Championship finally gets sponsorship and TV coverage.

At long last the Championship has a 4 year sponshorship deal with Greene King IPA and Sky coverage of 18 games. It seems the division is to be taken seriously and maybe this is the first long overdue step to making it a true second tier. Don't know what the finacial implications will be for the clubs but it must be a good thing one way or another. I hope that other aspects of the way it's organised are now looked at, in particular the farce of having no promotion or relegation when clubs can't meet the criteria and clubs that win the regular season losing out in an end of season mugging.

Sky showed a number of Championship games last season.

Is it just me or is it a bit odd, Sky have lost the top flight rugby and replaced in with the second string rugby. Is this going to be a long term thing, or a one season stop gap until they get their hands on the Rabo?

Don't know for sure Scarlet but my guess is that it's a 4 year deal like the sponsorship and could have been integral to getting the deal with Greene King. They would want the exposure that gives them.

Greene king sounds nicer then Aviva.

I hope it is a long term deal, as IMO that is the best way for the game to grow. I know of a few people who would most likely sit and watch the games if they are televised.

I've watched a few of the Championship games this season and It's a better watch than the LV Cup and the Amlin for starters. There's some really nice brands of rugby being played and a nice mix of experience and youth.

If Nottingham, Leeds, Pirates or LW are playing It's definitely worth tuning in as they all like to move the ball around.

There is a lot of potential in the Championship, the problem with it at the moment is that it is like a long slow death if you get stuck there. Following Newcastle was a little difficult at times last season because outside of local radio/ twitter there was nothing. Not even a centralised website, I mean take a second to think about that. It's the second tier of professional rugby and it doesn't even have a bloody dedicated website! Even the frigging Evo-Stik Northern Premier has a website!

Next year is set to be competitive. Things are looking up for teams around the league. The Cornish Pirates have been granted planning permission for a 10,000 seater stadium (still need funding though). Welsh are settling in at Oxford and teams like Leeds and Nottingham have excellent stadiums/ facilities. What they need is, publicity to attract the fans.

What Notts need is a new investor. They have cut their squad down to 23 for next season and will supplement that with loan deals from Tigers.

The fact their is no central website is pure stupidity, one must surely be on the horizon.

As I mentioned earlier I hope this is a genuine move to make the Championship a true 2nd tier. There are now more serious contenders for promotion than ever before as far as I can see. Within the period of this new deal I expect at least half of the league to be able to meet the criteria for the prem. That's bound to put pressure on the RFU for more resources, financial, media and player development. Investment is a major problem for any club and with little media or RFU interest in our clubs it will remain so.

Did the Championship body lawsuit against the RFU ever get resolved?

The championship will be at the table when the new deal with RFU is determined for after 2016. Hopefully this will be a positive deal for all parties (championship, premiership and RFU)

Well that's a positive step and is within the new deal period of this sponsor. To be fair to the RFU, though god knows why, the Championship clubs themselves have to take steps to make them a serious participant in those discussions. It's going to be hard for them if half the clubs are percieved to be only a small step up from being amateur both as payers and administratively.