188bet are actually a decent online bookie. Especially for those of us into matched betting.

Regards

King James

I thought that the point of moving the game to London against Catalans was to address the issue of sponsorship (amongst other things)? It doesn't seem to have brought any success yet does it? I make no apologies for being against taking games on the road as it puts season ticket holders out no end, but I went along with it because it was supposedly for the good of the club in the medium and long term. I fully expected to see a 'blue chip' sponsor on board for this season - even Salford have Mitsubishi for heavens sake.

Apparently the GF got only 250,00 viewers on Sky which is the lowest viewing figure for a GF for fifteen years. Compare that with the two million on the BBC for the third test. Perhaps sponsors just don't see RL as value for money? Maybe the poor Challenge Cup run cost us our sponsor as Coral got little exposure on the BBC?

According to an interview with Blake Solly in todays League Weekly the viewing figures for the Grand Final was the highest for ten years.

Interesting. I read in this months 40/20 that the viewing figure is the worst since 2001 IIRC. I'm not suggesting that Blake Solly would indulge in some spin, but the BARB (Broadcaster Audience Research Board) figure is 253,000 which was down from 315,000 the year before. So someone is telling porkies!

(On reflection do you think Blake was referring to the actual match attendance hoping that people would misunderstand his statement?)

No, he definitely states Sky viewing figures which peaked at 500,000

Then he's obviously including figures from Fox in Australia and Sky in New Zealand and others around the world including America and the Middle East - which is disingenuous.

Hang on, though, surely nowadays the BBC have 'extended' highlights of the GF, which is a relatively recent phenomenon, isn't it? So if you include the BBC viewing figures...

rlhttps://www.wiganwarriors.com/news/2015-12-03-liteplan-join-warriorsrl

Not "blue chip", admittedly, but it's a start...

So given it wasn't for 150 vehicles you agree it was a joke? I am not sure what your point is with that deal.

I have no idea if 188 are better than Coral for Wigan money-wise. Coral offered a free shirt deal for a specified bet last year. Maybe that didn't convert into enough paying customers? No idea again but for whatever reason they aren't out sponsors this year.

Anyway despite that I don't think other clubs are coining it from other sponsors such as Emirates or Typhoo. They will pay the going rate for an RL club which alas won't be a great deal.

I've been surprised at the constant change of sponsor at Wigan over the last few years.
With Wigan being one of the biggest and best run clubs I assumed initially it would be a short term thing until a long term partner was found, but it seems as if it's ongoing.

I speak with little knowledge of sports sponsorship but I'd have thought a long term partner would be better? Even if it's a smaller brand.

IIRC Leeds have only had 2 or 3 main sponsors in SL. Tetleys & Leeds Building Society (can't remember if we still had Carling for a couple of years at the beginning of SL).

I find it pretty baffling tbh. Either the club can't find a long term sponsor or they are happy trying to find the best 12 month deal each year. I can't believe it's the 2nd one, because that leads to a delay with the shirts coming out and fans getting peed off. That suggests to me that the commercial team are getting something seriously wrong.

Same here. As I said Wigan are one of the better run clubs and so it's always confused me as to why they couldn't nail down a sponsor. Especially in the last few years since around 08/09 when Wigan have been resurgent and got decent crowds and some success.

Said it before, but....I genuinely don't see what the problem is with this lot. They're a national company (being based in the IoM is purely to do with gambling regulations in the UK [and tax]) and if IL's had anything to do with it they will have paid no small amount to get their monika on the shirt.
Additionally, I suspect our recent relative successes will have heightened competition for the main logo spot, and putting it out to tender with short-term contracts is probably fueling something of a bidding skirmish (if not quite a war). Long-term sponsors might be more difficult to bargain with when it comes to renewal.

Although, just be thankful we're not in Wakey, who appear to be sponsored by the local chippy for next year at least rlhttps://tinyurl.com/ol5wh7rrl

I don't necessarily have a problem with any individual company, more that Wigan seem to want to change the main sponsor every year. Just being a Leeds fan I've seen the benefits a long term relationship with a sponsor can bring, with Leeds it was Tetley's and now Leeds Building Society.
And it's just surprised me as Wigan's turnover of sponsors has been greater than most.

The Wetherby Whaler is a bit more than a local chippy given the location in Guiseley they now run but it's probably not a massively lucrative deal (I imagine they pay Leeds more for various associate sponsorships than they pay Wakey for a primary one).

Wigan's trouble on shirts and sponsors does remain perplexing though. I've no doubt that Wigan would prefer to sign up a long-term partner as they can make plans to work with them over the period of the deal rather than effectively just being together for eight months or so with management having to then spend a load of time finding another replacement. Perhaps the club needs to look at the sponsor experience at the DW as well (assuming representatives of the main sponsors even turn up for games)?

On the shirts, this is such a critical time for the retail depts that it must have a seriously detrimental effect. If your main rivals have taken £500k in shirt sales before Christmas and Wigan have barely got theirs on sale it has to count as a major commercial cock up, even moreso if it has happened repeatedly over several years.