Latest news with #breakawayLeague
Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
TNT Sports brands rugby rebel league ‘delusional'
Power brokers at TNT Sports, England's principal rugby broadcaster, have rubbished the emergence of a proposed breakaway league, called R360, branding it 'delusional' and ' commercially unsustainable '. Telegraph Sport revealed last week how Mike Tindall, the Rugby World Cup winner and member of the Royal family, was one of the driving forces behind rugby's new breakaway global league, pitched as 'driving generational change in rugby', which is scheduled to launch later this year with a number of players reportedly having signed pre-contractual agreements which are valid until September. But the concept has been derided by both TNT Sports and Premiership Rugby, the two bodies who agreed a new television deal until the end of the 2030-31 season last month. 'I'm going to take my TNT Sports hat off just for the moment,' said Andrew Georgiou, president and managing director of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, which owns TNT. 'I've been involved in sport for 25 years. I can't tell you how many of these PowerPoint presentations have come across my desk with people who were absolutely certain that what they had on that page was going to be the new thing. It was going to be absolutely the new thing. 'I don't know the details of what's happening, no one's come to us and made a presentation, no one's told us what the new format is, no one told us what the new schedule is. I mean, I actually don't know much about it. But the one question that I think you guys should be asking is, 'how are they going to grow the revenue by putting this event on?' Where's the money coming from? The media industry is going through a massive generational change. There's been more change in the media industry in the last five years than there has been since the invention of cable television in the late 70s and early 80s. 'So, if these folks believe that they are going to grow the revenue by putting this thing on, I think they're delusional. I really do. What it will do is further complicate what is already a well-functioning rugby ecosystem. And so I would just ask some pretty fundamental questions around whether this is a commercially sustainable model. The fact that it's being likened to LIV Golf, I think is a perfect analogy. It's a perfect comparator to what this is really going to be. Commercially unsustainable.' When it was suggested that TNT Sports, therefore, would not be interested in bidding for broadcast rights on the new league, Georgiou replied: 'You bet.' Both TNT and the Premiership have experienced unprecedented growth this season. The league has seen 30 sold-out match days up from 18 last season and 13 the season before. This weekend's final, between Bath and Leicester, sold out in record time – with last season's show-piece also a full house – while growth among fans aged between 18 and 34 increased by 30 per cent in one year. Furthermore, Bath's play-off victory over Bristol last week was the most-viewed Friday night match ever on TNT. Red Bull's investment in Newcastle is understood to be nearing completion and Simon Massie-Taylor, Premiership Rugby's chief executive, believes that the league's previous financial woes are behind them and a new chapter is beginning. At board level, the Premiership will not allow itself to become distracted by R360 and Massie-Taylor has said that 'there has not been any engagement' with the breakaway league. 'It's not a threat per se,' said Massie-Taylor. 'But we have no idea how it could ever work full stop. But definitely for the club game. In England, in France, URC, southern hemisphere, how would it actually work and help develop the club game? 'But rugby needs roots, it doesn't need pop-ups. Rugby needs roots. The complicated thing about rugby is there's an international game, there's a club game that relies on, there's a community game. The whole thing's linked, the community game's inspired by both. Funding comes down to help the community game and there's this whole sort of connectedness to it. And that sometimes is an inhibitor to growth because you have to find a solution that compromises all these types of things. 'But without those roots, it's very difficult to understand how a system could ever work. The whole phrase [is] 'it takes a village', right? That one person who's going to turn up and go out on the field, there's a whole system, a whole team, a whole grass-roots network that needs to develop that person beyond just rocking up. 'I'd be worried if players are counting on that because they may miss out on genuine opportunities that exist within their club. Things need sanctioning for a start and things need money coming through the door before these people can actually get paid.'
