Business of Sport
Promoter considering role in running of the sport says lack of star names is holding it back
Eddie Hearn, the British promoter, has given another indication that he could look to become involved in the running of rugby league as he prepares for secondary talks with the sport’s governing body.
Hearn and his father, Barry, will meet Ralph Rimmer, the Rugby Football League’s interim chief executive, to look more closely into rugby league’s “internal structure” amid speculation that they could attempt to revitalise the sport.
Speaking at The Telegraph’s Business of Sport conference, Eddie Hearn said rugby league was suffering from a lack of star names, but warned that any potential intervention from his company, Matchroom, would not result in a quick fix.
“In rugby league, who are the players? Where are the superstars? All I see when I turn on the TV is a half-empty stadium,” Hearn said.
“A governing body might say they are not quite getting the support from their broadcaster, but that is because the sport is not hot. It is up to the promoters to make the sport popular again.”
There have been calls for Barry Hearn to be approached for the chief executive role at the RFL, but Eddie told The Daily Telegraph that it would be a more natural fit for Matchroom to work on events such as the Challenge Cup final or the RFL’S Magic Weekend, rather than across the entire league structure.
“The grand events are great,” Hearn said at the conference in central London. “And that is something that we may get involved with as well. The problem is that the governing body is not in sync with the clubs, and the RFL can’t control the clubs because they are individual businesses. So whose responsibility is it to drive the profile of the teams?
“It’s not just a case of us [Matchroom] turning up and playing some music, a bit of Sweet Caroline, before kick-off. It’s much deeper than that. It’s about creating superstars, the interest and the hype around the games. I think they have a big problem.”
Hearn had flown to the conference from New York, where he announced on Thursday that he planned to assemble “the biggest stable of fighters ever seen in the United States” after striking a $1billion (£741 million) transatlantic broadcast deal with DAZN, an online streaming giant.
The move will serve as a challenge to rising pay-per-view (PPV) boxing prices in the US and Hearn, the promoter of Anthony Joshua, yesterday spoke of his desire to “eradicate” PPV in the US. He added that he wants to reintroduce the concept of a “great night out” into boxing in the US, which he believes has been lost.
“I remember being in Las Vegas around five or six years ago, and on the Friday night I went to a boxing event and on the Sunday night I went to a UFC event,” he said.
“On Friday night it was relatively empty and there was a guy sitting a few seats down from me who was falling asleep.
“Then I went to the UFC event and everyone was dolled up, people were drinking champagne, music was playing and the energy was at a different level. That is why I feel US boxing has suffered.”
The eight-year deal with DAZN will see Matchroom stage 16 fights per year at major venues across the US. DAZN, dubbed the ‘Netflix of sport’, will be the exclusive US broadcast partner for each of the fights, as well as for Matchroom’s 16 fights in the UK.