Crowd Watch 2014 part 2

[ouwet]

The game everyone wants to see this weekend is parra/wests and that really upsets Homebush fans (both clubs). I really hope the Monday game outdraws the Friday game, it will be glorious.

Good for everyone else!!! Roosters Gunning for 4 in a row this week, let's hope it happens:lol:

 

[Timmah]

Whatever you do on that link... don't read the comments. :lol:

In all seriousness, I can't believe Smith gave that moron the time of day after the way he bashes him and Greenberg endlessly.

 

[Nightward]

How does fixed scheduling negatively affect crowd numbers?

Does he explain it in the article??? If he did, I missed it...

Sunday afternoon games suit a lot of clubs better than other times. It allows more time for families to get to and from the game, rather than dragging yourself and the littlies to the game after an eight hour work day and getting home at 11pm or later due to travel time. A Sunday game means you're home by 7pm. And since the game's played in the sunshine, there's no dew causing handling errors or slowing players down, so you generally get a more exciting game.

People like to complain about the Broncos always being on the TV of a Friday night, but believe me as fans we've had a gut full of it. The club draws the best crowds and gets the best games on a Sunday afternoon and is constantly asking the NRL and Channel Nein for less Friday games and more Sunday games.

For the Cowboys I believe they do better on Saturdays so fans from further out have a better chance to travel in and be home by the start of the week, but I could be wrong.

 

[jargan83]

I read the first couple of lines and want my 30 seconds back, then again I should have known better. Rothfield is a twat with a chip on his shoulder and writes whatever his News Ltd masters tell him to.

The NRL should ban him from media conferences because all he does is whinge.

 

[DC_fan]

REFEREEING
The St George Illawarra full-time siren blunder was not a one-off. The results of three games in the last two rounds have been affected by refereeing blunders.

In round five, Storm were dudded against the Titans when Luke Douglas lost the football and the referees incorrectly called it a strip.

Greg Bird kicked the penalty goal and it?s game over. But why no use of the video ref for such a contentious call?

The same thing happened in New Zealand last week; Josh Reynolds loses the ball cold. The refs again rule stripped. It clearly wasn?t.

The Dogs kicked a penalty goal to level the scores and then a field goal to win.

Smith says: I think referees will be the subject of discussions forever. There were probably three games affected last year and the year before that.

The error in Melbourne was 0.6 of a second. That?s a line-ball call. They are human beings and they are going to get it right and they are going to get it wrong.

By and large they are doing a good job but when they get one wrong, it?s very public. What I will say is that the referee?s decision is final.

I have to agree with David Smith. In the 45 years I have been following the game referees have always been a major discussion point. They are not perfect and no matter how we try they never will be.

AD CAMPAIGN
Season-launch TV commercials were aimed at members ? the fans that are already rusted on to the clubs and the game. Membership numbers have stayed steady with small increases.

There was no advertisement showing the extraordinary skills of heroes Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Johnathan Thurston, Daly Cherry-Evans or Sonny Bill Williams that would have appealed to the more casual fans.

The treatment of members at some clubs is a disgrace.

A Wests Tigers supporter paid for two season tickets at Leichhardt Oval and ANZ Stadium. His tickets didn?t arrive in time for the first game at ANZ Stadium against St George Illawarra.

He didn?t go.

He turns up at Leichhardt Oval for the game against Manly. One seat is in Row H and the other in Row L. They can?t sit together.

The member is one of the most respected public relations operators in this city. There are probably other similar stories we don?t hear of.

At the Cronulla Sharks, officials bumped up membership prices by up to 50 per cent. This is despite the cloud and the uncertainty over the ASADA scandal.

And they wonder why membership numbers haven?t increased.

In fairness, AFL crowds are down by 10 per cent too. However, soccer?s A-League is up by 3 per cent on top of a 27 per cent increase last season.

Smith says: Our campaign did include many of the players you are talking about.

We filmed them talking to the members.

Our campaigns have all been around families and the players? connection with the fans. It was deliberate to appeal to a wide range of our audience.
It?s the families? engagement with their heroes that will grow the game.
Membership is the highest it?s ever been in the game?s history. We have 228,820 to be exact. All the clubs are working hard.

This isn?t a short-term play. I want to get to 400,000 by 2017. As for the Wests Tigers member, we?ll ask them about that and get the specifics. Members should get great customer service.

