Re: Loop fixtures : Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:22 pm  

Nothus wrote:

Isn't this kind of what happens in the NRL? It's not a straightforward set of fixtures over there either but they don't seem to have an issue with it.

An imbalanced fixture program helps justify the play offs and Grand Final.

Having said that, why the hell dont we go with a 14 club super league, it's such an obvious solution.
It really hacks me off when, so often, we are being told of the great benefits that Toronto (and Toulouse) will bring to the game.
Let's have them in SL next season and find out just what they do bring to the game.
IF there is increased exposure and investment / sponsorship opportunities then lets just get on with it and if "we" cant persuade Sky that they will benefit, then, we may as well get rid of the folk in charge as they really cant be up to much.
Either they have been over egging the benefits of Toronto being in SL or they should be able to improve the TV deal.
No if's and no buts. Get it done.

Re: Loop fixtures : Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:28 pm  

wrencat1873 wrote:

why the hell dont we go with a 14 club super league, it's such an obvious solution.
It really hacks me off when, so often, we are being told of the great benefits that Toronto (and Toulouse) will bring to the game.
Let's have them in SL next season and find out just what they do bring to the game.
IF there is increased exposure and investment / sponsorship opportunities then lets just get on with it and if "we" cant persuade Sky that they will benefit, then, we may as well get rid of the folk in charge as they really cant be up to much.

Well said

Re: Loop fixtures : Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:45 pm  

wrencat1873 wrote:

An imbalanced fixture program helps justify the play offs and Grand Final.

Having said that, why the hell dont we go with a 14 club super league, it's such an obvious solution.
It really hacks me off when, so often, we are being told of the great benefits that Toronto (and Toulouse) will bring to the game.
Let's have them in SL next season and find out just what they do bring to the game.
IF there is increased exposure and investment / sponsorship opportunities then lets just get on with it and if "we" cant persuade Sky that they will benefit, then, we may as well get rid of the folk in charge as they really cant be up to much.
Either they have been over egging the benefits of Toronto being in SL or they should be able to improve the TV deal.
No if's and no buts. Get it done.

Agree.
Surely if Toulouse comes up, Bein is it, will be able to offer something to the TV deal pot you'd think, plus maybe Toronto can sort something out as well if they get in SL. Just need an extra £3.6m a year between them to keep everyone happy. I'm not sure how this would all work with Sky though. I'd have thought though that they'd be happy for the extra exposure and new teams to watch if it can be done and maybe up the deal themselces by that amount a year to accommodate the teams.

Re: Loop fixtures : Wed Sep 12, 2018 5:45 pm  

We have loop fixtures now. The problem is that they are unknown until July, so affecting clubs finances - how can you market or sell hospitality for an fixture list you don't know.

One element of the proposed new structure, is to know what the loop fixtures are at the season launch.

Re: Loop fixtures : Wed Sep 12, 2018 6:15 pm  

No different to now, some teams play each other 4 times already.

Re: Loop fixtures : Wed Sep 12, 2018 6:23 pm  

dboy wrote:

We have loop fixtures now. The problem is that they are unknown until July, so affecting clubs finances - how can you market or sell hospitality for an fixture list you don't know.

One element of the proposed new structure, is to know what the loop fixtures are at the season launch.

So, pray tell me how clubs sell such for cup and play off games?

Re: Loop fixtures : Wed Sep 12, 2018 6:24 pm  

wrencat1873 wrote:

An imbalanced fixture program helps justify the play offs and Grand Final.

Having said that, why the hell dont we go with a 14 club super league, it's such an obvious solution.
It really hacks me off when, so often, we are being told of the great benefits that Toronto (and Toulouse) will bring to the game.
Let's have them in SL next season and find out just what they do bring to the game.
IF there is increased exposure and investment / sponsorship opportunities then lets just get on with it and if "we" cant persuade Sky that they will benefit, then, we may as well get rid of the folk in charge as they really cant be up to much.
Either they have been over egging the benefits of Toronto being in SL or they should be able to improve the TV deal.
No if's and no buts. Get it done.

Out of interest, which chairmen do you think would vote to cut their club's income from the existing TV deal by c14%?

Re: Loop fixtures : Wed Sep 12, 2018 6:38 pm  

Mr Dog wrote:

So, pray tell me how clubs sell such for cup and play off games?

Cup & play-offs don't equal 25% of the league fixture list!

That's 25% of your saleble product whic is unknown until 2 weeks before it happens.

Re: Loop fixtures : Wed Sep 12, 2018 6:48 pm  

Clearwing wrote:

Out of interest, which chairmen do you think would vote to cut their club's income from the existing TV deal by c14%?

I'm not advocating any cut in income from the TV deal, quite the contrary.
Since the inclusion of Toronto (and Toulouse) we've been hearing about how much they will bring to the game in both advertising, sponsorship and TV revenue. Now, either this wasnt true or we have the opportunity to renegotiate the Sky deal.
I know there is still time before the current deal expires but, this didn't stop us extending the last deal (before it expired) and nor should it now.
It's time for those who run the sport to earn their overblown salaries and get back to the negotiating table, with all of the possibilities that an additional club in France and a "new" club in North America bring to the sport and gain a decent increase in the TV deal.
I konw that it wont happen, primarily because we've been sold yet another pup but, it bloody well should.

Re: Loop fixtures : Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:05 pm  

dboy wrote:

We have loop fixtures now. The problem is that they are unknown until July, so affecting clubs finances - how can you market or sell hospitality for an fixture list you don't know.

One element of the proposed new structure, is to know what the loop fixtures are at the season launch.

Poor sales people always have excuses for missing targets whilst sales leaders just get on with the job of selling. If we take Wigan as an example, on Wednesday August 1st, they had 9 days to sell the first home 8's game, v Castleford on the Friday night.

Firstly, This event, regardless of the exact details, was a known occurrence regardless of it it were a home or away fixture in the super8's or Qualifiers, so it wasn't a shock to the club or their fans.....holidays would be booked regardless.
Secondly. Wigan are one of the best supported sides in SL and on Friday, April 20th 11,866 fans watched them host Castleford in the regular season. Wigan will have all the contact details for the vast majority of those fans as well as the details of previous purchasers of tickets across the last few seasons. How hard is it to send an email/SMS or employ a tele-canvasing company? A mailshot would take 2 hours to build and could have seen 10,000+ envelopes hit doormats inside 2 days. I don't know if they did any marketing or not, but they got 10,293 fans for the fist 8's game.
They then has 4 weeks until the visit of Wakefield......where they delivered their first sub 10k gate in eons....

...it is too easy to blame the "notice period" for poor crowds, when the reality is that most SL clubs have struggled this year and over the last few seasons. It really shouldn't be difficult to sell the visit of the 2017 Grand Finalists.....let alone the visit of Wire this Friday (with 5 weeks notice) who had 13,249 in attendance in July....but as I say, excuses are what bad sales people deliver, not results.