132. TV, the BBC & British rugby league

Rugby’s relationship with television is starting change. As the Rugby Football League annouces that it is putting its TV rights out to tender, this week’s ‘Rugby Reloaded’ looks at the game’s historic relationship with the BBC. Over-dependency on TV money, concerns about the style of presentation and a constant comparison with other codes – just as in 2020, these were the same problems that faced the sport in 1970…

For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.