Let's do the MATH. Union's Premiership: £152m over 4 years (£38m per year). 12 clubs. = a share of £3.16m per club per season. League's Superleague: £95m over 5 years (£19m per year). 14 clubs. = a share of £1.35m per club per season. WOW. SL deal source: www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/ju ... gue-rights I can't find anything quoting £135m?

Let's do the MATH. Union's Premiership: £152m over 4 years (£38m per year). 12 clubs. = a share of £3.16m per club per season. League's Superleague: £95m over 5 years (£19m per year). 14 clubs. = a share of £1.35m per club per season. WOW. SL deal source: www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/ju ... gue-rights I can't find anything quoting £135m?

IMG negotiate the sale of our broadcasting rights, another thing the RFL get the blame for which isnt down to them

Shows what a proper governing body can achieve. Give it 20 years and Premiership Union will absolutely dwarf Super League.

Him, I think your maths is off. The SL deal is £95m over 5 years. £19m per season. Union deal is £152m over 4 years, which is £38m per season. So by my maths they are receiving £19m more per season.

Union's domestic competition sponsorship deal is £20m over 4 years, Super League's is £0m over 0 years.

So that's £24m PER SEASON more money for the Union competition. And that is without throwing in the 5m euros per season for the last 20 years that Union has received for the Heineken Cup or the handouts from the cashcow that is Twickenham.

Who appointed IMG to do it? It's clearly the RFL's fault.

Yeah, who would use IMG to sell broadcast rights? nobody even knows who they are in the media industry. You wouldn’t catch the NFL, Australian Open, R&A, IRB et al working with them. Damn Fools.

Yep the £135m figure is in the Watkins Review and includes Challenge Cup but doesnt include internationals. Like Smokey says the new Union deal includes Heineken Cup games after the first year.

Also the RL broadcasting deal is split into 16ths.
Each SL club gets a share, the RFL gets a share and the remaining share is given to the Championships.
So:
£135m over 5 years = £27m per year
£27m divide by 16 = £1.69m

So each SL club gets £1.69m, the RFL gets £1.69m and the Championships get £1.69m. Plus IIRC any title sponsor and international broadcasting revenue will be split the same way.

The more I see the more I am thinking BT is going to go the way of ITV Digital and its digital broadcasting rights for the soccer...

FiveLive are reporting that a one off subscription to BT Vision is required then all the matches will be available on Sky, VirginMedia and possibly Freeview.

So, what? I give them twenty quid today, and can watch their RU coverage forever?

SACK-- IMG then.

The Watkins Review suggests that the broadcast fees for SL only are around £21m per year. It says....

[iThe RFL pays for all centrally provided services for the entire sport

Extrapolating that, 47% of £2.8m equates to £1.32m which represents a 1/16th share. Therefore, £1.32m x 16 SLE retains all revenues net of direct costs from its Play-off—s, its title sponsorship and other commercial income generated by its competition[/i

Other income such as the Challenge Cup and Internationals goes to the RFL to fund its administration costs. If the RFL make a profit then the annual profits are distributed in the ratio 60% to SL, 30% to Championships, 10% to Community Game. So, for example, if the RFL make a £1m profit then each SL club gets a further £70k each, the Championships clubs get £14k each and the remaining £100k goes into the Community game funding. The Watkins Review advocates a move to split the profits equally rather than in the above ratio.

Union deal could end up like the ITV Digital fiasco though, with a broadcaster 'desparate' for live sport prepared to pay over the odds for a product that relatively few may want to subscribe to.