Sky........... shafts Rugby League

[Winrew]

SKY DROP BID FOR TV RIGHTS

BSkyB have made a reduced offer of £48m for the rights to show Super League and internationals, according to reports.

The sum is £7m less than the satellite company's original offer, which was rejected by the RFL in June.

A stumbling block in the negotiations is the insistence of the BBC to move the Challenge Cup to later in the year, which BSkyB claim would devalue the season-ending Grand Final.

:evil

I'm missing something here winrew, I don't really follow rugby league so I don't know the story.

If Sky made an offer in June and the RFL told them to fukc off, how come Sky are the bad boys here?

[Winrew]

The highlight of the season for all Rugby League fans was the challenge cup because the BBC have the rights to the challenge cup it has always stuck in Mr Murdochs throat ( sky media baron ) The BBC want to move the challenge cup final back to where it was always played ( the end of the season )
similar to the F.A cup.
But sky says it would detract attention away from the Super League grand final ( aswell as the play-offs ).
Sky have done a lot to promote Super League over the last few years,but they have shafted the lower league clubs.
This is were i start droning on about Murdoch and his mob shafting lesser clubs>: A few year ago Sky were trying to promote a Super League team from France,the team was rooted to the bottom of the Super League,so they decided there would be no relegation in that season.Until the French team won some matches against top teams ( rather shady results by the way )When a team called Workington Town finished bottom the Rugby League ( assisted by Sky ) decided to relegate the team that finished last ( they might aswell have said only English teams will be relegated ).
Sky were helped by a notorious gay bookmaker from Wigan ( MR Maurice Lindsey )who was pulling the strings of Super League Europe ( as it was known then ) Maurices ambition seemed to be looking after the top teams in Super League while shitting on the lower league teams.
Maurice seemed to have a problem with teams from Cumbria
( Workington Barrow Whitehaven & Carlisle )They did not look attractive to the Sky audience and the poor teams who had to travel up the M6 to play these teams. ( after all who needs teams from cumbria,a rugby league heartland for many years )
In an ideal world Maurice and the boys at Sky would like to see 12 teams in the Super League.
Sky and the rugby league have tried to start new teams in France,Gateshead,Wales,Wasting a @#%$ load of money doing so,instead of helping older established teams they have been throwing money around on all these new ventures ( Rugby League is just about bankrupt )
So Barrow are struggling Workington are just about bust,Carlisle went into extinsion and Whitehaven are not exactly solvent.
Anyway,it worked out ok for Maurice, he,s back in charge of Wigan.

I see your point now Win. Thanks for the explanation. I've watched superleague on sky quite a lot (and enjoyed it) but I never realised it was so political.

I particularly like the way the referees do their job. They actually know the player's names, treat em like men instead of kids and don't take any @#%$.

It baffles me why football has never just bit the bullet and followed suit. Granted, you'd end up with 8 a side the first game of the season but they'd soon learn, the big spoilt jessies.

Thanks again Win

[Winrew]

No problem
Dont forget The Grand Final...... Saturday Night.
should be a cracker.