York City Knights will have no relegation concerns next year due to a revamp of the Co-operative Championships.

Rugby Football League bosses unveiled plans to restructure the two tiers below Super League, while also announcing a new two-year television deal for the Championships.

Next season will act as a transitional year ahead of the new look in 2013, which will see 14 clubs compete in the Championship – four more than 2012 – and ten in Championship One. There will be no relegation from the Championship in 2012 and four clubs will come up from Championship One.

The Championship will effectively comprise established clubs.

Championship One will feature four new outfits rising out of the community game to add to six existing outfits.

The RFL received 17 expressions of interest from clubs who would be new to the sport’s semi-professional ranks, including two from Ireland, and the seven thought to be leading the list are Hemel, Medway, Gloucester, Coventry, Northampton, Warrington Wizards, playing out of Chester, and Oxford.

The men behind the proposals include Steve Ferres, the former Knights chief executive, who has assessed the potential expansion clubs for sustainability.

It is planned to maintain promotion and relegation between the Championship tiers, with two up two down, from 2013 onwards.

The new TV deal is with Premier Sports, who already cover Blue Square Bet Premier football among other sports.

They plan to broadcast 32 to 34 Championships matches, mostly in the Thursday night slot which has been used by Sky for Championship coverage.

Premier Sports are also looking to introduce a scheme where clubs get cash back for every fan who subscribes. This could also be put in place for football clubs, so also affecting York City.

The Northern Rail Cup is likely to have a new format in 2013, while there are also proposals to introduce a ‘Europa Cup’ where the top four teams in the Championship play the top four in the French Elite League in May, with £20,000 prize money for the league that wins on aggregate.