Episode 241 - Short in the Forwards

Mark and Tim are with you this week to recap YOUR fan views two big home wins in the Super League playoffs and a whole load of big results outside of Super League. It's also news that isn't news season and we get let down by players in the valleys again. We make our guesses on some huge games ahead on both sides of the Rugby League world.

Listen to the show on iTunes here: SLP on iTunes
If you're not an Apple user, get the show here: SLP on Spreaker
You can also find us on YouTube, or search for us on whatever podcatcher app you use.

Episode 241 is sponsored by Sarah's Bookcase

Sarah sells Usborne books and with access to over 3000 titles from baby to teenager theres something for everyone.  She also works with schools so please get in touch to find out how you can get free books for local schools. Find out more at: www.facebook.com/sarahsbookcase

News from 08:15
Super League match reviews from 40:45
Other results from 78:00
Predictions from 91:30

Awards Season is Upon us...
The official Super League Dream Team has been named. Now it's time to have YOUR say in the SLP Listener Dream Team. Make your picks HERE.

Thank you to everyone who supports SLP!
Please back our Partner Sponsors:

• Rob's Toy Shop - Enter 'SLPDiscount' on checkout at Rob's Toy Shop and get 5% cashback on orders over £5, plus give 1% cashback to SLP.
• Little Warden - Vital alerts for hidden issues!
• Mascord Brownz - For all your International RL gear! Use our link https://mascordbrownz.com/?affilates=8 and we get 8% of your order value to help our running costs.
• Sarah's Bookcase - Sarah sells Usborne books and with access to over 3000 titles from baby to teenager theres something for everyone.  
• Rundom.run - raising money for Martin House Childrens Hospice

Learn about how you can sponsor SLP here: Super League Pod sponsorship

You can also make a donation to support SLP if you prefer: paypal.me/superleaguepod
All donations are hugely appreciated, large or small. If you donate £20 or more you can pick from an SLP t-shirt (limited stock remaining) or an SLP beanie hat.

Thinking about the TV Deal - by Mark

Most serious Rugby League fans in the UK know that the Super League TV deal is up at the end of the 2021 season.

Whilst the last deal with Sky, negotiated by The RFL, has certainly brought in large sums of money for the Super League clubs, the finer details weren't really all in the best interests of the clubs, the game and the fans. The ability to change a fixture at less than a weeks notice is probably the stand out in that regard.

One of the main determining factors in Super League splitting from The RFL at the end of 2017 was self-determination over the next TV deal - the major source of income for most clubs. So, they have to get it right!

My understanding is the Super League board are looking to appoint an external party to help them weight up all the options and permutations. I think that nothing is off the table - from how many games are televised, to who televises them and beyond.

I don't know how strong the Super League's hand is going to be in these negotiations, but there are a few things I think they should be looking for:

• A minimum of two weeks notice for any game moved for TV coverage - this is a no brainer, we have to try and get a bit more notice for fans to plan arrangements and for clubs to maximise on things like hospitality sales and any special offers or occasions.
• All week(school)night TV games fixed before the season kicks off - and I don't say all Thursday night games, because the broadcaster may want to try Monday's again. But getting the scheduling that is most moaned about sorted early doors just makes things easier all round.
• More televised games - ok, this is obvious too, but worth trying for. Ideally, we'd get all games televised like in the NRL - one Thursday, one Friday, two Saturday, two Sunday (but then I know people will moan about not having a regular home game day...you can't win in Rugby League eh!?)
• Sunday tea-time games throughout February - little bit less obvious, but the sport I think translates best to ours might be American Football. If we're still with Sky, their Sunday evening NFL audience needs tapping into as the NFL season ends and the Super League season starts. Filling the same TV scheduling slot is a perfect way to work on that audience. Super League should be asking Sky for this as part of any new deal. Hopefully, they would be an additional TV game each instead of just one of the normal two.
• More Saturday tea-time games in May and June - on a similar line to the above suggestion, this is where we can pick up the usual Saturday early-evening football slot to try and tap into the audience used to watching team sports at that particular time slot. Obviously, if that was to stay a Catalans slot and we still get those games in the UK (or maybe even Catalans & Toulouse) then this slot will be naturally filled, so it's about picking up the slot in open weeks. Again, Super League should be putting this to Sky. Surely it's a potential win for both parties too. Obviously, if the new deal was with another provider then we look at their existing slots and find ones we can best fill when other sports are in off-season.
• Guarantees of a more even split in coverage - this only really applies if we stick with the 2.5 TV games a week schedule - but how can it be right that one team is on TV 6 times (Salford) in the regular season and another 18 times (Castleford)? Is this even what we really want as armchair viewers? When you recognise that one of those games was at Magic Weekend and one was Catalans away, it made 5th place Castleford (in this particular season) the Sky pick four times more often than 3rd place Salford. TV audiences have been deprived of this great Salford side when such uneven coverage can happen.
• No Thursday games in the first week of the playoffs - maybe no Thursday playoffs at all, but that might be pushing it, and you have to make some concessions in negotiations - it's no good for Sky or Super League for a side to get half their average crowd for a playoff game, which happened to Warrington this year. Whatever the reasons, some action needs to be seen to be taken to address this. (more on Thursday Night games coming soon, keep your eye on the blog!)
• Some free-to-air games - a tough one for sure - we need to get more games in front of more eyes, and we need to get the support of the broadcaster in doing this. BT have done it with Rugby Union. Sky did it with the Cricket World Cup Final. A few games a year need to be shared with free-to-air TV. Whether it's the headline game a Magic Weekend, or an opening weekend fixture, a playoff semi-final or whatever, we need to get agreement to put some stuff out there free-to-air to spread the fan base and generate more interest.

