RaboDirect to pull out of PRO12 sponsorship

eire_lad · 23-08-2013 2:55pm

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 · 23-08-2013 3:02pm

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 · 23-08-2013 3:06pm

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 · 23-08-2013 3:36pm

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

eyeball kid · 23-08-2013 3:40pm

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 · 23-08-2013 3:49pm

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 · 23-08-2013 4:21pm

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

thomond2006 · 23-08-2013 4:32pm

Larbre34 wrote: »

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

No. The John Hayes Ligind League! :mad:

Digifriendly · 23-08-2013 4:38pm

Winters wrote: »

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

Premiership is known as Aviva Premiership.

geekington · 23-08-2013 4:45pm

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 · 23-08-2013 4:51pm

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 · 23-08-2013 5:08pm

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 · 23-08-2013 5:10pm

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

thomond2006 · 23-08-2013 5:18pm

DGRulz wrote: »

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

No more Moncrieff? Yay

CatFromHue · 23-08-2013 5:42pm

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 · 23-08-2013 10:46pm

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 · 23-08-2013 10:50pm

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 · 23-08-2013 11:31pm

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 · 23-08-2013 11:35pm

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 · 24-08-2013 9:28am

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.

sydthebeat · 24-08-2013 9:31am

The 'wonga' league anyone??

phog · 24-08-2013 10:02am

OldRio wrote: »

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.

One thing Sky do that most other broadcasters fail is hype, it's on that basis I said might increase viewers.

AFAIK, Rabo still have a year in their contract so are withdrawing a year early, no doubt the league will pick up a sponsor, the real question is what will the league get from the sponsorship.

irishbucsfan · 24-08-2013 10:34am

OldRio wrote: »

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.

I don't know that making it FTA has increased viewership.

And also, most games will still be free to air.

molloyjh · 24-08-2013 10:38am

Sky will increase viewership. It will open the league up to the UK market as well and sides like Leinster, Munster, Ulster and the Ospreys will generate interest. Remember there will now be more games shown live than there currently is and even if some of those are behind a pay wall the fact that its behind a pay wall that is very good at building hype and is doing so in front of a larger market will help.

It's actually probably the perfect time for a new sponsor to come on board. Changes to the HEC qualification may increase the competitiveness of the league (if done right), the Sky deal will open up an additional market and given the serious strides the league has made in the last few years it will have grown a good bit since Magners decision to pull out 3 years ago.

irishbucsfan · 24-08-2013 10:41am

You can't know that Sky will increase viewership either.

If they don't like the way the ERC thing goes they may just decide to cut their losses, pretend rugby union doesn't exist, and stick it away in a corner on Sky Sports 4.

hardCopy · 24-08-2013 5:51pm

I'm putting my money on "Paddy Power Pro 12"

Digifriendly · 24-08-2013 7:11pm

irishbucsfan wrote: »

You can't know that Sky will increase viewership either.

If they don't like the way the ERC thing goes they may just decide to cut their losses, pretend rugby union doesn't exist, and stick it away in a corner on Sky Sports 4.

If an Irish derby is shown on Sky,that derby will reach viewers outside Ireland for the first time but downside is that viewers in Ireland watching the game will be less than before as the derby will no longer be FTA.

thomond2006 · 24-08-2013 7:36pm

phog wrote: »

One thing Sky do that most other broadcasters fail is hype, it's on that basis I said might increase viewers.

AFAIK, Rabo still have a year in their contract so are withdrawing a year early, no doubt the league will pick up a sponsor, the real question is what will the league get from the sponsorship.

It's still the Rabo Pro12 this year? Going by 'next season' I assume they mean 2014/15 no?
http://www.rabodirectpro12.com/news/12633.php#.Uhj9UNLVCMU

phog · 24-08-2013 8:21pm

thomond2006 wrote: »

It's still the Rabo Pro12 this year? Going by 'next season' I assume they mean 2014/15 no?
http://www.rabodirectpro12.com/news/12633.php#.Uhj9UNLVCMU

Yes but I thought they originally signed for a 4 year deal, according to your lnk they are 2 years into the sponsorship deal and this season makes it their third, hence why I think they are pulling out with a year left in their contract.

RaboDirect have sponsored the PRO12 for the last two seasons, in which time attendances have grown 4.3 per cent and last year broke the one million mark, hitting 1.2 million.

irishbucsfan · 24-08-2013 8:24pm

Yeah they are pulling out of the deal a year before it ends. They're the Andrew Conways of sports sponsorship. So are Puma.

RaboDirect to pull out of PRO12 sponsorship

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