EirSport secure the broadcast rights to the Guinness PRO14

irishfeen · 04-05-2018 1:36pm

bennyl10 wrote: »

eir sport isnt that bad..
the telecom end fine, but they can only be praised for the amount they're willing to pump into rugby, with the pro14, and the world cup, along with all the schools,

their coverage has improved greatly this year!

Eirsport 1 in SD on Sky is very amateurish not to mention their new studio not being broadcast in native HD on EirSport2 HD is actually embarrassing for a subscription broadcaster.

OldRio · 04-05-2018 1:44pm

To be fair to Eir, TV3 only broadcasts in HD to those willing to pay a subscription.

icdg · 04-05-2018 1:50pm

bennyl10 wrote: »

Sky were willing to accommodate them, surely it's better for virgin to just give subscribers the option anyway?

Just on this one, eir Sport are not strictly speaking part of the Sky platform. They are available on the Astra satellite and have their channels listed on the Sky EPG (which under Ofcom direction Sky are required to provide access to at a standard rate card) and utilise Sky’s conditional access system (again on a standard rate card). But they are not part of a Sky package. You will not see them listed on Sky.com and if you want to subscribe you must call eir Sport directly and give them your Sky viewing card details, Sky cannot add it to your package. BT works the same in the UK but this will change next year when a wholesale deal comes into force (which won’t cover Ireland).

techdiver · 04-05-2018 2:13pm

The sooner the bring in sports packages like NFL pass the better.

Sick of paying for whole sports packages when the only thing I watch are rugby and golf and FTA GAA.

I'd much rather by a rugby pass and a golf pass and feck the rest.

Tigerandahalf · 04-05-2018 2:35pm

icdg wrote: »

Just on this one, eir Sport are not strictly speaking part of the Sky platform. They are available on the Astra satellite and have their channels listed on the Sky EPG (which under Ofcom direction Sky are required to provide access to at a standard rate card) and utilise Sky’s conditional access system (again on a standard rate card). But they are not part of a Sky package. You will not see them listed on Sky.com and if you want to subscribe you must call eir Sport directly and give them your Sky viewing card details, Sky cannot add it to your package. BT works the same in the UK but this will change next year when a wholesale deal comes into force (which won’t cover Ireland).

Would it be possible for Freesat to carry these channels?

Cookiemunster · 04-05-2018 3:01pm

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Would it be possible for Freesat to carry these channels?

Freesat is UK based. It's not officially available in Ireland, so Eir Sport can't put their package on it.

Tigerandahalf · 04-05-2018 3:08pm

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Freesat is UK based. It's not officially available in Ireland, so Eir Sport can't put their package on it.

Ya I know that.
I was just wondering if we would ever see the day where a subscription channel was carried on the freesat satellite platform.
I know Freesat cleared the way for subscriptions to be on the platform but it is only in the form of apps like Netflix and Rakuten tv.

It would mean not having to pay around €50 to sky to get an entertainment bundle before you even add on the Eir sub of €27.50 or whatever it is.

icdg · 04-05-2018 3:54pm

Well, the point of Freesat, is, you know, that it’s free. A conditional access system isn’t part of its specification.

icdg · 04-05-2018 4:43pm

I should just add though, that you don’t have to have any Sky package to take eir Sport on satellite. If you have a Sky digibox and any sort of valid Sky viewing card (including one in which the Sky TV subscription is expired) that is enough for eir to activate the subscription. It’s not like Sky Sports where you need to take the Original Bundle first.

Setanta used to be able to order you a Sky viewing card if you didn’t have one already, though I gather eir won’t do that anymore.

Tigerandahalf · 04-05-2018 5:04pm

icdg wrote: »

I should just add though, that you don’t have to have any Sky package to take eir Sport on satellite. If you have a Sky digibox and any sort of valid Sky viewing card (including one in which the Sky TV subscription is expired) that is enough for eir to activate the subscription. It’s not like Sky Sports where you need to take the Original Bundle first.

Setanta used to be able to order you a Sky viewing card if you didn’t have one already, though I gather eir won’t do that anymore.

That doesn't give a great viewing experience as you can't record or timeshift. I think Johnboy on another forum mentioned how the epg is a bit all over the place.

