They would indeed. ESPN's football viewing figures are lower than Sky Sports',BBC's and ITV's on a VERY regular basis, and (not that I like to compare the two) this sport is worlds apart on following numbers. Should ESPN win a bidding war, I think they'll bitterly regret a) paying more than Sky, b) having less than half the viewers and c) losing money in the process as it becomes an unpopular slot for advertisers.

As it happens I am a big fan of a variety of sports. With Sky being large bidders and popular with viewers it suits my needs. I'd rather stick to visiting the KC and sacrifice watching other matches (apart from on the odd weekend pub excursion) and keep watching a multitude of sport with sound coverage than regret paying to watch ESPN slowly ruin what Sky has worked so hard to bring more to the front. I've even seen SL being advertised regularly on a variety of Sky's channels, bringing attention. I doubt ESPN would do the RFL and SL the same favour.

Any news of NRL coverage this season ??



Thoroughly enjoyed the free games end of last season.



Personally HATE paying Sky fees for tons of football which leave me cold.



All rugby on ESPN would get my hard earned every time.

The game is slowly dying now, no sky coverage would kill it off altogether.

what makes you think the games dying now?

I blame clubs for overloading their team with Aussie's and Pseudo Tongans etc

Averages over the last 10 years prove you are wrong

2000 - 7412

2001 - 7,140 (-272)

2002 -7,207 (+67)

2003 - 7,955 (+74icon_cool.gif

2004 - 8,570 (+615)

2005 - 8,884 (+314)

2006 - 9,010 (+126)

2007 - 10,579 (+1,569)

2008 - 10,194 (-385)

2009 - 11,298 (+1,104)

2010 - 11,643 (+345)

Beat me to it hullbg - how some people can make such comments is beyond me!



The worry is if ESPN do get the rights that the game is lost to the masses and the viewing figures go down, as this would then devalue the rights for showing the sport which then could cripple those clubs who don't have their house in order or not backed by wealthy owners.

Quote al283="al283"Any news of NRL coverage this season ?? Thoroughly enjoyed the free games end of last season.'" Quote al283=#FF0000Premier Sports is the new home of NRL in the UK. We show at least 5 and sometimes 6 live games every weekend and an average of 150 live games a year It's the top rugby league in the world, full to the brim with the best players, the big hits and the most exciting plays, and we're bringing it straight to your living room. UK rugby league fans have even more reasons to watch with the Burgess brothers at South Sydney Rabbitohs and English duo Gareth Ellis and Mark Flanagan ripping it up at Wests Tigers. They battle alongside Australia's finest, from Melbourne pair Billy Slater and Cameron Smith to Parramatta's Jarryd Hayne and North Queensland Cowboy Jonathan Thurston. Throw in the finest South Sea Islanders and Kiwi internationals, and the 16-team competition is a mouth watering not to be missed prospect for any league fan. Subscribe now for coverage of the All Star match on February 12th followed by 150 live NRL matches.'" www.premiersports.tv/NRL.html

Quote al283="al283"Any news of NRL coverage this season ?? Thoroughly enjoyed the free games end of last season.'" Quote al283=#FF0000Premier Sports is the new home of NRL in the UK. We show at least 5 and sometimes 6 live games every weekend and an average of 150 live games a year It's the top rugby league in the world, full to the brim with the best players, the big hits and the most exciting plays, and we're bringing it straight to your living room. UK rugby league fans have even more reasons to watch with the Burgess brothers at South Sydney Rabbitohs and English duo Gareth Ellis and Mark Flanagan ripping it up at Wests Tigers. They battle alongside Australia's finest, from Melbourne pair Billy Slater and Cameron Smith to Parramatta's Jarryd Hayne and North Queensland Cowboy Jonathan Thurston. Throw in the finest South Sea Islanders and Kiwi internationals, and the 16-team competition is a mouth watering not to be missed prospect for any league fan. Subscribe now for coverage of the All Star match on February 12th followed by 150 live NRL matches.'" www.premiersports.tv/NRL.html

It's good to have competition for the rights but I hope Sky win out, they do the coverage better than anyone and people already have the required packages.

its great we have other broadcasters willing to show rugby league now and hopefully it will get to a point were sky may up there money a little but i do hope sky get the rights as they have been great for rugby league but would be nice to gte a abit more money from the tv deal though. ideally though a channel like itv or channel 4 hopefully could do a super league and challenge cup highlights show and maybe espn could get a few live games aswell

well i for one hope Sky do not lose the broadcasting rights,cannot afford to pay for sky and espn