Rugby league in England finds itself at a crossroads that could define the future of the sport for years to come.

The current Super League broadcasting deal with Sky Sports, with all seven games each round shown live, is up at the end of 2026.

According to sources close to the negotiations, the competition has three options to choose from, with Sky only keen to take only three games live from 2027.

The first option would be three games on Sky and the rest shown on the Rugby Football League’s (RFL) own streaming platform Super League+. The second option is three games live on Sky and the other four shown on pay TV provider Premier Sports. And the third option, arguably the riskiest but also with the most potential, is a deal brokered by the NRL where three games go to Sky and the rest go to Dazn.

There is pressure to get this decision right, especially after interim RFL chief executive Rhodri Jones promised that under the next TV deal the total value of the rights, currently around £21.5m a year, will increase and every match will still be shown live.

The first option would mean guaranteed money from Sky, and then control from the RFL, Super League and Rugby League Commercial on how the other four games are presented on Super League+, their own platform. It would also allow a global service and is, RFL sources claim, already profitable.

Subscriber numbers from Super League+ have never been published, but some fans have complained previously about its reliability, technical issues, and login problems. Currently, the app has a 4.6 rating (out of five) from 298 ratings on Apple’s UK App Store and 4.4 from 198 reviews on Google Play.

And could the RFL offer enough engaging content apart from games – analysis, documentaries, magazine shows, as Fox League does in the NRL – to get people to sign up? That remains an issue.

• Total cost to fans: Up to £669.87 (£129.99 per year for Super League+ and between £240 and £539.88 for Sky Sports)

The second option would mean guaranteed money from both Sky and Premier Sports. In the past, Premier has had rugby league rights, particularly the Championship, which means supporters in the UK are aware of their work.

But Premier’s reach is quite small – in 2022 it claimed to have 222,000 subscribers, compared to Sky’s presence in between seven and eight million households in the UK – and could be potentially expensive for fans to sign up.

Currently, Premier costs £17.99 per month on a flexible contract or £130 per year on a pre-paid deal, while the cost for Sky Sports varies between £20 and £44.99 per month.

The wide reaction to Premier securing the 2026 Rugby League World Cup UK TV rights this week (less than two months before the tournament) was largely negative, which is also a serious cause for concern. Some fans are already fed up with Sky’s coverage, and could be even further incensed by a deal with unpopular Premier.

• Total cost to fans: Up to £669.88 (£130 a year for Premier Sports and between £240 and £539.88 for Sky Sports)

Then there is a giant waiting in the wings, in the NRL. It is believed this deal would be worth less in monetary terms than the others, at least right now, because Dazn isn’t paying anything for the TV rights.

Dazn doesn’t publish the number of UK subscribers it has, but data from digital intelligence specialists Sensor Tower claims that Dazn had between 82,000 and 109,000 active Android users in the UK at the end of 2025. For iOS, the same firm suggested around 219,000.

From a global perspective, Dazn claimed it had an audience of more than 300 million regular viewers across more than 200 markets last year.

Dazn would be a long-term opportunity, because it would represent the start of Super League and the NRL officially getting into bed together. While details remain limited, it is believed that subscribers to Dazn in the UK may not only get four Super League games live, but also all the NRL content, programming and matches as well that Fox League provides in Australia – which would spell the end of the Watch NRL app in the UK.

Dazn could also promote rugby league globally, and cross-promote the Super League in the UK through its other rights properties of football, NFL and boxing. It has a news operation based in Leeds, which could produce content about Super League and improve its discourse and coverage.

If Super League and the NRL strike a deal, we may see better broadcasting values, better promotion, an improved marketing budget, an independent commission and the NRL sharing its expertise and knowledge directly in the UK.

• Total cost to fans: Up to £659.87 (£119.99 a year, up front, for Dazn and between £240 and £539.88 for Sky Sports)

Opinion: Dazn is the only one that could take the sport to new heights

All three options will see customers pay more to watch rugby league matches in the UK from next year, with Sky no longer showing every game, which will go down like a lead balloon.

Does Super League go with its own platform, guaranteed revenue with Premier Sports, or go all-in with the NRL and take the biggest risk on Dazn? Can the Super League clubs knock back an increase in funding at this stage, when they are all losing money? Is there an appetite from the majority for dramatic change, or for sticking with the status quo?

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Time is running out and there is an expectation that a decision must be made by the end of this month.

History shows that UK rugby league is traditionally conservative and reluctant to innovate. While many believe only an NRL deal could truly transform the sport and take it to new heights, including this writer, with the lack of a strong alternative, the best predictor of the future is also the past.

And as former American First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once put it: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”