news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/8356391.stm Not good for the sport at all. Expect Sky or ESPN to get it however.

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/8356391.stm Not good for the sport at all. Expect Sky or ESPN to get it however.

As I hate BBCs coverage with a passion, I see it being a good move. I do think though that it will stop many people from watching it however.

other than from the Semi Finals onwards, does anyone care about the Challenge Cup nowadays?

St Helens and their fans?

Its is excellent news for the sport. No longer are the RFL trapped into a corner as far as negotiation and coverage of the sport is concerned.

The BBC have laregely been inept at covering games effectively, so it is good that they no longer have the benefit of guarenteed coverage which has bred apathy for mine.

if ITV dont manage to get the rights however, then people will possibly need to have a subscription to watch the Cup, wont this spoil the cup and will not be able to appeal to the wider audience?

at that point I stopped reading because of the nightmares I was about to have...

Fair enpough, good point.

However the problem was historically that the BBC used this as a sanctimonious and patronising attempt to bully the RFL into accepting their bidding.

Despite 'assurances' to screen the game effectively and according to a benefical schedule, little has ever been delivered by the BBC.

Personally that would be rubbish news for me, as I then wouldn't be able to watch any RL on TV at all. FAIL.

It doesn't specify when yet so it still could have a while to run on the BBC.

It would be a disaster if it weren't on free to air TV anymore. It's one of the few times anyone takes any notice whatsoever of RL.

These are IIRC recommendations, which could still be amended before any decision is made.

Personally I would prefer to see the Challenge Cup remain on terrestrial television. Having no terrestrial live coverage IMO would relegate RL further into the category of a minority sport.

Perhaps the RFL can use the additional leverage of competition to squeeze a better deal out of the BBC in terms of the Super League Show and internationals?

This would be a disaster for the sport.

and teams playing their weaker sides in the competitions early rounds isnt?

It's not about the early rounds particularly, that happens in every cup competition. It's about the Final. It's 1 of only 2 RL big events in the season and is the only time that people who dont normally watch RL get in the least bit interested about it.

really?

That's good,shrewd coaching imo.
Since the CC has moved it has a bigger impact on the SL season plus the additional fixture with the magic weekend it makes the Team changes for early rounds a necessity,plus it gives other squad members a run out whilst resting some of yer regular 17.

you can read your post as saying that teams see the CC as a waste of time

I think the CC needs to be rethinked, since they moved it to the final being at August Bank holiday I think that has damged it as before it was a nice prelude to the start of the season

Yes. The only time people who normally dont even mention RL, talk about it is usually around the CC Final. It's one of only 2 times a year (the other being the Grand Final if we're lucky) that RL gets a mention on the BBC main news. It's the most publicity RL gets all season. To lose it would be a disaster.

"England lose to Australia today, Johnny Wilkinson kicked some goals but still they lost..cut to the video... and New Zealand beat a spirited Wales side at the Millenium stadium this evening..cut to video....


some footy news







Oh and England have qualifed for the Four Nations Rugby League final and thats the sport"


BBC News on Saturday night



yeah your probably right

But the CC Final ges some video and a decent spot on the sports news part rather than just a line at the end before the weather or local news comes on.
The fact that we're finally starting to get the international game sorted doesnt detract from the fact that the CC is vital to RL. If we retreat into our own little SKY run Super League world then we will slowly wither and die as a sport.
Just because you dont particularly enjoy the CC doesnt mean its not important or that its not important to have it on a free to air national channel and to be honest if we'd have won the CC Final this year or recently I dont think you'd be saying what you are now.

speaking of channels / times / coverage - why have they decided to go head to head with the biggest thing on tv on Saturday, granted most league fans won't watch X Factor over the final, but not a great move for new fans we seek, unless they are trying to capitalise on the Jedward backlash.

I think that the BBC pays lip service to RL and have done nothing to promote the sport whilst holding the rights to the CC. View that with the 6 Nations RU coverage and promotion. The BBC should not have a devine right to broadcast the CC and get the rights for a knock down price.

We may knock the likes of Eddie and Stevo but SKY have done wonders for RL and it would be better then Claire Balding and the coverage the BBC currently provides.

Because that's where Sky have a hole in their schedules to fill, between Soccer Saturday and Spanish football probably.

That's what happens when you have one channel with a monopoly on coverage.

its not that I dont enjoy it, I think we as a sport have changed it for the worse

Its only just over 10 years ago that I finished an exam and rushed to Headingley to wave our lads off to Wembley and being very excited

I just think our game (in the sense of both teams and fans) have lost the sense of value of the cup. Ill be honest if we had got to Wembley this year I would have been seriously worried about our Super League run given how close the final was to the start of the playoffs