RaboDirect to pull out of PRO12 sponsorship

cp

Being reported in the Irish Times here; and by Michael Corcoran on Twitter. Not ideal.

molloyjh

Well that's a bit sh..!

justsomebloke

A bit sh1te but with the sky deal they may actually be lucky in getting something better

Podge_irl

Sigh...

Hopefully this works out to our benefit - the league must surely be worth more now than when Rabo signed on.

Winters

BT Sport Pro12?

Buer

Crap. Big blow. The Sky package will hopefully ensure that someone steps in.

cp

Yeah they always struck me as a strange fit as a sponsor - they're only active in Ireland out of the 3 countries the league spans, Their product (savings plans) doesn't exactly correlate well with Sports/Leisure Activities, and lets be honest, the Branding was a mouthful, which led to people shortening it to Rabo/Rabo league/PRO12..

Still, looking for a 3 title sponsor in 6 years doesn't send out a good signal

irishbucsfan

Winters wrote: »

BT Sport Pro12?

Actually wouldn't surprise me at all! I wonder if the two groups are already on the phone about it!

Winters

Dont see why they cant split the sponsorship like in the [INSERT SPONSOR NAME HERE] Rugby Championship?

DGRulz

Lets say there's no one to replace Rabo until say November. What happens then? Play as normal or we wait?

cp

Play as normal, surely! IIRC the old Celtic league didn't have a title sponsor for the first 3 years or so..

.ak

That's gas. Defo doesn't help with the 'image' of the league.

justsomebloke

DGRulz wrote: »

Lets say there's no one to replace Rabo until say November. What happens then? Play as normal or we wait?

Play as normal, it's only a sponsorship at the end of the day

Winters

It would be called the Pro12. Like the Top14 and the Premiership.

thomond2006

Winters wrote: »

It would be called the Pro12. Like the Top14 and the Premiership.

It will be called the John Hayes Ligind League.

irishbucsfan

Winters wrote: »

It would be called the Pro12. Like the Top14 and the Premiership.

Unless they switch it back to Celtic League, considering that is the name of the company etc.

Podge_irl

Winters wrote: »

Dont see why they cant split the sponsorship like in the [INSERT SPONSOR NAME HERE] Rugby Championship?

I don't think that would work as effectively here - the Rugby Championship/S15 have much more separated media markets.

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Unless they switch it back to Celtic League, considering that is the name of the company etc.

Would be stupid, and I don't think they will. Whatever about changing sponsor, constantly changing the name of the league would look terrible. I think they settled on Pro12 precisely so the name wouldn't change with sponsors.

DGRulz

The Celtic League plus some Italians has a nice ring to it :P

.ak

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Unless they switch it back to Celtic League, considering that is the name of the company etc.

I hope they don't, aside from the Italian element, I like the sound of Pro12. Like the Top14, it's snappy and to the point.

cp

Podge_irl wrote: »

I don't think that would work as effectively here - the Rugby Championship/S15 have much more separated media markets.

Media markets are one thing, but from a sponsors point of view, most companies would set their Marketing Budgets on a country by country basis. Hence, I'd imagine it would be much easier to find 3/4 local sponsors than 1 cross-border one.

This is something that's potentially limiting the sponsorship value of the league - in the case of RaboDirect for example, the exposure to the UK/Italy was essentially worthless to them.

molloyjh

They've a year to find a new sponsor. With the Sky deal due to come into effect at the same time that the new sponsor takes over I'd imagine it would be a far more attractive option than it was 2 years ago.

DGRulz

If this anti-alcohal sponsorship thing goes through thats likey to take out most of the drink companys. Bank of Ireland ? :P They already sponsor three teams in the league and there just isn't enough BoI logos on that new Leinster jersey.

jamiedav2011

molloyjh wrote: »

They've a year to find a new sponsor. With the Sky deal due to come into effect at the same time that the new sponsor takes over I'd imagine it would be a far more attractive option than it was 2 years ago.

How does that SKy deal work again? They'll be showing a certain amount of games alongside terrestrial broadcasters is it?

Cookiemunster

DGRulz wrote: »

If this anti-alcohal sponsorship thing goes through thats likey to take out most of the drink companys. Bank of Ireland ? :P They already sponsor three teams in the league and there just isn't enough BoI logos on that new Leinster jersey.

Not necessarily. Any ban on alcohol advertising wouldn't affect Scotland, Wales, Italy or Ulster!. Any sponsorship would still be seen here on TV through pitch side advertising at away matches and through Sky and BBCs coverage.
Whether the league would want to go that route is another question though.

Dravokivich

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

How does that SKy deal work again? They'll be showing a certain amount of games alongside terrestrial broadcasters is it?

Basically one match a week, with play offs and final I think it was.

Cookiemunster

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

How does that SKy deal work again? They'll be showing a certain amount of games alongside terrestrial broadcasters is it?

AFAIK they have 30 games including the play offs, so 27 regular season games. They can only show one of each fixture, so if they show Munster V Leinster in Limerick the can't show the return game in Dublin. The terrestrials get to show the rest then after Sky pick.

justsomebloke

Cookiemunster wrote: »

The terrestrials get to show the rest then after Sky pick.

No Terrestrials have currently extended their deals though have they not? So currently at the moment SKY is the only TV provider on the table for the 2014 season

Dravokivich

justsomebloke wrote: »

No Terrestrials have currently extended their deals though have they not? So currently at the moment SKY is the only TV provider on the table for the 2014 season

Well, Sky don't have a deal which means exclusivity. But more so, a Priority selection.

Cookiemunster

justsomebloke wrote: »

No Terrestrials have currently extended their deals though have they not? So currently at the moment SKY is the only TV provider on the table for the 2014 season

Just checked out the press release and this is the last line Celtic Rugby are still in negotiations with other broadcasters and will be announcing further agreements in due course.

