Lord knows rugby league has made enough attempts to reinvent itself over the years, often with little success. But 2024 is seen as a real breakthrough season for the sport.
Following the three-year broadcast agreement with Rugby League Advertising, Super League matches will be broadcast live on the BBC for the first time.
The company has been synonymous with the Challenge Cup for decades but Sky Sports has been the game’s paymaster, covering Super League matches almost exclusively since the competition was founded in 1996.
In 2022, Channel 4 signed a two-year deal to broadcast a small number of Super League matches free-to-air; This was a move designed to increase the attractiveness of the code, but no money changed hands. But now the new BBC pays for 15 games per season to be shown, 10 on television and the rest on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. This, in addition to regular Challenge Cup coverage and Super League highlights, will also be broadcast on the BBC Sport website the day after matches.
The BBC has been criticized for the dwindling number of sports it shows through its live broadcast rights in an increasingly competitive market. Golf and cricket are two sports particularly affected, while there is no guarantee in the other legislation that the Six Nations will remain on the BBC in the long term. For this reason, the signing of the Super League agreement is considered as support for both parties.
In addition, Sky Sports is broadcasting all matches of the Super League on television for the first time this season. It’s easy to see why optimism is currently prevalent in the 13 for 13 strategy.
Explaining the details of the BBC deal, Rugby League Commercial managing director Rhodri Jones told Telegraph Sport: “We spoke to the four main free-to-air broadcasters and it was quite clear early on that this deal would be between the BBC and Channel 4.
“We were able to continue discussions with the BBC when a meeting was abandoned due to a business decision at Channel 4. “We knew they were very passionate about rugby league and saw the live Super League as an opportunity to get them more involved in the sport.”
Rugby league’s constant challenge has been to gain greater traction outside its traditional northern enclaves.
But Jones is confident the BBC showing Super League matches, starting with Castleford v Wigan at tea time on Saturday, will give the code much more visibility.
“The opportunities are endless now and BBC coverage certainly provides the ingredients to help the game grow,” he added. “But the challenge will be how do we capitalize on that and once we give the players and coaches that platform, how do we build the audience and make it a regular talking point?
“Many people remember the happy days of the great Wigan team with players like Shaun Edwards and Martin Offiah, and that was thanks to them playing live on the BBC. We now have the opportunity to rekindle the relationship between our best players and not just rugby league followers but the sporting community and make them household names.
“This is something that probably hasn’t been true for the last 10 to 20 years, barring the odd exception like Paul Sculthorpe, Kevin Sinfield and Rob Burrow. “Everyone is hopeful that the likes of Jack Welsby, Harry Newman and Jai Field will shine when they are broadcast live on the BBC.”
Jones said Sky Sports had no problem with RL Commercial coming to the BBC, saying the BBC’s Super League show would be replaced by a highlights package on the BBC website.
Presenter Tanya Arnold, who will cover Saturday’s Castleford-Wigan game on BBC2, said: “Terrestrial coverage is huge and the BBC has the biggest audience on the free-to-air channels.”
“So it’s a very important link for rugby league and the BBC. Having a highlights package on a website that is the largest of its kind with 20 million unique views per week offers huge potential for the sport.
“Rugby league needs to have as many eyes on it as possible and having all the games on BBC television and Sky Sports certainly does that. If rugby league isn’t in a healthier place by the end of these three years we’re probably all going to have to worry.”
In addition to the BBC deal and Sky Sports televising every match, a new broadcast platform in the form of SuperLeague+ has been created for 2024.
Meanwhile, all of Catalans Dragons’ fixtures will be shown on another broadcast in France and Spain, a first for the competition.
The publishing deals come against the backdrop of RL Commercial’s 12-year strategic partnership with IMG, announced in May 2022, to restructure and reimagine the game.
Media giants have introduced a rating system to rank clubs based on various criteria such as fan base, stadium, finances and on-field performance and decide league rankings.
Membership to the Super League in 2025 will be determined by the top 12 teams in the 2024 rankings, which will be announced at the end of this season. Clubs with A grade will be exempt from relegation by guaranteeing promotion to the Super League, while the rest will consist of the B grade clubs with the best ranking.
Progress is finally being felt, and Jones adds: “We’ve spent the last six months working really hard behind the scenes.
“A lot of that work has paid off, and now we’re at a point where we need to deliver.”