I wonder if they have schedules the fixtures in a way to try and keep momentum in the crowds attending?
So for example, once the season starts most fans will be starved of any Rugby League and would 'hopefully' turn out in their numbers for the first few rounds, then add in some juicy fixtures to keep crowd momentum turning up in their numbers.
Having one of your nearest rivals in the opening round when it would generally be well attended anyway is probably not the best way to go, yes I see the logic in it, but even if the Leigh game is scheduled for a mid week I would still expect a decent turn out, so maybe a fixture that would generally be a lower turn out, but fans are eager to watch a game and therefore would go to watch the grass grow if there was a rugby ball on the pitch, maybe is more savvy thinking, just maybe?

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/su ... dtxZtMAW8o Why is the streaming platform not going to be on a pay monthly subscription basis like literally every other streaming platform in existence? They think they will make more money this way is the answer, and i think they are wrong. Rugby League behind the times as always. Don't like this system at all.

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/su ... dtxZtMAW8o Why is the streaming platform not going to be on a pay monthly subscription basis like literally every other streaming platform in existence? They think they will make more money this way is the answer, and i think they are wrong. Rugby League behind the times as always. Don't like this system at all.

I previously held the view that its best to avoid putting on the bigger fixtures in round one as any fixture should in theory get a bit of a bump from being the first game back. However, RL only has a very small number of good cards in their hand so its probably best to play them at the time where they have the best chance of fulfilling their potential. You play Leigh in Round 1 in a local derby with the rivalry and the pre-season optimism, you guarantee close to 20k. You play it mid year when the excitement/momentum has died down and it may end up nearer 13/14k.

Either way, its the need to rearrange a potentially big game to mid week that's the irritating thing here. With Saints last year it was the Huddersfield game that was postponed but makes no difference when instead of getting 200 fans travelling they end up getting 100.

I interpreted it differently, the way i read it is 2 games will be shown live on sky sports exclusively so there will be no way to access these games through the streaming app. The other 4 games will be exclusive to the streaming app, so there will be no way to access these games with a sky sports subscription.

The wording is not very clear though, with the quote “The remaining four matches of each round will be shown live on Sky Sports and Rugby League’s own streaming platform" i think they are trying to say that the streaming app will be run by both Rugby League (the RFL) and Sky. Sky are basically keeping a monopoly on the app, if we for whatever reason have a different broadcasting partner than Sky in the future, the app would become void.

I hope there will be at least some playback feature for the app and you can not only access the games live.

The notion all games on sky doesn’t seem to be flying does it,the app will have a cost for sure as for the fixtures I’m rather underwhelmed by it to be honest last season had a nice ebb and flow to it this just seems like a random bunch of fixtures cobbled together.

On Sky Sports News this morning just after 8.30 they mentioned multiple times that every SL game was being shown on Sky Sports - Carney himself mentioned it so many times it was unusual.

I take what has been said to mean:

1. Sky pick two games a week and the only way to see them is on Sky Sports
2. The other four games a week will also be available on Sky Sports
3. These other four games will also be available via a streaming service (Our League or some other variation) on a PPV basis for those who don't have a Sky Sports subscription.

With every game being televised do we know if the fixture list is set in stone or will they still be subject to last minute changes ?

Only set in stone to week 15

The biggest positive of the fixture list is the amount of home games in (hopefully) warmer weather.

/ great run in for us at home at the business end of the season.

The RFL won't be making much out of me. The small number of fixtures (non-Wigan) I might want to see, I can go down the pub. I'm already paying to watch all NRL games (and they are archived and don't need to be watched live).

For me it would depend on the quality of the production of the PPV games. When Iv paid for a one off game on Our League in the past it's been poor - the stream buffers or cuts out at times, there are limited camera angles and it all feels low budget (which it is of course).

There will no doubt be times in a year where I'd like to watch an extra game if its a good fixture but the quality would have to be better. Plus the pubs won't be paying for the PPV fixtures.

The quality is another factor, sure. I've found the OurLeague thing a bit rubbish in the past.