Bringing the Game to a New Audience

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It is very uncommon for something in Rugby League to be universally welcomed. This week saw the announcement that Channel 4 will broadcast 10 Super League matches on free-to-air television for the first time. It was met with widespread praise and excitement from our fans, and with good reason.

What do we know?

Some details are scarce, but we do know that roughly one match per month will be shown live, expect for in February, as Channel 4 will show matches from round 1 and round 2. The broadcast slot will generally be Saturday at 12:30PM. The first four matches have already been selected.

- Leeds v Warrington (Saturday 12th February)
- Hull FC v St Helens (Saturday 19th February)
- Warrington v Wakefield (Saturday 19th March)
- Wigan v Salford (Sunday 24th April)

On the weekends that Channel 4 broadcast matches, Sky will have the first and third picks, with Channel 4 getting the second pick.

We also know that this is not a 'free' deal like the Papa Johns and Stobart giveaway deals in recent years, although the full cost of the rights has not been disclosed. 

A Perfect Fit!

Channel 4's historic aims were based on innovation and pushing boundaries. That means its partnership with Rugby League is well-suited. In recent years, I have looked on with a degree of envy as Premiership and European Cup Rugby Union was broadcast on Channels 4 and 5 to large audiences.

With 10 live Super League games, 8 live Challenge Cup games and approximately 30 World Cup matches all set to be broadcast on free to air television in 2021 (and the remaining 31 on iPlayer or via BBC's online services), we have an opportunity like never before. There are more chances than we have ever had to focus eyeballs on our sport.

Whilst I am a huge Rugby League fan, I am also a casual sports fan. If a sport is showing on the BBC, ITV or Channel 4 on a Saturday afternoon, I am likely to give it a watch. That could be athletics, cycling, cricket, F1, snooker, anything really!

I doubt that I am the only one with that mindset! The more easily accessible matches that we have, the more casual viewers we can attract, the higher the profile that we can achieve. There are very few domestic sports which will have 18 live matches on free to air TV in the course of one year, in fact, I cannot think of any! 

It is the perfect way to build up to our festival of World Cups towards the end of 2022. That brings us nicely onto another question...

What do we do?

Ok...so we have found ourselves with a unique opportunity, so how do we make the most of it? The inner-sceptical Rugby League fan inside me tells me that we won't do much and let it pass us by. But we should not.

In our sport, we do have a habit of finding excuses, whether it be for low crowds, profile or other matters. We should do whatever we can to break that. With just 10 games on Channel 4, it is highly unlikely that any team will have more than two home matches at the Saturday 12:30 broadcast slot, some will not even have one

The slot is earlier than we are used to, and the equivalent slot for Premier League football is sometimes called the 'graveyard' slot. In our sport, the longest away journey for English away fans is around 2 and a half hours, so we are not asking fans to travel the length of the country for an early kick off.

The slot also does not clash with amateur matches. Meanwhile, unlike in Challenge Cup games, these matches have the benefit of season ticket holder attendance, giving clubs a solid number of fans who will attend each game. For the four clubs (Leeds, Hull FC, Warrington and Wigan) selected for home games at first, that 'base' is up to 10,000 fans.

I hope that the clubs selected to host these national, free to air games go big on their promotion. They should do whatever they can to get junior and amateur players, schoolchildren, workplaces and anyone else they can to fill the stadiums. As much as we love the on-field product, the occasion is always enhanced by a bigger crowd.

Where are we going?

We will probably only know how successful our new broadcast arrangement is after the two year deal ends. The proof will be in the viewing figures, the profile and even the success or otherwise of our end-of-season World Cup. Success may also depend on whether the broadcast deal is renewed or even improved.

I am not expecting miracles from this deal. It is not a panacea to all of the games ills. Yet it is a step in the right direction and the more opportunities we have to spread our sport, the better.

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