The news that Super League is attracting record viewing and attendance figures is a very good sign that the sport has the potential to grow over the course of time. Lets not kid ourselves that we'll see RL on a par in the tabloids with football and RU in our lifetime, but steps are in place for the code to slowly become a truly national sport.
Attendance figures and viewing figures on TV are a small but significant sign that expansion is working. According to an article in this week's League Express, 350,000 watched Crusaders host Leeds and is one of the biggest audience figures for a rugby league game other than the Grand Final on Sky television.
And while we're on the topic of TV figures, the RFL have brokered a deal with America One, an American broadcast company that apparently covers the entire country. Their website can be found here and the eagle eyed of you will notice that the Super League is one of three sports advertised on the home page. For those following the game in America, tune in at 7pm eastern time every Thursday in an attempt to see the St Helens V Hull FC game! A week later, Castleford host Warrington at the same time.
This is only good news for the sport to attract itself to wealthy businessmen in the States that would be interested in investing in our sport, or even better, invest in the US domestic league which is still attempting to make itself a fully professional league.
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