Re: Sky losing interest. : Sun Jan 04, 2015 12:25 pm  

Mable_Syrup wrote:

With the world darts championships on at the minute, DARTS! Yes darts, has it's own channel on sky. It's been quite good seeing old matches, interviews and reviews of past players etc. It would be brilliant, if even just during the league season, if sky would do this for us. Interviews with Billy Boston and Neil Fox and the like whilst they are still around. Interviews with players I've only heard of and never listened to talking about their experiences and views on today's game. Past matches (not just grand finals) with reviews of players who were in the games. I'd love that. Big Nige, do what you can.

Great idea.

However, Sky and the game itself have spent the past two decades urinating on its history. Nothing, pre 1996 and pre-Super League is regarded as worthy of recollection, interest or comment. The game was unprofessional and played in winter when it was freezing, the pitches were all bogs, the players were covered in mud, they drank too much, they smoked too many cigs, and they were all slowcoach porkers with pot bellies playing in dilapidated grounds surrounded by slum housing.

If Sky, the RFL and the vast majority of summer-era fans are disgusted by the history of the game pre-1996 and have consistently sent out that message, why should anyone else be interested?

Re: Sky losing interest. : Sun Jan 04, 2015 12:59 pm  

JB Down Under wrote:

reality is the vast majority of sports are not 12 months a year content and fan interest in the off season of any sport is minimal. Sky obviously have enough content in winter without spending money producing RL off season content and it's not the job of the RFL to produce it. Plenty of RL online you can watch if it's old games your after.

Anyone with a media background will tell you marketing for season launch needs to commence around 8-10 weeks before start and gradually hype up to it. I honestly think many of you live in Gaga land with your expectations of the Rfl.

from next year Sky lose the champions league, that is a tonne of broadcast time they need to fill, we have just renegotiated with them, why aren't we filling it?

It costs us nothing to give a production company unfettered access to a club, £0. The BBC used to screen RL Raw which was a behind the scenes look at what was the NFP. It was very well received. There is a repeat of a documentary on Emile Heskey on sky sports tonight. Im pretty confident they would be happy to screening original programming in the form of a documentary like that, especially as the cost would be so minimal and serve as an advert for their own product.

It is the RFL's job to grow the game, to do that we need more content. People need to know who is playing, they need to care for them, they need to know the narrative. We do nothing to do that.

Re: Sky losing interest. : Sun Jan 04, 2015 1:00 pm  

JB Down Under wrote:

I'm sure you wont be disappointed! Or you could get on social media where there is plenty of RL news coming out daily from clubs, supporters groups and governing bodies.

Oh great, im sure that has a huge reach to new fans.

Re: Sky losing interest. : Sun Jan 04, 2015 1:40 pm  

JB Down Under wrote:

I'm sure you wont be disappointed! Or you could get on social media where there is plenty of RL news coming out daily from clubs, supporters groups and governing bodies.

Which only gets to people who search for it. The reason why print newspapers articles and TV programmes are so important is because they get to people who don't actively follow RL.
RL doesn't have a problem marketing/advertising to its die-hard fans, it has a problem getting to everyone else.

Re: Sky losing interest. : Sun Jan 04, 2015 1:58 pm  

JB Down Under wrote:

I'm sure you wont be disappointed! Or you could get on social media where there is plenty of RL news coming out daily from clubs, supporters groups and governing bodies.

Social media is a no no for me, but can you see a problem somewhere?

Re: Sky losing interest. : Sun Jan 04, 2015 2:15 pm  

Leaguefan wrote:

Thank goodness for that, and there I was hoping that the RFL would tell the media that there maybe, possibly, could be, perhaps a RL international series against New Zealand come autumn 2015.

Now they don't have to.

Lets face it if the Union bods could promote their 2015 "entertainment" during the summer et al of 2014 and continue chirruping about it, they really were wasting their time as no one was interested.

Anyway it's nice to know that the RFL's responsibilty is not to promote the game they are responsible for, and the clubs wont do it because they would rather waste money on overseas crocks.

I look forward to the non interest and media involvement keeping its current low standard throughout the year.

