If they put the 6N behind a paywall it would be an awful day for rugby .
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Iād imagine the strategy is donāt get sacked.
Canāt see any other end game with the rights purchase. Shameful
With the new ppv telly deal, the Welch are getting Ā£52 million.
It has certainly taken away hugely from the lustre of the Heineken cup even if some of the games have not returned to FTA TV.
I think it was lapsed poster Sidney who had a great post about the Munster team of the early 2000s who really brought the Heineken Cup alive on this island and to the masses and their demise coupled with the move to behind the paywall was a bug blow for the competition and its popularity in Ireland with the casual fan.
The six nations really benefits from its position in the sporting calendar in winter/early spring and saturday afternoon and evenings when there is little other live sport to contend with aside from horse racing for the casual fan to watch - if it goes behind the paywall it will certainly lose that unique selling point.
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To be honest the provinces are rarely on terrestrial tv these days , there is a growing distance between the pro game and grass roots . Interest is waning hugely .
The people who run the game really need to think this through
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I think the deal is done. They are short term idiots.
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The interest in that Munster-Leinster Heineken Cup semi-final in 2006 was huge. It felt like a monumental game. There was a sparse crowd at the National League final between Kerry and Galway in Limerick the same day.
Of course that was also the final year that RTE showed live Heineken Cup rugby before losing the rights to Sky Sports.
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One of the few casual fans that can spot this. Speak about it publicly and youāll be vilified by not supporting team of us or the 4 proud provinces
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Walse outside the national team are in massive debt and running a loss. The club game has been destroyed and we are heading that way
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Was that in Landsdowne Road?
I went to that I think.
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Iv said it here before but Blade, the scrumhalf with Connacht, is a great example of the stupidity of bringing in lads from abroad to play for Ireland. Comes from a small rural club, went to school in Athenry, plays for Connacht. Bringing him into the Irish setup would be a real boost to the game in the area, instead they select a lad from NZ who isnāt even a starter for Leinster. Iām told Blade has made up his mind and is away to try and make a few extra quid as soon as his contract is up next summer, he is dead right too.
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A Kerry v Galway NFL final wouldnāt fill Ennis tbh , now or back them .
Remember a Kerry v Derry NFL final once couldnāt fill Parnell a decade or so back
Excellent post
Iād take the European Cup and pro 14 back on terrestrial and lose the 6n if it was a straight trade.
French TV has the league on FTA as far as I knowā¦
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Blade is a dinger. He is far better than Gibson Park side from the nationality issue
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The deal was for ā¬450 million over four years, itās not like for like
Rugby felt more important when it was Hook and Pope in their pomp compared to Joe Molloy and āMittieā Williams.
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Which deal are you talking aboutā¦ I was just making a general observation about the top 14
The Canal+ deal for the ātop quatorzeā or whatever Gerry Thornley calls it. Hard compete with that