BY JOHN DAVIDSON
WHEN IS Super League going to stop shooting itself in the foot over its fixture list?
This thought has repeatedly crept into my head this season. Why? Because of the way the 2023 schedule has been put together. Time and time again we have Super League games competing with each other in the exact same timeslot, more so than in previous seasons.
For example, in round 1 of the competition we started with Warrington hosting Leeds on Thursday, February 16 in a standalone match. Wonderful. But the next night we had Leigh vs Salford on at the same time on the Friday evening as Wakefield vs Catalans.
In round 2 of Friday, February 24, we had three games all on at the same time. In round 3 of Friday, March 3, we had a crazy five games all scheduled to kick off at the same time.
In round 4 of Friday, March 10, we had four games all on the same time, and in both round 5 and round 6 we had three on at the same time on the Friday night, with two on at the same time on Friday in round 7.
In round 8 – Rivals Round – we had the perfect balance – Castleford vs Wakefield on the Thursday night, then on Good Friday at 12.30pm the Hull derby followed later by Wigan vs St Helens. Quality.
On Saturday there was staggered games on TV, first Leigh vs Salford, and then later Catalans vs Warrington in France following. The round was completed on Sunday with Leeds hosting Huddersfield at 6pm.
The result? All games were on TV and received strong audiences, both in stadia and in terms of ratings. It was great viewing, Yes, public holidays on the Easter Friday and Monday certainly helped the numbers, but so did spreading the games out over the weekend and not competing with ourselves.
But in round 9 it was back to form with four games on at the same time on Friday, April 14, and then just the one on Sunday, which was not televised.
In round 10, the one just completed, we had two games against each on Friday, April 21, then three on the Sunday, April 23, at the same time. More of the same issue.
Why does it matter that games are scheduled to start and finish at the same time? It matters for several reasons.
Firstly, it affects the TV ratings. If you have four or five games on at the same time then it will harm the potential television audience. If a fan is not attending a game he may be inclined to watch another match on TV.
Secondly, it affects the media coverage. While local radio and papers might cover it regardless, national and other media won’t give each match equal or significant coverage, especially when there are several games competing with each other. There won’t be space for five equal match previews, or five match reports the following day. It simply doesn’t happen.
Thirdly, it harms the discourse, especially with so many games not broadcast on TV. There may be great tries, or exceptional moments of skill, or controversial incidents or whatever they get missed, or underreported and unacknowledged because they happen at the same time as three or four other games.
There is no clean air between fixtures, they are all thrown together at the same time. It also means there is a lot of dead space between when games are shown on TV, sometimes a full week, which is far from ideal.
Now scheduling is not an exact science and nor is it easy to juggle so many competing factors – broadcasters, stadia availability, club preference, player rest and the like.
Sky clearly like broadcasting on Thursday and Friday nights. Clubs, and fans, clearly don’t like going to games on Thursdays, judging by attendances and social media reaction. Clubs like playing on Fridays, especially because of the amount of corporate interest it generates. But compromise is needed, especially when your main source of revenue is your TV deal that pumps in tens of millions of pounds each year.
By staging multiple games on at the same we are harming our own TV ratings, which in term harms what we can get from a broadcaster for our TV product.
It’s self-defeating.
Super League needs to decide on a schedule that suits, a compromise, to all the major stakeholders – the clubs, supporters, players, TV and media. It won’t be easy, but surely there is a better solution to the current predicament.
It’s all about maximising the revenue, the exposure and media interest at the same time, for the benefit of all.
If you look at the NRL, they generally have a match every Thursday at 7.50pm, then two on Friday night with the first kicking off at 6pm and the second at 8pm. This is so the two do not clash, and a TV viewer can watch both if they so desire.
On Saturdays they have a game at 3.30pm, then one at 5.30pm and then one at 7.35pm. Fox bills this back-to-back series as ‘Super Saturday’, perfect for the TV watcher. The round ends on Sundays with one match at 2pm and then the final game at 4.05pm. It’s a simple, straight-forward and reliable schedule that ‘mostly’ (there is no perfect scenario) works for all.
The Premier League schedules some fixtures against each all the time, but it has 10 matches per round, compared to Super League’s six, and plays a lot more matches each season. It also has FA, European and other cup competitions to contend with, and player rest is not as big as an issue.
Even then, its games span the week with matches, for example, on this week on Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Saturday at 12.30pm and 3pm, then Sunday at 2pm and 4.05pm, with a Monday night game as well. It dominates air-time. But regardless if the Premier League was held on the moon and kicked off at 4am, it would still garner huge interest.
Super League is not in the same boat, obviously, but must learn accordingly.
Already in 2023 there has been some intriguing storylines, some excellent action and attendances on average are up. This is all positive.
But it can be better and bigger.
Don’t schedule games on at the same time. Don’t have four or five matches all starting at 8pm on Fridays. Don’t have Saturdays and Sundays with no games on all, with the competition seemingly disappearing from view.
There might not be a perfect schedule solution for Super League. It may not exist.
But something like Thursday 8pm, Friday 6.15pm and 8.30pm, Saturday 2pm and 5pm, and Sunday 2pm and 5pm would be more appealing to both supporters, broadcasters and sponsors than the current illogical status quo.
Over to you, powerbrokers.
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