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Rugby's breakaway R360 league labelled ‘delusional' by leading TV sport executive
A leading executive at TNT Sports has dismissed the proposed R360 breakaway league as 'delusional' while Premiership executives have played down the rebels' threat, insisting rugby 'doesn't need pop-ups'. Confirming that R360 has not approached TNT Sports about their plans for a globe-trotting league that targets the world's best players on lucrative contracts, Andrew Georgiou – president and managing director of WBD Sports Europe – joined PRL in questioning the commercial and economic viability of the breakaway league. R360 is planning for a grand prix model of 12 franchises, visiting 16 glamorous venues and it is said there have been multiple bids from team owners in other sports including the NFL and Formula One. The rebels want to attract 300 male players and are targeting 'the best of the best' with a view to launching in September next year. While R360's plans would allow for player release for international fixtures, an agreement between the Premiership and the Rugby Football Union would render any England stars who join the breakaway ineligible for Steve Borthwick's side. Nonetheless, R360 appears to pose a distinct threat to the Premiership. But Georgiou said: 'I've been involved in sport for 25 years. I can't tell you how many of these PowerPoint presentations have come across my desk with people who were absolutely certain that what they had on that page was going to be the new thing. It was going to be absolutely the new thing. 'The one question is, how are they going to grow the revenue by putting this event on? Where's the money coming from? The media industry is going through a massive generational change. 'So if these folks believe that they are going to grow the revenue by putting this thing on, I think they're delusional. I really do. What it will do is further complicate what is already a well-functioning rugby ecosystem.' Figures at Premiership Rugby are relaxed about the prospect of R360 and point to their continued growth with average audiences up 10% this season, a million new fans, a 30% growth among supporters aged from 18 to 36 and a record-breaking sellout for Saturday's final. R360 has said that 'clubs around the world are feeling the strain, and are being propped up by the international game' but PRL executives believe their worst financial problems are behind them with a new broadcast deal with TNT and Red Bull closing in on investment in Newcastle Falcons. Plans for a franchise league also continue apace. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion 'There hasn't been any engagement [with R360],' said the Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor. 'It's not a threat per se, but we have no idea how it could ever work full stop. The thing that I agree with is that rugby has the opportunity for global growth and it needs innovation. Hopefully we've demonstrated our appetite for it. But rugby needs roots, it doesn't need pop-ups.'
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
England stars: We will not jeopardise caps to join breakaway league
England's top stars believe that international representation remains the pinnacle of the sport and would not wish to jeopardise potential Test selection in favour of joining a breakaway league. Telegraph Sport revealed on Monday how Mike Tindall, the Rugby World Cup winner and member of the Royal family, was one of the driving forces behind rugby's new breakaway global league, branded as 'R360, driving generational change in rugby'. Tindall and the organisers have stressed that their proposed league will fit in around the current international schedule but, at present, Steve Borthwick, the England head coach, cannot select any players outside the domestic structure. All of Tommy Freeman, Henry Pollock and Ellis Genge – winners at the Premiership Rugby Awards in central London on Tuesday night and Lions on the summer tour to Australia – believe that the conflict between financial stability and international representation would be a consideration, but that the draw of wearing an England shirt is virtually irresistible. 'The money would have to be off the charts,' said Freeman. 'Running out at Twickenham, there is no feeling like it. You want to leave your place in a good spot and hopefully pass that on to the next England player coming up. 'You never want to jeopardise [being selected for England]. If you were ever out of the loop then you ask the question because it is a short career – a third of your life. There is your health, your medical, and you've got to provide for your family – your kids and their kids. At some point money probably does talk but playing for England is my main concern. If I'm out the loop of the England set-up for a number of years then maybe it's different.' Genge admitted that for certain players there would be a financial allure, but that England remained the priority for him. 'I'd never want to leave England behind but I would say 90 per cent of rugby players would have to work for the rest of their lives after rugby,' said Genge. 'If they reached the echelons they have in this sport in other sports, I'd say they probably wouldn't. I think if the money is that lucrative, then people have decisions to make, don't they? I wouldn't hold it against them. 'I don't know if it's actually got legs to get off the ground but I think anything that stirs the pot and makes people start asking questions and think of new ideas is positive for the game. Whether it will get off the ground I don't know but I think anything like that is positive. I'm glad something is happening in rugby rather than it just be stagnating and everyone moaning.' Pollock, who made his England debut off the bench in the Six Nations against Wales, said it would '100 per cent' take a lot to give up playing for his country. 'I've not experienced playing multiple times for my country, so that's something I'm working towards,' said Pollock. 'There can be talks around this league and what's going to come, but currently I'm focused on myself, Northampton Saints and England. 'It depends where you are in your career. I wouldn't say I've kicked on enough to take that next step I guess. I'm very focused on Northampton Saints.'
