Not long ago some Aussie site did a “Ball-In-Play” analysis of a few codes of football and it went something like this:
Rugby League 72%
Association football 67%
AFL 52%
Rugby Union 33%
Gridiron 17%

I’d rather watch a struggling parochial sport than a mega rich RL if it meant more stoppages for more revenue. I’d rather be poor and M62

That's unsurprising, and chimes with my perception when I've tried to watch it; lots of hanging around and set up, a few explosive seconds of action, rinse, repeat. It bores me rigid - and perhaps explains why they need to pad out the experience with lots of frivolous added extras and hours of pre-game boozing.

I do not criticise anyone who enjoys the experience - but it strikes me as a triumph of PR and marketing rather than a display of athletic prowess; a bit like F1 - which looks to me like a science fair rather than a sport.

Horsesfor courses I guess - and my own view of the game itself in no way suggests that I don't agree that the marketing efforts of the RFL and clubs is potical - we could learn a lot from this sport, precisely because they've created sufficient hype around it, that the on-field action is almost irrelevant.

I get your point that you like American Football, and it's a global brand. My two points that I made, and you've totally missed the second one, is that it's hardly surprising they sell out NFL at wembley due to supply and demand, and secondly, RL needs to up it's game in relation to product and marketing.

most of what you say is true to some extent, but when it does explode it really does, The Chicago dolphins game two weeks ago, stunning end to end stuff with some fantastic action you would have liked that. formula one is not even sport its an engineering contest, like people paying to watch 1950 test jet planes. Cricket for me that's just terrible to watch prefer to watch competitive landscape oil painting. but this post is more about NFl ability to sell itself and sell its product, and despite what people say they do not do that much marketing, the market for it is already there

Yes. NFL grew its brand form a north eastern seaboard college game by strategic expansion and long term planning (some ups and downs on the way) and there was resistance to expansion. Dallas Cowboys an expansion team on of the top 3 sporting organisations on the planet, and in pure revenue generation the top. Rl fans have to accept that if the game is to survive never mind grow we need expansion and planning not gimmicks and swapping and changing formats. some small clubs won't like it but the greater good is what matters.

Ok. Everybody take a breath. This paragraph above explains exactly what our problem is. Our game can be absolutely fantastic but we do not get air time or column inches. We should be looking at addressing this issue rather the fighting about playing time.

I don’t know much about the NFL but clearly they have done a great job in making these games ‘must see events’. This hasn’t happened overnight and they deserve great credit on how they have cultivated an audience in the UK.

Remember they tried NFL Europe which just wasn’t cutting it but have turned it around completely where London is now an important city for the Sport.

Look at the difference in just how Sky present the NFL coverage compared to Superleague. This is a sport which has games running late at night into the early hours yet Sky does not go cheap. It looks slick, it looks like there is a real budget behind the production. Superleague can’t even get an intro package updated every year.

They get ex players, ex coaches in the studio and people who actually sound coherent and articulate when discussing the game. We get stuck with idiots like Pinky and Perky week in week out.

I remember going to magic weekend at Manchester and the merchandising was a joke. There was no merchandising stalls and after I left I found out the Man City shop had some items. It was pathetic that a an event like that doesn’t have merchandising everywhere.

A lot of valid points, one thing to consider is that before the NFL in its present form American football was dying & outside certain collages not well supported. But they were lucky that at the same time TV was starting expand & was looking out for anything it could fill air time with, the whole game grabbed the chance adopted rule changes to make it more TV friendly, the rest is history, the other thing they did was speak as one & sure all revenues equally from merchandising, gate money, TV & advertising its a franchise system. This has all happened in the last 50 years. It is possible for us but needs inspired leadership & a TV Chanel or free to air online provider(that could be the first hurdle as more powerful sports will try their best to stop us or any other sport taking viewers).

Surely people are not pinning the success of NFL UK popularity on FTA TV.

The NFL has predominantly been behind a paywall over here for the over a decade. Without Sky TV there is no way the NFL would be as popular as it is. It's not just the live games but all the support programming that goes on Sky Sports. They show loads of NFL related stuff and even in the off season they still have NFL programming.

Sky treat the NFL as one of its core sports programming.

In not at all unexpected news, the RFL’s favourite promo trick is out in force, Promo codes! Now £15 for KCOM customers (Hull’s version of BT for you out of towners) for tickets that are £25 full price.

All well and good to shift a few tickets, but the problem is next time they try and sell a game those who paid full price and feel ripped off will either wait for inevitable promo codes or just not bother at all.

What’s the promo code?

They never learn.

If they want to fill some seats instead of going down the promo code route just comp tickets. Give them away to rugby clubs, schools etc.

The while promo code reduction simply shows that the RFL doesn't believe in its own product. Sometimes you just have to hold the price rather than devaluing it. If they believe its a premium product then hold the price on the tickets as trying to sell it again when people know they will be discounted is hard work.

KCOM15

17,600 crowd in the end. Very mediocre.

They got the pricing all wrong. 55quid with no concessions on the halfway line, no surprise these blocks were half empty. Anyone who has been to the KCOM knows there isn't a bad view anywhere, so people quite right didn't want to pay the 10-25quid premium for these seats.

Also the usual problems of only marketing to existing RL fans, not aware of any billboards or anything in Hull these last few weeks.

The game itself was entertaining, and an England win will hopefully boost sales for Anfield next week.