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Massive drop in TV ratings for Charity Shield

Solid

Juniors
Messages
361
They used Fuel TV first and foremost because the other LIVE fixtures on Foxsports 1,2,3 were deemed more important. 4 games. 3 channels. One had to go

The Promo was on non stop during the last week or so. Got large exposure.
 

Timmah

LeagueUnlimited News Editor
Staff member
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100,984
Large exposure if you watch FOX Sports all week maybe. Average Joe wouldn't have known it was on that Channel.

Call it an excuse if you wish... but it's really simple fact - it was on a channel foreign to most mainstream sports watchers, in particular RL supporters, and the advertising was limited to the four FOX Sports branches as well as FuelTV itself.

Beat-up in the extreme here and takes the focus away from what was a record ANZ crowd for the fixture.

Any mention of the fact we had 25,871 at ANZ for trial compared with 19,000 at the SFS a night earlier for a fully-fledged S14 game? :lol:
 

bartman

Immortal
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41,022
Yeah, I thought the crowd numbers were great, considering it wasn't played in either teams' taditional territory - ie and away game for all fans.
 
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21,900
Any mention of the fact we had 25,871 at ANZ for trial compared with 19,000 at the SFS a night earlier for a fully-fledged S14 game? :lol:

yeah well, the tards suck.

i was going to go see them in canberra. but the minister for whales is reforming his band (where he belongs IMO)

ill be seeing that instead
 

El Diablo

Post Whore
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94,107

Lambretta

First Grade
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8,689
Obviously this deal was done so that Fox could promote their bizarre Fuel TV channel, but at what cost to league and the average league fan?

Erm, none

Could you name one single person - with more than half a brain cell that would refuse to watch Rugby League ever again because a trial game was shown on a minor channel?

The fact is, Rugby League is not the only sport in Australia and trial games don't really count for much at all. The point of the Charity Shield is to raise funds for charities and if the game was shown on a TV that not many people had easy access to, then it probably had a small hand in increasing the attendance figure by a thousand or so.

If that was the case - then it did it's job.

I doubt if the decision by Foxtel to show other sports, including a Grand Final of a national code, will cause any league fans any long term concern at all.

PS. Fantastic attendance figure and a highly entertaining game. Souths looked good value in the 2nd half after periods of getting a little lost. I predict better things from them this season.
 

bartman

Immortal
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41,022
Erm, none

Could you name one single person - with more than half a brain cell that would refuse to watch Rugby League ever again because a trial game was shown on a minor channel?
No-one's talking about people having a tanty and refusing to watch league ever again.

The discussion's about lost opportunities to positively market our game, and thsi Charity Shield trial drew a bigger crowd (and hence was a bigger spectacle) than a lot of regular season games that are broadcast on 9 or Fox Sports.

Good point by you and Godz Illa about the charity nature of the game. But it is also traditionally regarded as marking the start of the league season, and is an opportunity to build interest among viewers ofr the season ahead. We get trial games of other codes (AFL pre-season comp) shown on tele anyway. As well as cricket fund-raising games over the years.
 

KalgoorlieRed

Juniors
Messages
2,014
The Charity Shield played on Saturday night between Souths and St George Illawarra, and shown on Fuel TV had a massive drop in the number of people watching it.

This years game had 106,000 viewers compared to 218,000 for last year. That is a drop of just over 51 percent. The fact it was shown on Fuel TV may have been a reason for the drop in the numbers. But regardless the NRL, Souths, St George Illawarra and Fox Sports have to be very dissapointed with the figures.

The Charity Shield was beaten in the ratings by crickets Aust v SA test, the Ford Ranger Cup Final, A League grand final and an AFL NAB Pres Season game.
Well it is only a "nothing" game like the WCC!
 

Timmah

LeagueUnlimited News Editor
Staff member
Messages
100,984
Oh get the f**k over it. Is there anything you don't have a chip on your shoulder about?
 

jed

First Grade
Messages
9,280
Of course it was the reason.

If the league wants ratings to be high, and the ability to crow about it, then no way should it agree to games being shown on any other channel than their free-to-air broadcaster (currently 9 Network), or on the PayTV mainstream Fox Sports channels. And even though this is a trial game, the league should not agree to it's broadcasts being bumped elsewhere, otherwise we end up with threads comments and thoughts like this one.

Obviously this deal was done so that Fox could promote their bizarre Fuel TV channel, but at what cost to league and the average league fan?
What then would you suggest be bumped in it's place then? The A-League Grand Final? Hardly, considering all other games through the season were shown. The 3rd round game of the Super 14's? Again, not likely, not when it's an actual proper game, rather than a glorified trial game. The South Africa vs Australia test? Again, no chance.

True league fans would have known that it was on Fuel TV. There were discussions on the forums here leading up to it, it was in the EPG for the last 2 weeks, and the promo's been running for the last 2-3 weeks, approximately every hour or two, telling viewers that it was going to be on Fuel TV. What more would you have had them do, drop a leaflet in everyone's letterbox?

It wasn't run on Fuel TV to "promote their bizarre Fuel TV channel", it was done to allow viewers to see the game live at a time when 3 other events were occurring.

bartman said:
We get trial games of other codes (AFL pre-season comp) shown on tele anyway.
Yes, and that's an official pre-season tournament. If the NRL did something similar, I'm sure they'd be able to sell the TV rights to it as well, and ensure that the games were all shown on TV, not just a game that's been built up into something that supposedly is important.
 

Timmah

LeagueUnlimited News Editor
Staff member
Messages
100,984
Because Ch9 doesn't have the rights to overseas test series, that's Fox's domain. Same with the A-League, no FTA station has the rights to it. The S14 again, same story.

To be totally fair, we're talking:

- a fully fledged cricket test
- the GRAND FINAL of the soccer
- a premiership round Super 14 fixture

While in a jovial sense you might put any RL above those three, in a sporting sense, an RL trial doesn't exactly rate as top priority.
 

bartman

Immortal
Messages
41,022
What then would you suggest be bumped in it's place then? The A-League Grand Final? Hardly, considering all other games through the season were shown. The 3rd round game of the Super 14's? Again, not likely, not when it's an actual proper game, rather than a glorified trial game. The South Africa vs Australia test? Again, no chance.
It's an opportunity that the league should have brokered with one of its two major broadcast providers... what was on Ch 9?

True league fans would have known that it was on Fuel TV.
I don't buy into the whole "true fans" argument. My point is it's an opportunity to reach out to and win over casual fans... but not if the game is buried on amainly unknown PayTV only channel.

It wasn't run on Fuel TV to "promote their bizarre Fuel TV channel", it was done to allow viewers to see the game live at a time when 3 other events were occurring.
Ok, so the "smokin' hotties" in the promo and coverage weren't promotional... It's good I guess the game was shown at all, but my point/opinion is the league lost an opportunity by not leveraging better with 9 or Fox Sports to use it as a springboard for the start of the season.

Yes, and that's an official pre-season tournament. If the NRL did something similar, I'm sure they'd be able to sell the TV rights to it as well, and ensure that the games were all shown on TV, not just a game that's been built up into something that supposedly is important.
Well the league used to have a pre-season comp, and a sevens comp too... but now the Charity Shield is all we have, and deserved better imo.
 

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