Thanks for reading and please comment with your thoughts on what Super League need to go to the negotiating table looking for from the new deal.

Mark
SLP

Episode 240 - Speed, Skill, Athleticism...and Violence

For St Helens v Wigan week in the playoffs we brink back Saints fan David to stir things up with Wigan fan Mark. Your fan reviews on the Wigan v Salford game stir Mark up enough though of course! There was loads of news to cover, including the 'shit fight' going on in Tonga as well as plenty of player movement. Two big Super League playoff games get plenty of chat, and the other results get good coverage too, before we give our predictions for another big playoff week ahead.

Listen to the show on iTunes here: SLP on iTunes
If you're not an Apple user, get the show here: SLP on Spreaker
You can also find us on YouTube, or search for us on whatever podcatcher app you use.

Episode 240 is sponsored by Little Warden

If you have a website, then visit LittleWarden.com and see what they can do to help you. They can help you with domain expiration checks, redirects and all sorts of other important background web stuff that they’ll make simple for you. Vital Alerts for Hidden Issues.

News from 08:30
Super League match reviews from 33:00
Other results from 82:15
Predictions from 106:00

Awards Season is Upon us...
The official Super League Dream Team has been named. Now it's time to have YOUR say in the SLP Listener Dream Team. Make your picks HERE.

Thank you to everyone who supports SLP!
Please back our Partner Sponsors:

• Rob's Toy Shop - Enter 'SLPDiscount' on checkout at Rob's Toy Shop and get 5% cashback on orders over £5, plus give 1% cashback to SLP.
• Little Warden - Vital alerts for hidden issues!
• Mascord Brownz - For all your International RL gear! Use our link https://mascordbrownz.com/?affilates=8 and we get 8% of your order value to help our running costs.
• Sarah's Bookcase - Sarah sells Usborne books and with access to over 3000 titles from baby to teenager theres something for everyone.  

Learn about how you can sponsor SLP here: Super League Pod sponsorship

You can also make a donation to support SLP if you prefer: paypal.me/superleaguepod
All donations are hugely appreciated, large or small. If you donate £20 or more you can pick from an SLP t-shirt (limited stock remaining) or an SLP beanie hat.

Episode 239 - A Sloppy Legend

We go with a triple-threat this week, as we have Wigan fan Mark, Hull fan Sarah and Bradford (secretly, Cas) fan Alan to talk through a bumper week of news and pivotal match action. We retire an SLP hero/villain and re-retire a legend or two, amonst other news. We recap results where not every side got what they wanted, but most got what they needed, and not all players got what they really deserved. Get strapped in for Super League Pod!

Listen to the show on iTunes here: SLP on iTunes
If you're not an Apple user, get the show here: SLP on Spreaker
You can also find us on YouTube, or search for us on whatever podcatcher app you use.

Episode 239 is sponsored by Rob's Toy Shop

Find a wide range of toys, gifts, rugby league birthday cards and more at Rob’s Toy Shop on eBay. Visit stores.ebay.co.uk/robstoyshop and on any orders over £5 you can earn 5% cashback, and also 1% of your order value will go into the SLP coffers, by putting 'SLPDiscount' at checkout.

News from 04:30
Super League match reviews from 46:45
Other results from 113:30
Playoff Predictions from 121:30

Awards Season is Upon us...
The official Super League Dream Team has been named. Now it's time to have YOUR say in the SLP Listener Dream Team. Make your picks HERE.