When the Tour De France kicked off in Leeds during the summer, I walked part of the route on the day. A couple of miles along that route up Scott Hall Road at it's junction with Potternewton Lane, there were all sorts of festivities going on, marquees set up selling stuff. There was one marquee which stood out from the rest. It was giving away shirts, rugby balls, badges and stuff to kids. That marquee said RFU on it and was advertising England RU and the RU World Cup in 2015.

Meanwhile, back in Moonieworld, the Kiwi Series in 9 months time (allegedly) has disappeared off the radar completely as the RFL concentrate on flogging tickets to the converted for the Moonie Weekend, the CC Final and the SL Grand Final. Hardly a mention of the Kiwi Series in the compliant Moonie Express or Moonie Weekly publications for past couple of months either as they both pay their respects to the RFL for the critical (only?) advertising income they gratefully receive from them.

Re: Sky losing interest. : Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:09 am  

SmokeyTA wrote:

It is the RFL's job to grow the game.

To be honest, I think that the clubs get too much of a free ride on that front. I agree that the RFL has it's failings (Will has pointed out the poor promotion of the NZ series) but the biggest problems in marketing this sport come at club level, not ruling body level.

We've got into this position where clubs have got absolutely no idea how to market their product. The local promotion is appalling, they have no idea how to use tactical offers to create long-term followers and they are not doing enough to attract the 'right' mix of supporters. That's not an RFL problem, it's a club one. Unfortunately, the clubs get an easier ride because it's easier, and fashionable, to blame Nigel Wood.

Re: Sky losing interest. : Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:56 am  

bramleyrhino wrote:

To be honest, I think that the clubs get too much of a free ride on that front. I agree that the RFL has it's failings (Will has pointed out the poor promotion of the NZ series) but the biggest problems in marketing this sport come at club level, not ruling body level.

We've got into this position where clubs have got absolutely no idea how to market their product. The local promotion is appalling, they have no idea how to use tactical offers to create long-term followers and they are not doing enough to attract the 'right' mix of supporters. That's not an RFL problem, it's a club one. Unfortunately, the clubs get an easier ride because it's easier, and fashionable, to blame Nigel Wood.

Oh no doubt that clubs are failing massively in this respect, but it's hard to criticise leeds or Wigan getting 15k when we will likely get that for CC semis and international games.

I'd also argue that we get a lot more 'bang for our buck' by marketing more centrally, I certainly think the build up for the start of the season is down to the RFL or Super League. Now the RFL have parachuted their man in to run SL they can't really complain that people expect something from them. Right now the RFL seem intent in controling as much as possible and being responsible for as little as possible. It's not a sustainable position.

Super league needs to be treated as a single entity where a rising tide lifts all boats. Leaving each individual club to just do their own thing just doesn't work.

Re: Sky losing interest. : Mon Jan 05, 2015 12:51 pm  

SmokeyTA wrote:

Oh no doubt that clubs are failing massively in this respect, but it's hard to criticise leeds or Wigan getting 15k when we will likely get that for CC semis and international games.

I'd also argue that we get a lot more 'bang for our buck' by marketing more centrally, I certainly think the build up for the start of the season is down to the RFL or Super League. Now the RFL have parachuted their man in to run SL they can't really complain that people expect something from them. Right now the RFL seem intent in controling as much as possible and being responsible for as little as possible. It's not a sustainable position.

Super league needs to be treated as a single entity where a rising tide lifts all boats. Leaving each individual club to just do their own thing just doesn't work.

I think Leeds in particular should get much better attendances than they do, they never seem to grow them and they are in a massive city and have had a lot of success.

Headingley should sell out every home game.

Re: Sky losing interest. : Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:19 pm  

Tre Cool wrote:

I think Leeds in particular should get much better attendances than they do, they never seem to grow them and they are in a massive city and have had a lot of success.

Headingley should sell out every home game.

Not to put on fine a point on it, they don't really need to bother. They run at a profit, they pay the SC, they have extensive facilities, coaching and youth development. They aren't really pushed to increase attendances. We have to remember they are already getting double or triple some SL clubs.

I have no doubt that if Leeds really wanted it 20k isn't beyond them now. I also don't doubt that in a growing league 30k isn't beyond them. I also have no doubt that right now they are milking the cash cow and have no real need to start trying to blow everyone put of the water attendance wise why spend that extra money?