However it is definitely an option for a 2nd room where you might just want to watch the matches, provided you have a satellite cable feed going there.

icdg · 05-05-2018 9:12am

So here is the TG4 press release.

https://www.pro14rugby.org/2018/05/04/tg4-to-boost-guinness-pro14-coverage/

While not explicitly stated, the wording “21 games across the regular season” certainly seems to support the proposition that it’ll be one game per regular season round and no play off coverage.

salmocab · 05-05-2018 9:19am

I have vodafone tv and I understand for 25 a month I get Eir and BT sport, Im happy enough with that as it means I can see every Leinster match and any others that I want across both competitions. I have access to vodafone tv app but unfortunately my job has its IP address based out of England for some reason, I havent set up the app yet but will it be geo locked does anyone know?

Squidgy Black · 05-05-2018 9:27am

salmocab wrote: »

I have vodafone tv and I understand for 25 a month I get Eir and BT sport, Im happy enough with that as it means I can see every Leinster match and any others that I want across both competitions. I have access to vodafone tv app but unfortunately my job has its IP address based out of England for some reason, I havent set up the app yet but will it be geo locked does anyone know?

Should be fine, here's the blurb on their site:
"Yes, as of 1st April 2018 for new subscribers, and by no later than 2nd June 2018 for existing subscribers, if you are temporarily outside Ireland and in another EU Member State you are permitted to access and use the TV Anywhere App in that Member State. Please see terms and conditions at vodafone.ie/terms for further details"

dublinman1990 · 06-05-2018 3:22pm

icdg wrote: »

So here is the TG4 press release.

https://www.pro14rugby.org/2018/05/04/tg4-to-boost-guinness-pro14-coverage/

While not explicitly stated, the wording “21 games across the regular season” certainly seems to support the proposition that it’ll be one game per regular season round and no play off coverage.

It's also looking likely that for the Welsh games; S4C will continue to get coverage of the PRO14 rugby in Wales albeit I presume with Welsh commentary.

ScrubsfanChris · 06-05-2018 4:40pm

dublinman1990 wrote: »

It's also looking likely that for the Welsh games; S4C will continue to get coverage of the PRO14 rugby in Wales albeit I presume with Welsh commentary.

They have an English commentary option for every game. Works on freesat and sky.

Tigerandahalf · 06-05-2018 5:06pm

ScrubsfanChris wrote: »

They have an English commentary option for every game. Works on freesat and sky.

They won't have English commentary with the new deal.
A similar arrangement is in place for Wales' soccer games where s4c provide welsh medium coverage only with Sky having English rights.

Douglas Eegit · 02-03-2021 3:35pm

End of Season is nearly here and with that comes a new TV Deal for the new season.

Has anyone heard if Eir are getting in there with an almost exclusive broadcast deal?

awec · 02-03-2021 4:31pm

Douglas Eegit wrote: »

End of Season is nearly here and with that comes a new TV Deal for the new season.

Has anyone heard if Eir are getting in there with an almost exclusive broadcast deal?

It will all depend on what happens with the UK rights.

realhorrorshow · 02-03-2021 5:57pm

awec wrote: »

It will all depend on what happens with the UK rights.

Please God no more Premier Sports. Their presentation is embarrassing and makes the league look like a joke.

awec · 02-03-2021 6:07pm

realhorrorshow wrote: »

Please God no more Premier Sports. Their presentation is embarrassing and makes the league look like a joke.

If Premier don't renew (a real possibility I'd have thought) then Eir most certainly won't renew.

The Inbetween is mine · 02-03-2021 7:10pm

awec wrote: »

If Premier don't renew (a real possibility I'd have thought) then Eir most certainly won't renew.

It would be interesting to know how much you'd have to pay to secure the rights..it was 9 broadcasters with a reported cost of 15-20 million....
You'd have to think the broadcasting companies would be in a stronger bargaining position these days as frankly, the product as it stands is dire.

Cookiemunster · 02-03-2021 7:20pm

awec wrote: »

If Premier don't renew (a real possibility I'd have thought) then Eir most certainly won't renew.

Not necessarily. The reason Premier got it was because Sky pulled out when the Irish rights were sold to Eir. Sky wanted both packages or nothing.

Cookiemunster · 02-03-2021 7:22pm

The Inbetween is mine wrote: »

It would be interesting to know how much you'd have to pay to secure the rights..it was 9 broadcasters with a reported cost of 15-20 million....
You'd have to think the broadcasting companies would be in a stronger bargaining position these days as frankly, the product as it stands is dire.

It's a new product from next season though. The 4 SA Super sides change everything.

icdg · 02-03-2021 7:33pm

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Not necessarily. The reason Premier got it was because Sky pulled out when the Irish rights were sold to Eir. Sky wanted both packages or nothing.

