product. We just need the rfl to go all out at the next tv rights deal and be more ruthless! This is an area Brian barwick should and hopefully will flourish.

I think that the following quotes from an article by Crusaders' CEO Jamie Thomas in yesterday's programme could be of interest:
'..I think the telling point is that the RFL have discussed things with their broadcast partner, who favour Option 3 - and whilst they are adamant they are not slaves to Sky, it is difficult to see them go against the organisation who write the biggest cheque to the Sport each year.........If the structure ends up as some version of Option 3, which it is my personal belief it will given all the noises coming from different areas....'

If that is the case, they should be paying a hefty premium for it and committing to screening games from all 3 tiers.

IF there is huge monetary investment from Sky (like a 50% premium), and IF there is commitment to screen more games and to screen them from all three tiers (2 games from SL1, 1 each from SL 2 and 3 per week) there is a chance that structure could be a success (with a bigger IF that clubs invest that extra money wisely and in a sustainable future rather than just seeing a club like Fev mortgaging the future on paying SL wages with barely amateur facilities).

If its just a sop to Sky and we end up with roughly similar revenue from it, it will be an absolute disaster and should sound the end for the current administration and probably the governance structure we currently have.

Can't see Sky altering their deal, which runs to the end of season 2016.

This new structure wont come to pass until 2015 at the earliest (if it ever does). The new tv rights deal will be signed at the beginning of the 2015 season to start in 2016, so you would hope talks were ongoing, along with the fact that if Sky (as rumoured) have pushed this format, it should have been the first question asked.

I'm also interested to see how RU works out for BT. It's clearly their 'flagship product' so if the uptake isn't what they predict then I think they may struggle.

Who pays the piper calls the tune. If Sky want a 14 team Super League they get it. If they want 12 team Super League they will get it. If they want London to stay in Super League they will get it.
Its the same for any sport all over the world which has a TV contract.

SPOT ON!