Quote: dirtbag83 "It boils down to one word
1. Win the RLWC.
Simply put, England Union was the game played by toffs that got OK viewing figures for the 6 nations on the BBC, but was pretty much a small draw compared to other games.
Roll on 2003 and that drop-kick......14.5 million people were up at 9am to witness that.
4 Years later and 16,000,000 watched SA bore their way past England.
2. Get Internationals on FTA TV.
It doesn't take a brain surgeon to see that if the Challenge Cup final can get 1.2 million for the final on the BBC (average was 800k for the 89 games shown in 2009) then there's an audience there.
3. Take the highlights away from the BBC
The Superleaguie Show used to be shown in the heartlands only at a reasonable time.....everywhere else you needed insomnia. I would go as far as selling the highlights package together with the International game seperately from the ESL deal.
4. Spend some Money
As you've said, the RFL need to flash the cash, but they also need to be clever. If 'sold" correctly, SKY would probably be open to losing the highlights and internationals to another FTA broadcaster on the basis that more people may become "hooked" on the game and become full-time supporters. I don't know many people who get SKY just so they can "try out' a new sport. The RFL could then foot the bill for some of the promotional work for the new broadcaster, but the highlights programme would need to be shown in a prime slot nationally.
As you say, there's no magic formula, but it's not all about cash.