Thank you to everyone who supports SLP!
Please back our Partner Sponsors:

• Rob's Toy Shop - Enter 'SLPDiscount' on checkout at Rob's Toy Shop and get 5% cashback on orders over £5, plus give 1% cashback to SLP.
• Little Warden - Vital alerts for hidden issues!
• Mascord Brownz - For all your International RL gear! Use our link https://mascordbrownz.com/?affilates=8 and we get 8% of your order value to help our running costs.
• Sarah's Bookcase - Sarah sells Usborne books and with access to over 3000 titles from baby to teenager theres something for everyone.  

Learn about how you can sponsor SLP here: Super League Pod sponsorship

You can also make a donation to support SLP if you prefer: paypal.me/superleaguepod
All donations are hugely appreciated, large or small. If you donate £20 or more you can pick from an SLP t-shirt (limited stock remaining) or an SLP beanie hat.

Episode 238 - Shield It For Modesty

Mark and Tim are here this week to bring you YOUR fan views on another week of big Rugby League news and action. Regular seasons come to an end in a number of competitions, where we have playoffs to look forward to, and there's another dramatic round of Super League to recap too. We predict how it will all end, with your poll results and our guesses on next week's games.

Listen to the show on iTunes here: SLP on iTunes
If you're not an Apple user, get the show here: SLP on Spreaker
You can also find us on YouTube, or search for us on whatever podcatcher app you use.

Episode 238 is sponsored by Little Warden

If you have a website, then visit LittleWarden.com and see what they can do to help you. They can help you with domain expiration checks, redirects and all sorts of other important background web stuff that they’ll make simple for you. Vital Alerts for Hidden Issues.

News from 08:45
Super League match reviews from 35:45
Other results from 100:00
Predictions from 110:15

Thank you to everyone who supports SLP!
Please back our Partner Sponsors:

• Rob's Toy Shop - Enter 'SLPDiscount' on checkout at Rob's Toy Shop and get 5% cashback on orders over £5, plus give 1% cashback to SLP.
• Little Warden - Vital alerts for hidden issues!
• Mascord Brownz - For all your International RL gear! Use our link https://mascordbrownz.com/?affilates=8 and we get 8% of your order value to help our running costs.
• Sarah's Bookcase - Sarah sells Usborne books and with access to over 3000 titles from baby to teenager theres something for everyone.  

Learn about how you can sponsor SLP here: Super League Pod sponsorship

You can also make a donation to support SLP if you prefer: paypal.me/superleaguepod
All donations are hugely appreciated, large or small. If you donate £20 or more you can pick from an SLP t-shirt (limited stock remaining) or an SLP beanie hat.

Episode 237 - I Hear He Likes That

Alan and Mark are back for what turned out to be our longest show of the year, thanks to a certain Super League Chairman and his programme notes. We both join in the dissenting voices on those comments and it adds half an hour to the show in the process! We talk GB EPS amongst the week's news. We talk YOUR fan views on last week's Super League matches. We've got other results covered and predictions for the penultimate round in Super League.

Listen to the show on iTunes here: SLP on iTunes
If you're not an Apple user, get the show here: SLP on Spreaker
You can also find us on YouTube, or search for us on whatever podcatcher app you use.

Episode 237 is sponsored by Sarah's Bookcase

Sarah sells Usborne books and with access to over 3000 titles from baby to teenager theres something for everyone.  She also works with schools so please get in touch to find out how you can get free books for local schools. Find out more at: www.facebook.com/sarahsbookcase

News from 12:15
Super League match reviews from 45:00
Other results from 138:30
Predictions from 152:45

Thank you to everyone who supports SLP!
Please back our Partner Sponsors:

• Rob's Toy Shop - Enter 'SLPDiscount' on checkout at Rob's Toy Shop and get 5% cashback on orders over £5, plus give 1% cashback to SLP.
• Little Warden - Vital alerts for hidden issues!
• Mascord Brownz - For all your International RL gear! Use our link https://mascordbrownz.com/?affilates=8 and we get 8% of your order value to help our running costs.
• Sarah's Bookcase - Sarah sells Usborne books and with access to over 3000 titles from baby to teenager theres something for everyone.  
• Rundom.run - raising money for Martin House Childrens Hospice

Learn about how you can sponsor SLP here: Super League Pod sponsorship

You can also make a donation to support SLP if you prefer: paypal.me/superleaguepod
All donations are hugely appreciated, large or small. If you donate £20 or more you can pick from an SLP t-shirt (limited stock remaining) or an SLP beanie hat.