Yes. In addition, both companies (eir and Premier) had a formal alliance at the time, dating from when both were owned by Michael O’Rourke (Setanta). The ownership link was broken but the alliance continued until a year after this deal happened, Premier Sports went and bought the 3pm Premier League rights for Ireland independently of eir and re-entered the Irish market.

It doesn’t appear to me with ratings highs of 450k or so Premier Sports could be making any money on the Pro14 as main U.K. host broadcaster. They ended their contract with Sunset and Vine early and brought it in house to save money. I think they might walk.

awec · 02-03-2021 8:20pm

Surely Eir would not take on the cost of production for every game?

Ever since they lost BT Eir sport has been pretty much worthless.

Tigerandahalf · 02-03-2021 9:54pm

The UK rights are not very lucrative.
The reason Sky were rejected the last time was that Eir were willing to pay so much for the Irish rights only and the pro14 accepted their offer with the hope of getting more money for the UK. Sky then pulled their offer and Premier Sports took up the UK offer knowing they had little competition.

I can't see Sky coming on board just yet. They may be holding out for the bigger fish of the CVC deal with the 6N, etc.

With the virus ongoing and S Africa not going to be fully vaccinated by year end will we have any S African teams next season? It is not a great time to be selling the rights.

The league still needs to sort out its match times. Too often we see 2 games involving Irish teams start at the same time. They need to be staggered.

I have to say I don't find Eir's coverage very good. The studio stuff lacks something. I miss the BBC coverage. They had good commentators and their ScrumV show was very good.

I still think we need a British/Irish league. If the S Africans want to join as well it would make things interesting.

bilston · 02-03-2021 10:03pm

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

The UK rights are not very lucrative.
The reason Sky were rejected the last time was that Eir were willing to pay so much for the Irish rights only and the pro14 accepted their offer with the hope of getting more money for the UK. Sky then pulled their offer and Premier Sports took up the UK offer knowing they had little competition.

I can't see Sky coming on board just yet. They may be holding out for the bigger fish of the CVC deal with the 6N, etc.

With the virus ongoing and S Africa not going to be fully vaccinated by year end will we have any S African teams next season? It is not a great time to be selling the rights.

The league still needs to sort out its match times. Too often we see 2 games involving Irish teams start at the same time. They need to be staggered.

I have to say I don't find Eir's coverage very good. The studio stuff lacks something. I miss the BBC coverage. They had good commentators and their ScrumV show was very good.

I still think we need a British/Irish league. If the S Africans want to join as well it would make things interesting.

A B&I league has always been my preference. I think it would have massive potential. But there are loads of stumbling blocks.

Just on TV rights, if the rumours about Sky going after the 6Ns in a big way are true then maybe they will want more domestic rights to keep them ticking over for the other 10 months of the year when the 6Ns isn't on

Tigerandahalf · 02-03-2021 10:10pm

I think you would have a lot more away fans from the UK at Ireland games for a start. Plus there are big numbers of Irish in the UK who would go to the UK games swelling their attendances too. It is a no brainer in many ways.

You could see great rivalries develop between the likes of Munster and Leicester etc.
With the 2 leagues combined it would be much more attractive to a big broadcaster in the UK as they would have the top teams from the 2 leagues but only taking up the 1 tv slot.

Iompair · 02-03-2021 11:07pm

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

You could see great rivalries develop between the likes of Munster and Leicester etc.

Doubtful Munster and Leicester would be in the same division, Leicester are currently a shadow of their former selves down in the bottom half of the Premiership. People calling for a B&I league always seem to be living in the past as regards what 6 teams from the Premiership would be in the top division of a mixed 24 team league of 2 divisions. And also what would happen to the 12 teams stuck in the 2nd division.

Tommybojangles · 03-03-2021 11:37am

Maybe it's been asked and answered before but wouldn't a British and Irish League really devalue European competition? Aside from the Italians it would basically just be 2 leagues going against each other, far less novelty and many more repeat games

OldRio · 03-03-2021 11:49am

It just isn't going to happen.

sebdavis · 03-03-2021 12:45pm

One thing it is not the UK teams. The UK includes Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland.

The English Premiership will not join with the ProXX teams and I don't think they ever will. If you talk to the English they think the Premiership is a brill league and some will even question why the clubs are bothered with Europe. In reality it is far from it and is not growing at all. The deal with BT shows this when they reduced the money significantly. I was talking to English fans and they tried to cover up saying this was brill as going out to market would mean more money. I said it was probably the opposite and going to market would show the true value of league. In the end the Premiership ran back to BT because I expect they tried with Sky and they didn't bother.

