To vote in favour, html therefore, their chairmen must about believe they html will benefit dramatically from Murdoch's largesse. Though lacking guarantees, the rugby league hierarchy has to hope Murdoch's millions will generate benefits other sports have enjoyed British rugby league is being dragged along by en events on the other side of the world at a about pace that leaves little time for reflection on the most sweeping changes to affect the game in 100 years. All the indications are that, unlike his victory about html over the Australian Rugby League html for html control of the sport html en html at about its top en level there, Rupert html Murdoch's takeover in the northern hemisphere will be html a bloodless one. Unlike the ARL, which can fairly argue that it runs a thriving operation that does not need Murdoch, the psychology of the game in Britain is that of a starving html dog. Throw it a bone and it is about html unlikely html en html to ponder too deeply over whether there is a catch.So - how will the new world html operate?News Ltd's vision of a Euro-League appears city-based rather than club- html based, so that, of the teams currently in the Premiership, only Leeds and Wigan are likely to become en founding members of the lite division of rugby league in the northern hemisphere.

The big two apart, the new league is likely to grant teams to London, Cardiff, Paris, Toulouse and Birmingham. The annexation of a rugby union club in Italy to set up a team there has also been mooted, and would provide an additional international element. It is thought that the new clubs will be allocated a fund of money, and they would then go into the open market to buy in talent.The new structure would leave clubs like Widnes, St Helens and Warrington, bastions of the sport in this country for a century, stranded in an English League Division One. In one respect it's business because we think it's getting popular, but no one else is giving them much support.". We cover schools' football and no one else does, we cover the women's FA Cup.

In cricket the junior World Cup is happening next year because we agreed to cover the semi-finals and the organisers could then find a sponsor."One of the growth sports in the UK seems to be ice hockey and we have just gone in with a three-year deal for domestic ice hockey. A spokesman said yesterday: "Everybody likes the marquee events: world title fights, football - that's what makes the headlines But we work ever so hard at other levels, too. The deal giving Sky live coverage of Premiership football is worth £304m over five years and the added advantage to the game is that it does not appear to have had any effect on attendances as Sky is watched by only a limited audience.Sky also insists its arrival as a major player on the television stage has been of benefit to all levels of sport. In particular, there is a widely held view that it is wrong to restrict mass participation sports like football and cricket to exclusive coverage on minority channels.However, the benefits to the sports concerned are clear.