If Rugby League Commercial are seriously considering utilising Super League+ as the main broadcast option for several Super League games per round in 2027, then serious changes must be made before that happens.
The current broadcast deal, which sees Sky Sports showcase every game per round, including two which are ‘exclusive’ and have dedicated pre and post-match coverage, expires at the end of the current season.
BBC Sport have also had a number of free-to-air games littered throughout the season on the current deal, whilst the games that are not exclusive to Sky Sports are shown on Super League’s own platform Super League+.
NRL involvement would have a big impact on any future broadcast deal but it has been reported that Sky Sports will pick up three games per week and sacrifice the remaining four, creating a major gap in the market.
Super League+ could well be the platform that those remaining games land on, however, it’s fair to say that the platform currently is not up to scratch to host single standalone games, never mind potentially four matches per week.
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Super League+ issues on show for all to see
The 1895 Cup Final was played on Monday with heavy favourites London Broncos beating Widnes Vikings at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in a game that was broadcast for free on Super League+.
To watch, all viewers had to do was create a Super League+ account and log in, but staying logged in was a lot easier said than done.
On four occasions, this writer was kicked off the app, which read: “Session expired, servers are busy”, or: “Session invalid or expired. Your session has expired, please log in again to continue.”
They were both messages that seemingly a number of fans were met with judging by the social media discourse around the game.
Of course, if Super League were to make Super League+ one of their main broadcasters then improvements would be made during the off-season, but it’s a poor trial run, if indeed there are plans in place to utilise the platform more permanently.
The issue of finding value in a broadcast deal is a complicated one and clubs are right not to want to give their product away, especially when there is a Super League-owned platform that could showcase them, but right now that product is not up to sniff.
