There will be more eyes on rugby league in 2022 than ever before, creating significant grounds for optimism, says Rugby Football League chairman Simon Johnson.

Super League matches will be shown free-to-air for the first time courtesy of a deal with Channel 4 which takes the number of viewing platforms to six and, according to Johnson, will help offset the £15million a year reduction in income from the latest television agreement with major broadcaster Sky.

"I believe we have significant grounds for optimism," Johnson told a media briefing on the eve of the new season, which kicks off on Sunday with the opening round of the Betfred Championship.

"Even though the money we're working with is less, there are more ways to watch rugby league than there has ever been and there are more broadcasters showing our sport than we've ever had before.

"You've got Sky and Channel 4 now with the Super League, you've got Premier Sports, as well as Our League and The Sportsman, showing the Championship.

"You've got Our League and The Sportsman showing League 1, you've got the Challenge Cup being shown on the BBC, The Sportsman and on Our League and of course you've got the World Cup which is going to be very significantly shown on the BBC.

"The fact we have got so much of the sport in the shop window this year is enabling more eyes to see it. There is more rugby league available to more people than there has ever been before."

Johnson says he is also encouraged by the current realignment talks between the RFL and Super League which he says will put the whole game in a stronger position.

Super League, which broke away from the governing body in 2018, will continue to have its own board of directors but Johnson says its role will change drastically.

Johnson declined to give details but it is thought Super League and the RFL will remain while a third body will be created to deal with commercial aspects.

"I don't think there is any proposal to say that Super League as a legal entity will cease to exist but the role of it will change very substantially," he said.

"What we're going to end up with is a much more sensible, streamlined structure that avoids having two different commercial departments.

"There are all sorts of legal reasons why certain things will continue to exist.

"But we're not going back to the old structure, we're going to come up with something that allows us to reduce duplication, to improve decision-making and to grow the game."

Realignment talks began six months ago through Super League's acting chairman Ken Davy, who stepped into the breach following the resignation of executive chairman Robert Elstone.

"The reason it's taking a long time is because we don't want to do this again," Johnson said. "We want to get this right and there is a lot to sort out.

"I'm very pleased with the way the discussions are going. I think they are getting very close to a conclusion. We're just not there yet."

Johnson believes the new structure could pave the way for external investment and says a spin-off from the talks has been the decision of Super League clubs to leave a blank weekend in mid-season for an England international.

"That for me is the test of how the structure is going to work," he said. "Everything is going to work in an aligned fashion so that we can do what's best for the whole game.

"As you saw last year, there was a full set of Super League fixtures around the mid-season which made it very difficult for the coach to have the players available.

"This allows us to have our broadcast partners to focus on this and for it to be the real focus of the rugby league world."

A separate working party is examining the structure of the competitions which Johnson says will remain unchanged for the next two seasons.