For mine the entire ad campaign has been wrong. It should not be about clubs getting members it should be about clubs getting season ticket holders.

THE COST
Ticket prices, food and drinks and transport are issues fans are always raising.

This columnist recently travelled to Newcastle with three children to watch the Sharks against the Knights.

Throw in tickets, meals and petrol and it was a $200-plus day. Most families can?t afford that much for their weekend entertainment.

Not when they can watch from the comfort of home on Channel 9 or Fox Sports. At least the NRL is now offering cheaper tickets, but only at the bigger venues where seats would otherwise be empty.

Smith says: This weekend we have a family pass for six for $30. Plus the kids get an Easter egg and an ice cream. And it?s going to be a cracker of a game.

Every club in Sydney now has a $50 ticket for the family. You can get it online or when you turn up.

We?re also negotiating with the food and beverage operators to come up with things like a hot dog and a bottle of water cheaper.

The premium stuff will always be more expensive but we?re very conscious it costs families a lot to do anything these days.

The Easter Show is $111 for a family ticket. That?s three times more than going to our game on Monday for six people. I?m absolutely committed that we have a price point that families can afford.

The cost of buying food and drink at games is way over the top. It costs me $15 for a hotdog, chips and a drink at ANZ.

TV RATINGS
Channel 9 boss David Gyngell wants to scrap the fixed schedule that was introduced two years ago to lift free-to-air-ratings. The Parramatta Eels are the best example to support his views. They won two wooden spoons in a row and have been given only four Friday night games.

Now everyone wants to watch them because they are the most exciting side in the competition.

?We?re interested in going back to a schedule that acknowledges teams that are performing,? he says.

?Parramatta, the Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra and Canterbury are all performing very well but you couldn?t have predicted that last October when the draw is being done, especially with the equalisation the salary cap has created. If they want great ratings, having the best games on free-to-air in a fickle Sydney market is important.

?We?re definitely of the view that the old scheduling system of doing the draw six weeks in advance provides more ratings momentum.

?You always get traction out of Parramatta, St George, Canterbury and the Wests Tigers when they?re winning.?

Smith says: I understand what David is saying. The fixed schedule discussion was before my time. I believe there was a vigorous debate about it.

We?ve tried to take the fixed system and work with the broadcasters but it?s based on historical performances.

This year there have been some surprise results and the historic performances haven?t come through.

We should give it some more thought. For me it?s about learning and working with our broadcasters to say how can we all get the right outcomes so the ratings are strong and we?re playing at the right time at the right grounds.

I can also see the argument for a fixed schedule where fans get their certainty. I also see the constraints with that.

Fixed scheduling was brought in to help the fans. Well it hasn't done a whole lot with the crowds. They have gone backwards since its inception.

WEATHER
The lousy weather is definitely an issue, according to Channel 10?s Tim Bailey.

?It has rained in Sydney for 30 of the last 46 days and a lot of that has been on the weekends,? he said. ?It?s officially our wettest start to an autumn in 24 years. The footy codes and the racing have definitely been hit pretty hard.?

Penrith, despite their on-field success, are averaging only 10,000 for home games but it has rained at the venue for almost every match.

Smith says: It?s early days and we haven?t had a lot of luck with the weather.

Again our long-term objective is to get to a 16,500 average crowd by the end of the season. Last year was 15,900. By 2017 I want an average of 20,000.

We?re talking to the clubs every week and looking at the draw very closely. In the next six rounds we?ll have five family fun days designed to get families to the games.

Yes the weather has been lousy. I sat in the pouring rain last Friday night at Penrith.

No one can control the weather. Its a problem all sports have to put up with. Hopefully it will get better.

MULTIPLE VENUES
Fans don?t seem to know when or where their team is playing each weekend.

At Campbelltown last weekend, only 6000 turned up for the Wests Tigers against the Cowboys.

?Everyone?s confused,? says David Gyngell. ?The Wests Tigers are at Campbelltown, ANZ, Leichhardt Oval.

?St George are at Homebush, Wollongong and Kogarah. How would you know if you are a punter where your team is playing?

?Families going to the football like consistency.?

Smith says: We want to consolidate the blockbusters at two stadiums, ANZ and Allianz. Over time we want the biggest crowds at the best stadiums.

