Premiership boss leaving for CVC and what it could mean for the league
Since the news broke that CVC Capital Partners would be investing over £200m for a 27% stake in Premiership Rugby, rumours have been rife about what it might mean for the competition.
CVC’s track record in sport is one of commercial success, as exhibited by their involvement with Formula 1 most recently, but has also caused its fair share of controversy, not least for allegations centred around former F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone and concerns over the sporting value of the product they managed.
It seems as if the first domino to fall in CVC’s involvement in the Premiership is that of CEO Mark McCafferty, who will be leaving his role at the end of the season and is set to become an advisor to CVC. The man tasked with succeeding McCafferty is Darren Childs, the former CEO of UKTV, Britain’s biggest multi-channel broadcaster.
Ian Ritchie, Chairman of Premiership Rugby, said, “Mark has played a pivotal leadership role in the development of Premiership Rugby since 2005. The growth of the Club game in England and Europe during that time has been tremendous.”
He added, “As the game evolves under new ownership, we are excited about the expertise and insight that Darren will bring from his experience leading fast-growing media businesses. The Board looks forward to working with Darren to further develop the Premiership Rugby brand, product, digital and media execution.”
Childs has an extensive background in the media industry, not only enjoying significant success in his current role with UKTV, which includes increasing its revenue by 66% and almost tripling the group’s profits, but he has also worked with media giants such as MTV, HBO and the BBC. His hiring is clearly aligned with the Premiership’s goals of becoming a more commercially-appealing entity, something which they have cited as one of the key reasons behind their decision to accept the investment from CVC.
Speaking on his new position, Childs said, “I am excited about the challenge that working in a new industry brings, especially one on the cusp of a transformation like rugby. I have always admired the values rugby demonstrates on the pitch and in the community and it will be a fantastic opportunity to work with the clubs and the board to create even more fans of the sport. Premiership Rugby and European Professional Club Rugby are full of thrills and the future will certainly provide many more.”
McCafferty’s move to CVC should also bring the two bodies into an even closer relationship, as not only will McCafferty work as an advisor to CVC, he will also retain his position representing the clubs on the Professional Game Board. The PGB is made up of representatives from the RFU, Premiership Rugby, the Championship clubs and the Rugby Players’ Association, and is tasked with monitoring and managing all aspects of the professional game in England. He currently sits on the board alongside Ian Ritchie and Bruce Craig, as part of the Premiership’s representation.
By retaining his spot on the PGB, McCafferty brings a direct link to CVC to the group, with the private equity firm having also expressed interest in the RFU and Six Nations in recent months.
McCafferty said, “Gallagher Premiership Rugby has become a brilliant and captivating competition for our fans, as the closeness of this season fully demonstrates, and it does what we believe professional sport should always do – demand excellence, create intense rivalry but mutual respect, and inspire people of all ages to become part of it. I am looking forward to ensuring an effective transition with Darren and to my continued involvement in rugby, working from a new vantage point alongside CVC.”
During McCafferty’s time as CEO of Premiership Rugby, the competition has vastly increased its revenue from TV deals, negotiated a new title sponsorship with US insurance giants Gallagher, brokered two agreements between the Premiership and the RFU and helped establish the PGB, upon which he now sits.
Formula 1’s profits shot up under CVC’s stewardship and the organisation, which CVC bought a majority stake in for £1.4b, was valued at £8b when they sold up in 2016. For all the commercial value that was added, however, criticism that the product became poorer during that time has been rife over the last few years, not to mention a dramatically falling viewership due to the decision to move the sport of a free-to-air coverage.
Today’s announcement is another step towards a closer working relationship between CVC and the Premiership, something which should excite and concern fans at the same time.
CVC won’t be afraid of cracking some eggs to make an omelette and, as a private equity firm, are in this venture, first and foremost, to make money. The silver lining to this for the Premiership clubs is that their latest financial reports show they are certainly in need of some extra revenue. It seems as if the two entities’ interests are certainly in alignment at this point in time.
Watch: Saracens and Billy Vunipola both issue statements on the player’s recent social media controversy
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments