Re: TV games (not Wire) : Tue May 16, 2023 1:15 pm  

Surely ,as the paymasters, it is sky who have raised the profile of their baby , the GF ,& isolated the worth of winning to that particular trophy. There are 3 trophies to be won but the Challenge Cup has been reduced to seeding of teams which only goes to isolate & marginalise most RL teams. The LLS is now sounding like it should be avoided at all costs in case what would be the true champions burn themselves on the way to winning the sky trophy.

Re: TV games (not Wire) : Tue May 16, 2023 1:57 pm  

ninearches wrote:

Surely ,as the paymasters, it is sky who have raised the profile of their baby , the GF ,& isolated the worth of winning to that particular trophy. There are 3 trophies to be won but the Challenge Cup has been reduced to seeding of teams which only goes to isolate & marginalise most RL teams. The LLS is now sounding like it should be avoided at all costs in case what would be the true champions burn themselves on the way to winning the sky trophy.

Yes, cannot fault Sky at all for raising the profile of their baby.

The RFL has not done the same with the challenge cup. In 30 years we have gone from a spectacle that attracted 90,000+ supporters at Wembley to one that achieved just over half that at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

[Fantastic Mr Catpiss]

Re: TV games (not Wire) : Tue May 16, 2023 2:11 pm  

Wires71 wrote:

Yes, cannot fault Sky at all for raising the profile of their baby.

The RFL has not done the same with the challenge cup. In 30 years we have gone from a spectacle that attracted 90,000+ supporters at Wembley to one that achieved just over half that at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

there's a few things i think that have eroded the crowd here, an aging support base amongst RL, but the magic weekend especially, that was brought in let fans of teams that wouldn't normally get to a big stadium/event go to a special occasion, but ignoring the fact that a lot of neutrals prior to that would go to the challenge cup final, i reckon there's been a choice made now, might as well go for a heavily discounted weekend rather than pay over the odds now for one game. also the positioning, its been sandwiched between magic weekend, and the grandfinal, which again, does get neutrals going to, which one would you logically give a miss as a consumer? the one in the middle.

Re: TV games (not Wire) : Tue May 16, 2023 2:15 pm  

Wires71 wrote:

Yes incentivising a club to go for the LLS is one thing, making it count in a supporters mind is another. I think you could argue that the LLS only gets a mention by the clubs fans who win nothing else that year.

The Challenge Cup used to be a massive spectacle in RL but the advent of Super League GF put paid to that.

Also the John Player was coveted (at least in my mind when we won it in 91) and added interest in the season. Now it's all about the GF.

All these decisions were taken to make the game stronger and to expand the game. Has it worked?

The Grand Final profile was raised by Messrs Hemmings and Stephenson for their Sky audience.

BBC had sole rights to the Challenge Cup games but other than International Games, their coverage of RL games was few and far between.

To give SKY their due they did an excellent job of marketing the concept of the Grand Final, which sadly has been to the detriment of the Challenge Cup Final.

The Challenge Cup final at Wembley, used to see a mass exodus from the North of England on an annual pilgrimage, where neutral fans would attend in big numbers, no matter which teams were in the final, together with the fans from the finalists.

I agree that the team that finishes top of the League should be rewarded by a significant cash incentive, possibly that could be spent on the team`s wage bill and exempt for the next season`s Salary Cap.

Such a move would see a lot of teams playing to finish the top spot.

Re: TV games (not Wire) : Tue May 16, 2023 2:52 pm  

There you have it with the Challenge Cup. Wembley these days is harder to get to & everything about it is top price then we have the structure of the competition . At one time all clubs had the chance of playing a glamour club & being giant killers & it held supporters interest right through to a day out at Wembley. The present CC competition is virtually a knock out version of super league.

Re: TV games (not Wire) : Tue May 16, 2023 4:43 pm  

Is this the last magic weekend, thought in the IMG criteria it’s being dropped.

[Uncle Rico]

Re: TV games (not Wire) : Tue May 16, 2023 5:20 pm  

karetaker wrote:

Is this the last magic weekend, thought in the IMG criteria it’s being dropped.

I've no idea but on a personal level it's a bit played out particularly in Newcastle.as we've been there and done that and think that the toon hotel deals aren't there. Yes I know there are early bird opportunities and it's all about supply and demand, but thought it was difficult this year getting a one night deal, so much so that our mixed party of Wire, Salford and a Hudd's fan will be heading to York to 'watch' the Magic unfold.

I get that we aren't a typical group and we are interested in the first and last game which made things more difficult logistically but with the FA Cup and the train strike it's a proper faff.

Re: TV games (not Wire) : Tue May 16, 2023 6:25 pm  

Uncle Rico wrote:

I've no idea but on a personal level it's a bit played out particularly in Newcastle.as we've been there and done that and think that the toon hotel deals aren't there. Yes I know there are early bird opportunities and it's all about supply and demand, but thought it was difficult this year getting a one night deal, so much so that our mixed party of Wire, Salford and a Hudd's fan will be heading to York to 'watch' the Magic unfold.

I get that we aren't a typical group and we are interested in the first and last game which made things more difficult logistically but with the FA Cup and the train strike it's a proper faff.

Spot on, great venue that it is I always thought the idea of magic was to take it to different places. I remember the questionnaire and 1 of the questions gave a list of venues one being Dublin, I voted for that. But yes it’s played out either change the format of the challenge cup or start a new cup comp.

Re: TV games (not Wire) : Wed May 17, 2023 2:05 pm  

Sky not showing any of the cup games anymore ?

Re: TV games (not Wire) : Wed May 17, 2023 4:29 pm  

Dublin for magic w/e.
I like the sound of that.