The idea at those venues is to create a really premium experience. But these are tribal clubs and they?ve got to get the balance right with their spiritual homes.

I am not a fan of teams using multiple stadiums. Have to agree with Buzz on this one.

THE STADIUM POLICY
Both Allianz and ANZ have been under fire this year because of poor crowds.

This Easter weekend there are two blockbusters at ANZ Stadium that will attract a combined total of 80,000.

The problem is that games like Canterbury v Cronulla on a Monday night should not be played there.

The fans want more football at their traditional suburban home grounds.

Smith says: I?m working very hard with the government to make sure we have an experience like Melbourne and other major cities that have had more funding of the infrastructure of their stadiums. We want world-class stadiums. That?s the big picture. It?s all about balance.

Not sure what Buzz is complaining about here. He takes a shot at clubs using multiple venues and now he is saying that the Canterbury v Cronulla game should have been played somewhere else.

 

[oldmancraigy]

It's all good... Comeback at seasons end with those figures.

Why would I bother? I have already stated the Eels play in the smallest ground in the NRL. Therefore they should expect to run last in the crowd figures every year.

Any year they are NOT last is a good year on that front. The fact that they tend to run above average is a credit to them. I only pointed out the crowd figures because you were tooting your horn in a Bunniesman-esque fashion about the Dogs having bigger crowds.

 

[Eddie Lab]

On the exact same page that this double page spread is on is the membership ladder, which has a bullet point stating:



Completely inept kumquat of a human being Buzz is.

in the same article he says that memberships are up

Membership numbers have stayed steady with small increases.

Membership is the highest it?s ever been in the game?s history.

complete moron.

also he says crowds for AFL down 10%, Soccer up 3% but doesn't mention that super 15 is on a massive downwards trend. from an average of 24,500 in 2003 to 16,500 this year. link

basically all sports are gonna struggle with crowds this year as money is tight.

 

[oldmancraigy]

Sunday afternoon games suit a lot of clubs better than other times. It allows more time for families to get to and from the game, rather than dragging yourself and the littlies to the game after an eight hour work day and getting home at 11pm or later due to travel time. A Sunday game means you're home by 7pm. And since the game's played in the sunshine, there's no dew causing handling errors or slowing players down, so you generally get a more exciting game.

People like to complain about the Broncos always being on the TV of a Friday night, but believe me as fans we've had a gut full of it. The club draws the best crowds and gets the best games on a Sunday afternoon and is constantly asking the NRL and Channel Nein for less Friday games and more Sunday games.

For the Cowboys I believe they do better on Saturdays so fans from further out have a better chance to travel in and be home by the start of the week, but I could be wrong.

I hear what you're saying - don't see how that related to fixed scheduling at all?

If anything, it is an argument in favour of fixed scheduling? Give all teams an equal whack at the Sunday arvo timeslot.

 

[Timmah]

but you better have your excuses ready as to why they are the most popular club in Sydney at the venue.

Well done on achieving new levels of derp.

 

[El Diablo]

They’ll have to start listening. Crowds have now dropped 20% since John Grant punted David Gallop.
Phil Rothfield

Thu 17 Apr 14 (09:23am)​

he's in love with that muppett

 

[Nightward]

You'd hope that the self-professed home of rugby league in QLD would be able to get their arses into gear and fill the stands for the top of the table Titans, but I doubt it

If by "self-professed" you mean "relentless dribble from Ray Warren and Phil Gould" the sure, by all means.

This being said, tickets to Titans games are atrociously expensive. Cheap seats for an adult are $35 and $21 for kids, as opposed to $33 for adults and $14 for kids at Suncorp or $25 for adults and $10 for kids at ANZ in Sydney. Season membership for the Titans is at least $210 for adults, $175 for kids. At the Broncos? $205 for adults, $135 for kids. The Bulldogs are doing "late starter" packs for $130 and $90 respectively, so I assume the original prices were somewhere around what the Broncos were charging for season memberships too.

I seem to recall food and drink prices at the Gold Coast being $2 or so more expensive than they were at Suncorp, but that may be faulty memory on my part.

If you have two kids and want to go to a Titans game, you're up for $77 straight off the bat. If all three of you have a bottle of coke and a bag of chips you can likely bump that up to $100.

Orrrr... you can order three pizzas, send the girls down to the video shop to get a chick flick, and watch the game at home on the other telly (or streaming) for less than $50.

