Always a Wasp

I saw that mail come through and can't remember if I pledged or not... Reckon I still could now?

Yes on the site or the email of you still have it.

New figures reveal that the French Top 14 is set to significantly widen the revenue gap with other domestic rugby competitions- thanks to a lucrative new TV broadcast deal.

Canal+ has secured the broadcast rights for both the Top 14 and Pro D2 from 2027 to 2032, paying ?696.8 million for the privilege.

According to numbers reported from SportsPro Media and the LNR ? this equates to an annual payment of ?128.7 million for the Top 14, marking a 13.3 per cent increase compared to the previous agreement.

When divided out across the clubs, it will mean for every euro of TV revenue a Premiership club gets, a French Top 14 side will get roughly ?2.50.

Canal+ has been the broadcaster for French top-flight rugby since 1998. The partnership has seen the Top 14 grow into unequivocally the most commercially successful domestic rugby competition in the world.

The Pro D2 ? France?s second-tier rugby league ? will also see a substantial increase in its broadcast revenue, with Canal+ committing ?10.7 million annually, up 36 per cent from the previous deal. This cements Pro D2?s status as the most lucrative second-tier competition in the sport by some distance.

The new deal ensures that Canal+ will continue to broadcast Top 14 matches for at least the next eight years.

The significant financial boost from this deal places the Top 14 well ahead of the URC and Gallagher Premiership broadcast revenue.

This deal was negotiated for the benefit of the top 2 tiers of French rugby something that PRL/RFU seem either incapable of unwilling to do.

We can only look on in envy and dream about what this sort of income would do for championship clubs.

PRL and the RFU should hang their heads in shame.
It will be interesting to see what comes of the much anticipated announcement in June regarding the future of the professional game in England.

Nicked from The Pirates with thanks.

Neils,
That's because the other two supporters are away at the RFU Navel-gazing Symposium!

Its start to look like a death spiral:

Smaller league means fewer games leading less revenue from gate receipts, F&B, replica kit sales, matchday sponsorship etc as well as reduced revenue from TV deals. It also means fewer games for players to the point where some may feel they're not getting enough game time in a game they love.

The clubs are becoming more reliant on the RFU for funding through the professional game agreement.

The response of the Premiership is to reduce the salary cap and widen the gap between what players are paid in comparison to other leagues, especially the French.

The smaller squads will also lead to being less competitive in Europe, reducing the incentives for top players to stay here.

As players leave and make themselves unavailable for England the national team will suffer. If conversations here are to be taken as a guide then there's already a problem with long standing rugby fans not being interested in England or at least going to Twickenham. If England's performance starts to decline the fair weather fans are going to be less likely to put their hands in their pockets and paying for exorbitant ticks and match day experience.

If the RFU starts losing revenue then that means less to feed back in to the professional game and crucially the lower leagues and game development, from where the talent they need is nurtured.

We've seen this story played out in Wales and it hasn't been pretty.

The further rugby declines the more likely players are to sacrifice a call up to a second rate national team in search of a better lifestyle and more money in France.

I don't know the answers, but I do know that special pleading from DoRs isn't one of them.

And a quick look at the final games of the season gives lie to the claim that a smaller league would give rise to closer, more entertaining, games: 90:0 makes a mockery of a that claim and in the same round Chiefs beat Quins by 32 points.

When Wasps were a Premiership club I agreed with the Overseas Player rule. I'd be a bit of a hypocrite
if I now decided it was a crap rule just because my team wouldn't be disadvantaged by it.