Caisley wants the plug pulled by SKY

[leg1ndyoll]

<u>This is a report from the BBCi website</u>

Bradford Bulls' chairman Chris Caisley wants to pull the plug on TV coverage of home matches in a bid to boost falling attendances at Valley Parade. The Bulls are currently leading the Super League, with 16 wins already this season, but Caisley is less than happy with the crowds they have attracted. Now the chairman is considering the radical move of requesting that satellite signals be scrambled in order to tempt subscribers off their sofas and into the stadium. "It's not just about TV, but we have to do something to drive up attendances," he said. Super League matches are currently broadcast live on satellite TV, although the current contract with BSkyB expires in 12 months. "Not enough people are going to matches," added Caisley.

 

[Gav-bt]

Caisley is talking bollox once more.

First off, how the hell would you be able to scramble an area as smallas Bradford?

Hasn't it occured to Caisleythat by playing on Friday evenings -in direct competition with Sky's live match - the Bulls are playing at the wrong time? The move to Valley Parade, hasn't helped. It's in a notorious area of Bradford, parking is expensive and the entrance fee is also expensive. No wonder some fans prefer to stay at home.

Maybe he should ask the Bulls fans their opinions before deciding that Friday night was the best time, because going of what I've read, most are against it.

That fact is, the Bulls growth period has hit a brick wall and Caisley is pointing the finger in the wrong direction.

 

[imported_midas]

Went to Bradford once-it,s already scrambled.

 

[imported_Ian__________________]

I'll go along with that.........take the Bradford Bulls off our tv screens and replace them with the London Broncos.
However I must say I'm not at all keen on Friday night games.......some of us have to work and it is impossible to scramble across busy crowded cities on friday nights.
http://rugby13.5er.com

 

[Gav-bt]

There should be more thought as to which games are shown on Friday night. The best bet is to have more localised games, ie, Warrington v Salford, as opposed to St Helens v Hull - what chance do Hull fans have of making the journey across the M62.

It probably would be better to feature London only on Saturday, considering the poor transport infastructure of the capital.

No games - other than live TV matches - should be played on Friday or Saturday evenings. Can you believe, there was only one game this Sunday afternoon, yet there were four on Friday night.

And then they wonder why the crowds have dropped.

 

[imported_Ian__________________]

I would prefer to have live games on Sunday rather than Friday.
http://groups.msn.com/SantaEulaliaRugbyLeagueClub

 

[CanadianSteve]

I read recently that Caisley is also against the idea of cutting back on club games for the purpose of promoting international RL. On the BBC.com messageboard every poster criticized him, calling him a dinosaur for not wanting to promote the international game.

 

[Gav-bt]

Caisley has a habit of opening his mouth before considering the consequences.

He's against international expansion if it encroaches on the SL comp. He's also againts a reduction in the number of games played in Super League.

He's against a reduction in the overseas quota. Which isn't surprising, of the top SL sides the Bulls probably have the most overseas players.