Willzay wrote:
Not much of a competition though is it if the same four teams are shown every week. Otherwise why don’t we just rebrand it as the Big Four League with guests.
Robert Elstone has a responsibility to all of Super League, doesn’t he?
He has a responsibility to package and market the product as best he can. If that means focusing on the most marketable aspects of it and disregarding those that aren't attractive, that is his remit.
Now we can debate whether Leeds-Hull or Wigan-St Helens is an argument between "jepoardy" vs "quality" (although let's not pretent that Wigan have been amazing to watch for much of the year), but it's about having the best TV product possible. It's one of the reasons why Sky doesn't pitch its cameras up at the John Smiths very often - because the impression that the venue gives (empty seats and the constant echo of a cow bell) isn't exactly one that draws audiences in and sells the game as a 'must see' event.