Artful_Badger

This is only relevant to next season though right ? Sponsorship and TV rights are unchanged this season from last with RTE and TG4 splitting the Irish games ?

Larbre34

Bad news of course, but its a pity when a league becomes known by its sponsors, Ive always been concious of using Pro12 rather than 'the Rabo'

However I dont think itll be too difficult getting a big sponsor. I read the other day that Investec bank are planning to come into Ireland and undercut the zombie banks variable rates, so theyll be looking for a big vehicle, and as they are already big in UK rugby sponsorship they should be one of the ones tapped up

Otherwise maybe NAMA would like to invest.......

eire_lad

I think it should be renamed the Magners league. Dont car who the sponsor is. Its what I still call it anyway. And that way they might have magners at the rabo games

vkid

eire_lad wrote: »

I think it should be renamed the Magners league. Dont car who the sponsor is. Its what I still call it anyway. And that way they might have magners at the rabo games

think a lot of people still call it that. I do as well.

Its not good for the profile of the league though when no-one really know what to call it imo

Larbre34

vkid wrote: »

think a lot of people still call it that. I do as well.

Its not good for the profile of the league though when no-one really know what to call it imo

The Pro12? Alá Top 14, Premiership Rugby, Super Rugby. Why is Pro12 so confusing to people??

justsomebloke

Ye it's the Pro12 to me. Not the Rabo Pro12 just the Pro12 so no fuss going forward

eyeball kid

justsomebloke wrote: »

Ye it's the Pro12 to me. Not the Rabo Pro12 just the Pro12 so no fuss going forward

Same for me. It was a good idea that they started calling it the Pro12 instead of the Celtic League or Magners League. It will have the continuity with whatever new sponsor comes in and will just be called the whatever Pro12.

molloyjh

justsomebloke wrote: »

Ye it's the Pro12 to me. Not the Rabo Pro12 just the Pro12 so no fuss going forward

Pro12 all the way.

Larbre34

The Airtricity Pro12 is it so.....;)

thomond2006

Larbre34 wrote: »

The Airtricity Pro12 is it so.....;)

No. The John Hayes Ligind League! :mad:

Digifriendly

Winters wrote: »

It would be called the Pro12. Like the Top14 and the Premiership.

Premiership is known as Aviva Premiership.

geekington

Heard one of the reasons they pulled out related to the fact that direct competitor in Ireland sponsors 3 of the 4 professional Irish teams!

Larbre34

RaboBank and BoI compete directly on very little.

Aviva Premiership was Guinness Premiership, operative word is Premiership as is Pro 12. Thats the core brand the celtic league need to push

Just lol'd at discovering the ITM cup (NPC) is Independent Timber Merchants (Co-Op). If that doesnt sound like an Irish style competition I dont know what does!

CatFromHue

The ITM in NZ used to be the Air New Zealand cup before it became the ITM Cup. I'm not sure if it had a sponsor before that.

While they're leaving it sounds like they've left a pretty good reference for sponsoring the league:

“The partnership with the PRO12 has helped us achieve key business objectives and has been extremely beneficial, especially in terms of developing and communicating our brand values, connecting with rugby fans and giving us a platform to reward our customers,” said Tim Bicknell, General Manager at RaboDirect.

Not bad to hear especially when it used to be called the Magners Direct Pro Rabo League when they first came on board.

DGRulz

Anyone else going to miss the Rabo promos before/after ad breaks?

thomond2006

DGRulz wrote: »

Anyone else going to miss the Rabo promos before/after ad breaks?

No more Moncrieff? Yay

CatFromHue

Depending on what happens to the HEC things could get very interesting.

If HEC qualifications becomes merit based then the Rabo league takes a step up in importance.

If the HEC dissolves and there is no replacement then the Rabo takes a step up in importance.

phog

Doubts about the H/cup as we know it and now the league without a title sponsor, rugby is not looking too bright for the Celtic Regions

To be fair to RaboDirect they really riased the profile of the league, here's hoping whoever takes over the sponsorship takes the league to a new level again.

thomond2006

phog wrote: »

Doubts about the H/cup as we know it and now the league without a title sponsor, rugby is not looking too bright for the Celtic Regions

To be fair to RaboDirect they really riased the profile of the league, here's hoping whoever takes over the sponsorship takes the league to a new level again.

Huh, they've months to negotiate a new title sponsor?

The Sky coverage is absolutely gold for Celtic Rugby, they'll have no problem getting a new sponsor.

phog

thomond2006 wrote: »

Huh, they've months to negotiate a new title sponsor?

The Sky coverage is absolutely gold for Celtic Rugby, they'll have no problem getting a new sponsor.

We talk up the league because it's our bread and butter but what is it in reality, take Leinster, Munster and Ulster out of it and it's very average. What are the ticket sales for the Welsh, Scottish and Italian teams? Half empty stadiums. The Sky TV deal might increase viewers but it's not gold, not in it's current format anyway.

Cookiemunster

CatFromHue wrote: »

Depending on what happens to the HEC things could get very interesting.

If HEC qualifications becomes merit based then the PRO12 league takes a step up in importance.

If the HEC dissolves and there is no replacement then the PRO12 takes a step up in importance.

You fell into the sponsor trap! Luckily I fixed it for you :-)

OldRio

phog wrote: »

We talk up the league because it's our bread and butter but what is it in reality, take Leinster, Munster and Ulster out of it and it's very average. What are the ticket sales for the Welsh, Scottish and Italian teams? Half empty stadiums. The Sky TV deal might increase viewers but it's not gold, not in it's current format anyway.

Not to sure about that. At the moment it is free to air across these islands. Hiding it behind a pay wall will not help viewers.