Buying season memberships helps keep the cost down and supports the club a bit better, but again depending on scheduling it can really suck, especially with kids, to get to the games.

 

[MarkC]

The key to getting bigger crowds is to play games at better times like Sunday and Saturday afternoon.

Night games are scheduled for the TV channels that can partially be accommodated by expanding the comp. For example, if we added 4 teams (long term) that is 2 more games which should be Sunday afternoon.

The other thing is there is no need to 2 Friday night games each week, especially in wet weather and there is no need for the Bronco's to play on Friday night each week.

There can be one Friday night game featuring a QLD team each week which does not have to be in QLD. As well, if we add another Brisbane team it is a better mix.

Channel 9 need not be smart and embrace change, channel 9 like to stick to the same tried and tested formula over-and-over but viewers get bored quicker than they realise.

 

[Nightward]

I hear what you're saying - don't see how that related to fixed scheduling at all?

If anything, it is an argument in favour of fixed scheduling? Give all teams an equal whack at the Sunday arvo timeslot.

It's more that if you're a fan of a certain team (Broncos, Sea Eagles, etc) you know the majority of your home games are going to be on at night, probably with a delay in getting started so the talking heads can babble on, and may be a bit of an ask to get to after a long week working and/or with kids. So you may as well stay at home, especially in winter, on the Friday nights and just buy tickets to the sole Sunday afternoon game you get all season then.

It would be great to ditch Monday night football and have two games on Friday, two games on Saturday, and four games on Sunday so that they could be spread around better, but I doubt Channel Nine/Fox cares about what's good for the game and its fans as opposed to what's good for their own wallets, and the NRL clearly doesn't have the fortitude to set those conditions.

I also don't understand why Nine complains about certain teams never rating. Well, maybe if you showed them more and promoted the game properly instead of savaging it on the news, ACA, and Sixty Minutes instead you'd get an audience who was interested?

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Yawn, Rothfield's complaining cause his Sharkies arent doing well.

Everyone wanted the fixed scheduling and I think it works perfect.

I want to know in March when my team will play, day, time, venue, at least 2-3 months ahead in advance.

If you didnt predict Gold Coast, Wests Tigers, Parramatta, St George Illawarra were gonna do well at the start then isnt that a good thing?? I mean it makes the NRL competition more interesting.

Ratings are down cause no one wants to watch the delayed Sunday game and the delayed Friday night with the same team on every fkn week (for NSW viewers). If you wanted to make it better, stop putting the Broncos on every week, and put the other Qld teams in.

And their coverage is terrible. About 99% of people who watch the Ch 9. games are sick of the Gould/Warren arguments and Raaaayyyyy. But that wont change obvioulsy.

To solve the other problem, make the Ch 9 Sunday game live. I dont care if they force it to 4pm as long as its live.

As for the Ad campaigns. I dont mind the Club Membership ones but there shouldve been another one, like the Jessica Mauboy one or Bon Jovi, actually getting fans to the game.

But I think the crowds will increase. At this rate if the teams that missed the 8 last year keep winning, the fans will turn up for sure.

I love they continually say the crowds are down yet the AFL and Super Rugby crowds are getting lower.

 

[Rodney]

Did he mention that easter weekend (the biggest crowd drawing weekend last year) was earlier last year?
Must've just forgotten..
Its not like Buzz to ever purposely collude the facts to try and drive home his agendas...

 

[oldmancraigy]

Well done on achieving new levels of derp.

Sorry - my mistake, do the Eels not average the highest crowd at the venue?

No need to get your knickers in a knot. The point of the numbers is to show how silly BunniesMan is with his 'hierarchy'.

 

[beave]

Am I the only on that thinks one of tomorrow nights games should have been played tonight??? The ratings would have been bigger seeing as though they would both be shown live on TV into both states over the 2 nights?

 

[PARRA_FAN]

You're right, they shouldve played a game tonight. Wouldve gotten better ratings IMO.

 

[beave]

I would have made us play tonight, give coach Green something else to whinge about.

 

[franklin2323]

Am I the only on that thinks one of tomorrow nights games should have been played tonight??? The ratings would have been bigger seeing as though they would both be shown live on TV into both states over the 2 nights?

Should of been the Sunday game. Bul v Souths into Broncos v Newcastle seperated by the news is much better.