droves you say? Away you say?

rlhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/feb/04/sky-profits-rise-uk-and-germany-pay-tvrl
rlhttp://www.wsj.com/articles/sky-earnings-boosted-by-subscriber-growth-in-u-k-germany-1429608660rl

Hmmmm.......

Has that just seriously been written by the same guy who described both '11 and '12 GF wins as "papering over cracks" and had zero interest in us winning the CC last year? That 2011 Leeds season we were floundering around 7th/8th spot at this point in the season, this year we are 1st. Did you enjoy/think that was better simply because you got to watch Buderus play in an under performing team?



No I'm saying exactly what I wrote (funny that you always struggle to comprehend that and think I'm saying something else). I don't watch just because of one or two individuals, I watch team performances in a team sport.

It seems to me that this season, Sky are spending less and less on the broadcast of RL in general. Take boots 'n all for example. They are now filming it in the sky canteen with 1 guest summariser per week. Also Superleague full time has done away with the presenters and is just like the NRL highlights show. All this at a time when BT sport dedicate a lot of resources to a union magazine show. I think some chairman were right to criticise the speed at which the RFL accepted the Sky deal.

They were very wise to do so. Given that it was them that voted with such haste to accept it.

Anyways, the falling viewing figures won't be a bad thing if it hammers home to Sky that they need, to re-brand, promote and above all get rid of some of the dead wood whose voices we hear week in, week out (yes, Messrs Clarke, Cummings, Stevenson and O'Connor, it's you!).

Ben Pro apparently doing the call for these Sky Xtra games at HKR on Tues and Wakey on Wed, along with Barrie and Terry. Let's see how this goes.

Sky clearly need to completely rebrand their Rugby League coverage. Its dire and the figures are showing it.

Not only does the commentary personnel need to go but they have a big obsession towards the referees. They mention the ref more than they do the sides. Watching the BBC coverage and you don't hear any negativity towards them. The spot light is firmly on the two sides. F'in hell sky now even have a 'referee' in the studio to go along side them in the moaning. Its pathetic.

While it must be part of the reason, I'm not sure viewing figures going down by tens of thousands is all down to SKY not having re-branded lately. Maybe someone could do an attendance thread and see if crowds have risen, if they have then it would explain the tv viewing figures as more people are going to watch the games live rather than watch on TV.

Just get on and do it yourself William; you know you want to Do you think we're daft?

The BBC coverage is much much better imo. Mark Chapman like Clare Balding before him doesn't pretend he knows the game inside out but appears enthusiastic and let's the guys who do know do the talking. Eddie after all these years does know the game TBF (doesn't mean he doesn't talk rubbish at times) but he should be presenting, he feels more like a pundit half the time.

I like that the BBC is full of players and coaches that are playing or have recently played the game and are more in tune with the current style of the RL unlike the outdated Stevo and even Clarke to an extent even though he tries to sound clever.

BBC almost manage to do a three man commentary without it descending into a battle of guys trying to talk over one another. Would get rid of Jonathan Davies as he feels outdated but it's not the end of the world that he's still there. Ray French, legend though he may be and enthusiastic had to rightly move off of tv duties.

Would like BBC to get rid of their on field reports/interviews. If you want to interview a player do it in the tunnel before his warm-up when he can give you proper answers not some rushed ones as he's doing drills or stretching out on the pitch.

Whilst people like Wells and Carney (as do I) I don't like the 15 minutes spent previewing other games over the weekend. That stuff should be for a Boots n All programme, not the Friday night game which should be about the two teams playing. Don't want to hear the reason why Terry O'Connor is tipping so-and-so to win this weekend is purely because fans complain that they always lose when he tips them. That's not punditry, it's pointlessness.

As for Stuart Cummings, he just needs to go and quick. Was something different to invite him up for A game to hear a refs view but wasn't needed weekly at all. Hell you think Eddie came up with the plan just so he and Stevo could debate/argue some more during matches.

The problem with Sky's coverage is that Eddie and the increasingly erratic Stevo have spun themselves into a deep rut of querying and analysing any remotely questionable call, and they don't know it, but are now self-programmed to do it. Stevo is the worst, and it doesn't help that he has also added "referees' nemesis" to his online persona. But anyway, the point is, they can't stop it now, half the time they probably no longer even realise they are doing it.

The biggest irritant for me is the current obsession with "ball steals". The rule is obscure, and must be a pain for the refs, but every fookin time we have the techies quickly spinning up the slo-mo replays from every angle and then this same debate between the occupants of the booth as to whether player X really did go for the ball, or was it just part of the tackle, and should it be a fookin penalty, yes it should, no it shouldn't, no, ... that was deliberate for mine, no, ... ball carrier has a responsibility ... FFS!!!

All this peripheral bullcrap is seriously detracting and distracting from the games. It fooks me off. I am probably as hard to fook off as most, as I just want to watch as much RL as possible and so will tolerate a lot of shoite, but even my tolerance levels are in the red.

Fully agree. And compare it with the NRL coverage, where the commentators (rightly, in my view) moan about the time taken looking at slow-mo replays over and over again from the VR. Rugby league is a fast-moving game; that is one of its big appeals compared to union. Lets keep it that way!

5 channels plus a red button service and they are broadcasting Hull KR vs Salford on the internet

main gripe with me is the constant need to show replays, i want to watch the game live, not watch replays of something minor that happened 5 minutes previously, every dropped ball, every kick, misplaced pass etc is shown on the replay whilst the game is going on in the background....frustrating when you can hear the crowd in the background getting excited