The English league is also locking down, once Sarries and I think Ealing get up they will shut up shop. Ealing have a millionaire backer so they want them in. It will be 14 clubs and relegation will be shut down.

The ProXX needs to fight it's own corner. The introduction of SA teams is great as in SA they are used to paying to watch rugby, so this will have a big influx of money. It also means Super Rugby will get a significant hit. If they can set up the Argie team in Spain as suggested the league really could pull in a good viewership which means the likes of Sky etc will pay to put it on.

What the Irish clubs dont want is to dilute the European cup because that is a payday they need. A stronger ProXX product to sell and Europe to continue is the best to drive revenue for IRFU

awec · 03-03-2021 12:54pm

sebdavis wrote: »

One thing it is not the UK teams. The UK includes Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland.

The English Premiership will not join with the ProXX teams and I don't think they ever will. If you talk to the English they think the Premiership is a brill league and some will even question why the clubs are bothered with Europe. In reality it is far from it and is not growing at all. The deal with BT shows this when they reduced the money significantly. I was talking to English fans and they tried to cover up saying this was brill as going out to market would mean more money. I said it was probably the opposite and going to market would show the true value of league. In the end the Premiership ran back to BT because I expect they tried with Sky and they didn't bother.

The English league is also locking down, once Sarries and I think Ealing get up they will shut up shop. Ealing have a millionaire backer so they want them in. It will be 14 clubs and relegation will be shut down.

The ProXX needs to fight it's own corner. The introduction of SA teams is great as in SA they are used to paying to watch rugby, so this will have a big influx of money. It also means Super Rugby will get a significant hit. If they can set up the Argie team in Spain as suggested the league really could pull in a good viewership which means the likes of Sky etc will pay to put it on.

What the Irish clubs dont want is to dilute the European cup because that is a payday they need. A stronger ProXX product to sell and Europe to continue is the best to drive revenue for IRFU

The European cup is going to change.

The Premiership is moving to 13 clubs. It is inevitable that European games will be cut to facilitate this. If it moves to 14 there'll be even more drastic changes. If anyone thinks things will continue as they are today they're deluded, the Pro14 is going to have to move to stand on it's own feet more than it does today cause the English and French will gladly leave us behind.

Of course the Premiership and the Top14 are infinitely better products than the Pro14 which is, by and large, a total sack of ****e.

sebdavis · 03-03-2021 12:58pm

awec wrote: »

The European cup is going to change.

The Premiership is moving to 13 clubs. It is inevitable that European games will be cut to facilitate this. If it moves to 14 there'll be even more drastic changes.

It will go to 14. Based on everything I have heard they will bring up Sarries and Ealing then shut it down. Even talk of covid meaning they might just do it anyway without waiting.

Ealing beat Sarries a few weeks back but that was with very few of the England players.
https://www.saracens.com/match-report-saracens-men-26-39-ealing-trailfinders/#:~:text=Saracens%20suffered%20a%20second%20Trailfinders,outfit%20a%20half%2Dtime%20lead.

Ealing owner saying he will go to court
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-6585161/Owner-Premiership-hopefuls-warns-clubs-court-stop-promotion-scrapped.html

The Permiership will go to 14, they will say the french are at 14 so why can't they, then shut it down. None of the other championship teams have the money Ealing have behind them

awec · 03-03-2021 1:01pm

Sure, I don't doubt you, I'm just saying as the Premiership expands Europe will change. The English and French will make Europe fit around their own plans for their own league, unlike the Pro14 they aren't willing to throw their own product under the bus to facilitate European competition.

sebdavis · 03-03-2021 1:06pm

awec wrote: »

Sure, I don't doubt you, I'm just saying as the Premiership expands Europe will change. The English and French will make Europe fit around their own plans for their own league, unlike the Pro14 they aren't willing to throw their own product under the bus to facilitate European competition.

Of course they will but they still take a hell of a cut from Europe.
The problem is the majority of the English and French clubs know they won't win in Europe or have a chance of winning it so they just b*tch & moan about it. The fans then say it is a useless competition because they know they will never win.

Also the lack of knowledge about the Irish team is hilarious, they get a half assed story from the likes of BT and inflate it. So Sexton never plays etc....

The ProXX needs to build its own league and then keep as much of the pie in Europe as possible....

sydthebeat · 03-03-2021 1:08pm

An english 14 team league, a French 14 team league, a celtic bokke 16 team league.

