[quote="Wires71":1d8zohkn]Rugby League managed to secure £21m from Sky for 2024, HALF of the £40m in 2021. The Hearns have managed to DOUBLE the Sky darts deal to £25m for 5 years. The RFL turned down involvement from the Hearns.[/quote:1d8zohkn] Quite an underperformance by the RL 'powers that be' putting it politely. Although, are we 100% sure that the Hearns were turned down rather than they walked or were being unreasonable? With our sports past record, it's an easy assumption to make that they messed up. However, one thing stuck in my mind on the Darts SKY Documentary preview and that was Barry could "smell the money", maybe he could only smell mushy peas when it came to RL and organising team sports with owners many of whom could be said to have egos isn't quite as straightforward as dealing with individuals in the darts, snooker and boxing world. Perhaps, it was all a dream, romantic wishful thinking

A very good BBC Sport article here about 'Littlermania' and the surge of interest in 'the darts': https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/darts/articles/crmzy2ye18no Some of the numbers are pretty eye-watering, but darts is one of those sports that seems to have had ebbs and flows in popularity over the years, probably depending on the personalities involved at the time. It's certainly all the rage at the moment, though, so it's good if RL (and Wire in particular) can ride on its coat-tails for a while.

A very good BBC Sport article here about 'Littlermania' and the surge of interest in 'the darts': https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/darts/articles/crmzy2ye18no Some of the numbers are pretty eye-watering, but darts is one of those sports that seems to have had ebbs and flows in popularity over the years, probably depending on the personalities involved at the time. It's certainly all the rage at the moment, though, so it's good if RL (and Wire in particular) can ride on its coat-tails for a while.

Not for me, this. Another Karl gimmick. Get him out on the pitch before hand with the trophy but renaming the stadium for one night only? Woke nonsense.

[quote="Uncle Rico":2twrj825]Quite an underperformance by the RL 'powers that be' putting it politely. Although, are we 100% sure that the Hearns were turned down rather than they walked or were being unreasonable? With our sports past record, it's an easy assumption to make that they messed up. However, one thing stuck in my mind on the Darts SKY Documentary preview and that was Barry could "smell the money", maybe he could only smell mushy peas when it came to RL and organising team sports with owners many of whom could be said to have egos isn't quite as straightforward as dealing with individuals in the darts, snooker and boxing world. Perhaps, it was all a dream, romantic wishful thinking[/quote:2twrj825] As far as I know the Hearns were asked to come on board and take on an 'event', think it was the Challenge Cup and / or the Magic Weekend. They turned this down and said the only way they would get involved is if they had complete control over the sport - I can't see how doing that would be a good idea irrespective to what has happened to darts, but its all opinions at the end of the day. We absolutely should be looking at ways to push certain players in to the mainstream where we can to push the sport forward - easier said than done I guess... I think the stadium rename stays just about on the right side of cringe for me, helped by the fact Littler clearly is such a big Wire fan.

[quote="Alffi_7":q0tye0jp]As far as I know the Hearns were asked to come on board and take on an 'event', think it was the Challenge Cup and / or the Magic Weekend. They turned this down and said the only way they would get involved is if they had complete control over the sport - I can't see how doing that would be a good idea irrespective to what has happened to darts, but its all opinions at the end of the day. We absolutely should be looking at ways to push certain players in to the mainstream where we can to push the sport forward - easier said than done I guess... I think the stadium rename stays just about on the right side of cringe for me, helped by the fact Littler clearly is such a big Wire fan.[/quote:q0tye0jp] I think Eddie Hearn speaks a lot of truth in this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jto-5gb ... SebSternik - Lack of stars and celebrities. - Game dying - TV contracts "wimpering out" - Hearns wanted to be in charge of the "overhaul" of RL. Seems like a lost opportunity to me.

[quote="Alffi_7":q0tye0jp]As far as I know the Hearns were asked to come on board and take on an 'event', think it was the Challenge Cup and / or the Magic Weekend. They turned this down and said the only way they would get involved is if they had complete control over the sport - I can't see how doing that would be a good idea irrespective to what has happened to darts, but its all opinions at the end of the day. We absolutely should be looking at ways to push certain players in to the mainstream where we can to push the sport forward - easier said than done I guess... I think the stadium rename stays just about on the right side of cringe for me, helped by the fact Littler clearly is such a big Wire fan.[/quote:q0tye0jp] I think Eddie Hearn speaks a lot of truth in this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jto-5gb ... SebSternik - Lack of stars and celebrities. - Game dying - TV contracts "wimpering out" - Hearns wanted to be in charge of the "overhaul" of RL. Seems like a lost opportunity to me.