The staggeringly low amount of money Premier Sports pays for Championship coverage

Premier Sports has been a great avenue for watching Championship rugby league on in 2022.

With host Emma Jones and the likes of pundits Leon Pryce, Kevin Brown and Andrew Henderson, the channel has been attracting rave reviews for its stellar coverage.

Showcasing the top stars in the Championship such as Leigh Centurions’ Nene MacDonald, Featherstone Rovers’ Joey Leilua and Halifax Panthers’ Lachlan Walmsley, Premier Sports has been a joy to watch.

However, despite the great entertainment, the monetary value of the program is, unfortunately, nothing to write home about according to Bradford Bulls journalist The Game Caller.

“Premier Sports are currently paying £200,000 a year,” The Game Caller revealed on The Full Eighty Minutes podcast.

“This is no criticism for Premier Sports, it’s great that there’s a spotlight on the Championship but the amount of chairman that have rung me up saying this is commercial suicide.

“The clubs get a marketing bonus for being on, but Derek Beaumont (Leigh owner) is spot on. Valentines’ Day is a hard sell so why put Bradford and Leigh on a Friday night when they can get 4,000 on a Sunday?”

Going into 2023, coverage of the sport will be one of the main focus points of IMG who are set to ‘reimagine’ the sport in every which way possible following a period of stagnation.

IMG has assembled a team of experts across its Media business and the Endeavor network to work with the newly combined entity on strategically repositioning the sport to maximise its commercial potential for long-term growth, build deeper relationships with fans and attract new audiences.

The agency will initially focus on competition restructuring, content production and innovation, domestic and international distribution of media rights, digital transformation powered by IMG’s digital sports arm Seven League, brand strategy delivered by Endeavor’s cultural marketing agency 160over90, and streaming through Endeavor’s OTT platform Endeavor Streaming.