Fixture reveal sees Sky Sports confirm new streaming platform

It was major news when Sky Sports and the RFL confirmed that a TV deal was in place for the 2024 season with every game set to be broadcast live, and more details have emerged on how that will play out now that the fixtures have been released.

Last night saw the confirmation of the opening two rounds of games as well as Rivals Round (slated for round six), but now the remaining fixtures have been confirmed.

A Hull derby kicks the season off with Hull KR travelling to face Hull FC on Thursday 16th February, with the Robins set to get used to Thursday night matches given that they also play on Thursday in week two and week four.

The inclusion of Thursday fixtures is somewhat of a surprise seen as Sky Sports seemed to filter them out near the end of the season last year, instead allowing teams to play on more commercial Friday night or family friendly weekends.

Sky Sports obviously have a major sway in fixture planning given their new broadcast deal that runs till 2026, with the promise of every game to be aired live.

There were questions over what that would look like, would it be a red button situation, would a streaming service come into play, or would Super League follow suit with the NRL and space each game out to their own time slot?

Super League have shown their capability to spread out the six games, something they did during Rivals Round last season and will again do in Rivals Round this year, however that’s not the case.

Fixtures will run at the same time throughout the season, with some later scheduled dates even seeing four games designated for Friday nights.

How will Sky combat this? They’re set to launch a new streaming platform. That’s something they have confirmed via their website upon the announcement of today’s fixtures.

Part of the statement reads: “For the first 15 rounds of the season, with the exception of Rivals Round, Sky Sports subscribers will have exclusive access to two matches per week.

“The remaining four matches of each round will be shown live on Sky Sports and Rugby League’s own streaming platform – with further details to be announced early in the New Year.”

The statement continued, adding: “As in previous years, Sky Sports will make exclusive selections from Round 16 and beyond as the season progresses, which will include a number of additional Thursday night fixtures.”

This all means that Sky Sports subscribers can expect to watch two games a week, as per previous years, but the additional four games each week will head to streaming platforms.

It also seems that Sky and the RFL will share a platform potentially, a possible adaptation of OurLeague, but ultimately we have to wait until the New Year for more information.

Just recently IMG’s Matt Dwyer had confirmed the potential for an OTT platform, also known as an Over The Top or additional service to broadcast, which this will seemingly be.