The Championship could finally have a long-awaited TV deal next year after clubs were informed of encouraging talks with proposed broadcast partners.
It can be revealed that Premier Sports are among the broadcasters the RFL has held talks with as they look to secure a TV deal next year.
Rugby League Live understands that clubs were provided an update on the search for a new deal last week.
Premier Sports have shown second-tier coverage in the past, introducing Thursday night rugby league before Sky started showing Super League games in the same slot.
More recently, the same channel showed Toronto Wolfpack games during the 2018 season.
An RFL Spokesperson said: "We can confirm that promising talks have taken place with a number of broadcasters, with Premier being one of them."
The news will be well received by fans who have long called for games from outside of Super League to be shown on a regular basis.
Premier held rights for the competition between 2008-2013 before Sky bought them ahead of the 2015 season. However, Sky hasn't shown a regular round Championship fixture since September 2011, excluding Toronto games in 2019 which the Wolfpack paid to be broadcast. Their coverage has seen them show games from the Summer Bash, as well as play-off games.
The rights remain with Sky Sports, but the current TV deal ends at the end of this year.
Crucially, the financial figures involved surrounding the deal are currently unclear, but the RFL is trying to find new revenue streams for the clubs with the existing TV deal with Sky likely to be reduced, and as such, less money going to clubs outside of Super League.
Games are currently being shown on OurLeague while games are behind closed doors, with home teams receiving 90% of the revenue from those paying to watch the games.