5 English, 5 French, 6 celtibok teams (meritocratic determination) in a 16 team HC.

SIMPLES

awec · 03-03-2021 1:14pm

sebdavis wrote: »

Of course they will but they still take a hell of a cut from Europe.
The problem is the majority of the English and French clubs know they won't win in Europe or have a chance of winning it so they just b*tch & moan about it. The fans then say it is a useless competition because they know they will never win.

Also the lack of knowledge about the Irish team is hilarious, they get a half assed story from the likes of BT and inflate it. So Sexton never plays etc....

The ProXX needs to build its own league and then keep as much of the pie in Europe as possible....

I think this is an overly simplistic view on things.

The majority of Pro14 clubs (basically all but 1) have pretty much no chance of winning in Europe either. The reason fans don't complain is that the European games represent the handful of times a year where fans get to see their teams at full strength, a welcome break from the glorified A teams fielded the rest of the year in the league.

Sexton barely plays for Leinster in the league, it's hardly a secret. Many of the criticisms of the Pro14 are valid, whether we like it or not.

Zzippy · 03-03-2021 1:51pm

awec wrote: »

I think this is an overly simplistic view on things.

The majority of Pro14 clubs (basically all but 1) have pretty much no chance of winning in Europe either. The reason fans don't complain is that the European games represent the handful of times a year where fans get to see their teams at full strength, a welcome break from the glorified A teams fielded the rest of the year in the league.

Sexton barely plays for Leinster in the league, it's hardly a secret. Many of the criticisms of the Pro14 are valid, whether we like it or not.

As long as we have player welfare guidelines from IRFU, we are not going to see full strength teams regularly (from the likes of Leinster and Munster) in the league. You can moan all you like, but it's not going to happen, it wouldn't happen in a B&I league either, the players minutes will still be managed. What's your solution - fewer international games or make the players play more?

PMC83 · 03-03-2021 1:56pm

I must admit I haven't had a huge problem with the Eir coverage. You can see most games and as a neutral theres been some good ones. Not sure if many would sit down to watch Zebra V Ospreys but I would! The biggest issue for many is that they just don't have eir.

Would still love to see RTE buy the rights back, you'd more then likely only get to see the Irish provinces play but about time they got some rugby back on their stations for all to see.

bilston · 03-03-2021 2:53pm

sydthebeat wrote: »

An english 14 team league, a French 14 team league, a celtic bokke 16 team league.

5 English, 5 French, 6 celtibok teams (meritocratic determination) in a 16 team HC.

SIMPLES

Yeah, that's a decent result, although there is talk of the Jaguares joining our league. Maybe we could get a Spanish or even Georgian team in to take it to 18 sides. Not sure if that would be overkill, we don't want to make the same mistakes that Super Rugby did. But unlike Super rugby which weakened when it went from Super 12 to Super 14 and then whatever it was called in the end, we would be strengthening by adding the SA sides and potentially the Jaguares depending how they recruit.

thomond2006 · 03-03-2021 2:55pm

A reduction in the Proxx regular season means the top players will play a higher percentage of that regular season. That would be an improvement.

bilston · 03-03-2021 2:59pm

thomond2006 wrote: »

A reduction in the Proxx regular season means the top players will play a higher percentage of that regular season. That would be an improvement.

True

If we went to an 18 team league, play each other once plus semi final and final, that's 19 games, which I think is 3 or 4 less than a normal Pro 14 season

The IRFU could run a separate Inter Pro campaign to fill in the missing weeks

SheepsClothing · 03-03-2021 3:18pm

bilston wrote: »

True

If we went to an 18 team league, play each other once plus semi final and final, that's 19 games, which I think is 3 or 4 less than a normal Pro 14 season

The IRFU could run a separate Inter Pro campaign to fill in the missing weeks

Even as a 16 team league, everyone playing everyone once, leading to playoffs is a better system. Rugby should be using the NFL as a model rather than trying to be like soccer clubs. Less games is better for player welfare, every individual game matters more in the final standings and by avoiding international windows, teams can put their best foot forward more often.

Zzippy · 03-03-2021 3:19pm

bilston wrote: »

True

If we went to an 18 team league, play each other once plus semi final and final, that's 19 games, which I think is 3 or 4 less than a normal Pro 14 season

The IRFU could run a separate Inter Pro campaign to fill in the missing weeks

The unions wouldn't go for it without additional derbies, which bring in the punters. Especially Wales, with the Judgement Day events. Interpros that are just challenge games won't bring in capacity crowds.

awec · 03-03-2021 3:41pm

sydthebeat wrote: »

An english 14 team league, a French 14 team league, a celtic bokke 16 team league.

