I thin kthe NRL are totally justified in putting the hard word on Sky. Sky are onto a winner. I know a lot of Rugby heads who will only tune in to 2 or 3 games a week, but will watch almost every NRL game. The timeslots and the intencity of competion in the NRL are second to none in any sport available on NZ TV. Even if people are out doing the bars on a Saturday night, the game times are good for passively watching while socialising. Sky have only received such a cheap deal through market domination and using the fact that League is the poor little brother to Yawnion to keep the visible value low, but the NRL are now seeing it as far more valuable that Sky makes out.
Perhaps the NRL is considering a multi-channel FTA deal where a few broadcasters (including TVNZ, TV3, Prime and maybe Maori TV are covering games. I think the Aussie coverage is a little like that now.
I'm sure I read somewhere that Sky were looking at increasing League coverage, and in particular televising Warriors trials where possible. Several years back, we used to gewt TV coverage of every Warriors trial, and I would like to see those days return. I would also like to see Sky play ALL Warriors U20s games, not just the home games and finals. I think it would be a total injustice to not air the All Stars game when it is supposed to be the season launch for the entire comp. I quite enjoy the Charity Shield match and would happily sit and watch it if it were on, but to be honest, I find it really hard to get into the WCC. Something about the games against Northern hemisphere teams is lacking, in my opinion.
