Saracens etc and the future

[Crofty]

I remember they tried it with cheerleader and half time entertainment in football when the premiership started. Didn’t last very long. As someone commented on here, the American expectation is different the British.
On the grounds of making the sport more popular, it doesn’t help that it’s all on pay tv. Would be great to have a match of the day style highlights show. Show all the best bits of the games, available to everyone, at a sensible regular time. As it stands club rugby is never even mentioned by bbc or itv

This is also a very good point. Nowhere near enough exposure of the club game in this country.

Also, lower leagues, the french rugby thread on here shows the Pro D2 league and its really strong. Thats what we need.

Maybe an hour long on Monday evenings at 7?

[GB72]

Interesting comments here. I don't think it says anywhere in the article that players' wages are an issue or that they want to turn the game into NFL. The latter would be nuts if they want to crack the US market. It reads, to me, like they want to jazz up the game, more cheerleaders and very loud music say which sounds completely ghastly to me. I think the key point is the "businessmen not bureaucrats" line. In other words, deregulate and give rich owners control.

I think the wages issue is linked though. Rugby isn't profitable at the moment for the business folk, and so something needs to change. Either less expenditure on players, bigger crowds or more lucrative games or tournaments etc.

Something only "needs" to change from the side of the "business folk" not for anybody else. For the good of everybody else and the sport, I hope it doesn't too much. Overcommercialisation of anything often makes things tacky and as Old Hob says "ghastly".

The issue is that the 'business folk' who you are happy to disregard are the ones who are keeping the professional game afloat at the moment. I think only one club recently has been making any profit and the rest require banks and business folk to keep the lights on.

Rugby has a problem. Players want more in salary to compensate for a short career (and, I suspect, part from following what happened in football) but they also need more time off for player welfare which means that we need bigger squads to be able to look after players and fulfil fixtures. Unfortunately, the traditional rugby fatihful walking through the door are not enough to pay the expenses. So, what do we do. Cut player wages (unlikely to happen), have a lower level of player (cannot see that going down well), have a smaller squad (not good for player welfare) or do we let someone try something a bit different to try and get more people in the ground. Increase popularity and you increase revenue and you increase coverage so can demand better media deals and further increase revenue.

The simply fact is that only die hard rugby fans really care about club rugby, to most people, media and casual rugby fans included, international rugby is all that they are interested in. Unless the club game can do something to increase its profile, it will disappear or return to amateur ranks as there is simply not the money in it at the moment to support the current spending.

[Old Hob]

Ah, I think there are "business folk" like Peter Tom who are very good at running a business of whom I am in favour and then there are "business folk" who are interested only in a money churn, vanity projects, self-aggrandisement and not the love of the game. There is a spectrum.

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

I think we are extremely lucky to have as our Chairman & shareholder someone who played for the club, whatever some of the poor choices/decisions made by the board over recent years, at least our Chairman thinks Rugby first.
Some other clubs owners might have more money, but Peter Tom has the club running through him, I know what sort of owner/benefactor I prefer.

[jgriffin]

Ah, I think there are "business folk" like Peter Tom who are very good at running a business of whom I am in favour and then there are "business folk" who are interested only in a money churn, vanity projects, self-aggrandisement and not the love of the game. There is a spectrum.

Having private equity anywhere near anything is a slow train wreck, except for the finance wallahs.

[sk 88]

I remember they tried it with cheerleader and half time entertainment in football when the premiership started. Didn’t last very long. As someone commented on here, the American expectation is different the British.
On the grounds of making the sport more popular, it doesn’t help that it’s all on pay tv. Would be great to have a match of the day style highlights show. Show all the best bits of the games, available to everyone, at a sensible regular time. As it stands club rugby is never even mentioned by bbc or itv

This is also a very good point. Nowhere near enough exposure of the club game in this country.

Also, lower leagues, the french rugby thread on here shows the Pro D2 league and its really strong. Thats what we need.

Maybe an hour long on Monday evenings at 7?

my 2p. The 5 Highlights were too long and too late. Ended up as neither fish nor fowl.

Should look at the NFL show time slots, 30 minutes of review on Thursday & 30 minutes of preview on Saturday night.

Rugby equivalent would be 30 mins for the 5 games on a Sat & Friday night, on BBC1 at midnight after match of the day or BBC2 around 11ish, available on iPlayer. Then a preview show Wednesday or Thursday at 11 O'clock in the old "This week" time slot.

[northerntiger]

We’ve just had the Ryder cup - don’t think anyone noticed
Boxing- Fury v Wilder title fight.

Big sports events, whether you are into them or not. Not on terrestrial tv, not noticed.

[Scott1]

We’ve just had the Ryder cup - don’t think anyone noticed
Boxing- Fury v Wilder title fight.

Big sports events, whether you are into them or not. Not on terrestrial tv, not noticed.

AJ v Usyk, not on terrestrial TV,absolutely huge!

[Crofty]

This is also a very good point. Nowhere near enough exposure of the club game in this country.

Also, lower leagues, the french rugby thread on here shows the Pro D2 league and its really strong. Thats what we need.

Maybe an hour long on Monday evenings at 7?

my 2p. The 5 Highlights were too long and too late. Ended up as neither fish nor fowl.

Should look at the NFL show time slots, 30 minutes of review on Thursday & 30 minutes of preview on Saturday night.

Rugby equivalent would be 30 mins for the 5 games on a Sat & Friday night, on BBC1 at midnight after match of the day or BBC2 around 11ish, available on iPlayer. Then a preview show Wednesday or Thursday at 11 O'clock in the old "This week" time slot.

Midnight, that'd be just great for me when I have early mornings for work, or more importantly kids with school in the morning (remember we're trying to get the next generation interested). The highlights used to be 30 minutes, I remember those days, seeming if Tigers won we got less than a minute with Tom Skippings summarising the game over the top meanwhile Sarrie grinding out a 6-3 win against Sale would get 10 minutes and top billing, at least with the hour every game got enough time for meaningful highlights and discussion.