5 English, 5 French, 6 celtibok teams (meritocratic determination) in a 16 team HC.

SIMPLES

A 16 team HC is awkward because it forces pools of 4 when then means 6 pool fixture weeks. I don't think 6 pool fixtures is going to survive too long with the expansion of the Premiership.

They could have an 18 team HC with 6 pools of 3, which means just 4 fixture weeks.

Then top 6 through plus 2 best runners up for the QF.

Tomtom364 · 03-03-2021 4:23pm

Zzippy wrote: »

As long as we have player welfare guidelines from IRFU, we are not going to see full strength teams regularly (from the likes of Leinster and Munster) in the league. You can moan all you like, but it's not going to happen, it wouldn't happen in a B&I league either, the players minutes will still be managed. What's your solution - fewer international games or make the players play more?

I think you're missing a part of the point here.

It isn't that "oh the league is poor because *insert name* never plays, we want to see more first choice players"

The point is "the league is poor because we don't see first choice players and the irish teams still win"

Aka. it's a poor league and the best sides win regardless even without their best players.

There should be a major downside to the player welfare system for Irish teams reflected in club side performance but there isn't really.

sydthebeat · 03-03-2021 4:23pm

awec wrote: »

A 16 team HC is awkward because it forces pools of 4 when then means 6 pool fixture weeks. I don't think 6 pool fixtures is going to survive too long with the expansion of the Premiership.

They could have an 18 team HC with 6 pools of 3, which means just 4 fixture weeks.

Then top 6 through plus 2 best runners up for the QF.

i absolutely hate the aspect that some runners up qualify and some dont.

it takes the meritocracy from the completion as you essentially are in competition with teams you do not play against.

4 x 4 groups is a clean competition. 9 rounds in total to win it, no extra games above any beyond what currently exists.

if the premiership pushes out to an extra 4 week competition (2 extra teams added) then it will have to be done with an overarching player welfare system which limits playing minutes regardless of the competition, so including test and euro level as well as domestic.

the top14 league in 18/19 extended from 25 august to 15th june, which is 294 days or 42 week season. that's a 26 game regular season, and thats what the premiership are looking at if they go to 14.

the celtic league are able to do 14 teams with 5 less regular season games, when its conferenced. The season last 4 week less.

At some stage either player welfare wins out and squads are bigger, or changes are made to the leagues structure to reduce games.
Expanding the premiership while reducing players game time is a hard circle to square. At least the ProXX has the ability to conference.

whats more attractive financially to an english club?
an extra 4 premiership games (2 home, 2 away) or an extra 2 pool games in the HC, home and away?

awec · 03-03-2021 4:29pm

sydthebeat wrote: »

i absolutely hate the aspect that some runners up qualify and some dont.

it takes the meritocracy from the completion as you essentially are in competition with teams you do not play against.

4 x 4 groups is a clean competition. 9 rounds in total to win it, no extra games above any beyond what currently exists.

if the premiership pushes out to an extra 4 week competition (2 extra teams added) then it will have to be done with an overarching player welfare system which limits playing minutes regardless of the competition, so including test and euro level as well as domestic.

the top14 league in 18/19 extended from 25 august to 15th june, which is 294 days or 42 week season. that's a 26 game regular season, and thats what the premiership are looking at if they go to 14.

the celtic league are able to do 14 teams with 5 less regular season games, when its conferenced. The season last 4 week less.

At some stage either player welfare wins out and squads are bigger, or changes are made to the leagues structure to reduce games.
Expanding the premiership while reducing players game time is a hard circle to square. At least the ProXX has the ability to conference.

whats more attractive financially to an english club?
an extra 4 premiership games (2 home, 2 away) or an extra 2 pool games in the HC, home and away?

I don't think they'd look at it like this. Their league is more attractive and important to them. If they expand their league something has to give.

They will likely want to reduce euro games, even if those individual euro games bring in more money than individual league games, rather than have to create some sort of whacky league structure where not everyone plays everyone else which will damage their main product.

I don't like the runners up nonsense either but things will change to accommodate the English and the French and they'll have us over the barrel again because they know our structures mean we are highly dependent on them.

thomond2006 · 03-03-2021 5:17pm

The runners-up qualification keeps the pool stages competitive and avoids more games becoming dead rubbers.

EirSport secure the broadcast rights to the Guinness PRO14

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