RLWC2017 Crowd Watch

[East Coast Tiger]

Why is it their fault? Look at the quality of the games...its pathetic....yet you want people to spend their hard earned money on watching total mismatches??

Did they have a crystal ball?

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Neither do Sydney, Melbourne,etc. Any place bar Brisbane has been average at best for internationals for a while.

Melbourne has an excuse and Sydney is shit but it gets good crowds for pacific teams. Regional outposts demanding one of the few big games but failing to support smaller ones are taking the piss.

 

[The Great Dane]

Assuming that marketing for the games has been the same in other places as it has been in Canberra I don't blame any of the host cities for low crowds, I blame the organisers for being completely incompetent and incapable of basic advertising and event organising.
As I said earlier there was next to no marketing for the WC in Canberra, and you can't expect people to show up to an event if they don't know that it exists or if they don't think that it's going to be worth going to.

I mean even simple things like getting the announcers at Raiders game to constantly talk up the WC all season didn't happen let alone the expensive advertising (TV ads and the like), which is a f##king joke.

Frankly, I have a sneaking suspicion that (like the NRL) they don't really give a f##k about crowds and that their main goal was to boost profits and viewership as much as possible, if that is the case then I guess that they've probably succeeded considering the biding process for hosting rights and ratings.

 

[Irish-bulldog]

Assuming that marketing for the games has been the same in other places as it has been in Canberra I don't blame any of the host cities for low crowds, I blame the organisers for being completely incompetent and incapable of basic advertising and event organising.
As I said earlier there was next to no marketing for the WC in Canberra, and you can't expect people to show up to an event if they don't know that it exists or if they don't think that it's going to be worth going to.

I mean even simple things like getting the announcers at Raiders game to constantly talk up the WC all season didn't happen let alone the expensive advertising (TV ads and the like), which is a f##king joke.

Frankly, I have a sneaking suspicion that (like the NRL) they don't really give a f##k about crowds and that their main goal was to boost profits and viewership as much as possible, if that is the case then I guess that they've probably succeeded considering the biding process for hosting rights and ratings.

Well the true profit isn't in the crowds is it ? It's in tv pay deals, the nrl model.

 

[The Great Dane]

Well the true profit isn't in the crowds is it ? It's in tv pay deals, the nrl model.

True enough, I guess it's just one of the sad realities of the sport business in modern times.

 

[Irish-bulldog]

True enough, I guess it's just one of the sad realities of the sport business in modern times.

It doesn't mean just forget crowds. You should show pride in the product. But this World Cup they made the money they wanted before a ball was kicked, so greed has kicked in and they have raped the true league fans in this cup with ticket prices. But I believe it's turned lots away too.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Assuming that marketing for the games has been the same in other places as it has been in Canberra I don't blame any of the host cities for low crowds, I blame the organisers for being completely incompetent and incapable of basic advertising and event organising.
As I said earlier there was next to no marketing for the WC in Canberra, and you can't expect people to show up to an event if they don't know that it exists or if they don't think that it's going to be worth going to.

I mean even simple things like getting the announcers at Raiders game to constantly talk up the WC all season didn't happen let alone the expensive advertising (TV ads and the like), which is a f##king joke.

Frankly, I have a sneaking suspicion that (like the NRL) they don't really give a f##k about crowds and that their main goal was to boost profits and viewership as much as possible, if that is the case then I guess that they've probably succeeded considering the biding process for hosting rights and ratings.

Well I was in the city earlier today (Sydney). In Pitt Street where a lot of people hang around doing shopping, the manikins that represent every country were displayed and lit up. I saw a lot of people taking photos and seemed fascinated. Not sure if it will bring people to the last game in Sydney for 2017 but I hope it does. However I just feel there could've been someone there, handing stuff out leading up to the game, promote it a bit more. There are some tourists there that might be interested it in it.

Just further up the road, they were advertising the Italy/Fiji game. The thing is, this game is in Canberra. Are people in Sydney expected to make the road trip down south and not worry about the Australia Vs Lebanon game?

I don't know if they have the same organisers as 2013. Almost every game in that got tournament got crowds near capacity.

 

[Perth Red]

Neither do Sydney, Melbourne,etc. Any place bar Brisbane has been average at best for internationals for a while.

Perth sold out, 21,500, for a friendly, just saying!

 

[Perth Red]

Why is it their fault? Look at the quality of the games...its pathetic....yet you want people to spend their hard earned money on watching total mismatches??

I'm expecting both next weeks games will be blow outs in Perth, can't wait! Beers and lunch with mates before game, down in the England section with more beers. Two rare games of international league to enjoy, why would any RL fan miss it for $30? I spend more on coffee in a week.

 

[The Great Dane]

Well I was in the city earlier today (Sydney). In Pitt Street where a lot of people hang around doing shopping, the manikins that represent every country were displayed and lit up. I saw a lot of people taking photos and seemed fascinated. Not sure if it will bring people to the last game in Sydney for 2017 but I hope it does. However I just feel there could've been someone there, handing stuff out leading up to the game, promote it a bit more. There are some tourists there that might be interested it in it.

Just further up the road, they were advertising the Italy/Fiji game. The thing is, this game is in Canberra. Are people in Sydney expected to make the road trip down south and not worry about the Australia Vs Lebanon game?

I don't know if they have the same organisers as 2013. Almost every game in that got tournament got crowds near capacity.

I was thinking about this earlier and if it was me I would have gotten a handful of sets of those manikins made up and had them toured around busy places in the host cities for the last 6 months in the lead up to kick off, with a merch stand and ticket booth selling shirts and tickets right there next to the statue things.
Maybe chuck in a couple of other things to draw the kids in, like one of those targets that you have to pass the ball through and a portable gaming setup running a beta of the new RL game they released earlier this year, give away some freebies, see if I could get the local NRL team/s to show up for a signing, etc, you get the idea.

It worries me that they're advertising the Italy/Fiji game in Sydney but not in Canberra (or if they are I have't seen it or heard of it), especially considering that there are so many opportunities for cheap publicity in Canberra with all the embassies and high commissions in Canberra (which is another thing I would have done as well, engaged the embassies for photo ops etc, and probably offered free tickets to them as well).

One of the massive missed opportunities in Canberra was not engaging Telopea park (a bi-lingual French school) to sell tickets to the two France games here.
A huge contingent of the French supporters were from Telopea Park School anyway, they were talking to one of the French teachers at the Aus v France game who showed up even though he didn't know the rules or really care about RL, and most of the other french supporters where kids from the school with their parents hence why all the chants by the French supporters sounded like a children's choir, imagine if the WC organisers had taken the time to organise a visit from the team and maybe some sort of deal on the tickets to the games for the students, they could of sold tickets to half the school and their families if they played their cards right.

It's little things like that that would have made the biggest difference.

 

[The Great Dane]

I'm expecting both next weeks games will be blow outs in Perth, can't wait! Beers and lunch with mates before game, down in the England section with more beers. Two rare games of international league to enjoy, why would any RL fan miss it for $30? I spend more on coffee in a week.

Because RL fans in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, and Townsville, aren't as starved for RL content as a RL fan in Perth are.

And as a few people I know eluded to when I've spoken to them about the games here, why bother paying $30 bucks for a ticket to a game that's going to be a forgone conclusion when you can watch it on TV for free and head down to the local park for free and watch a better game between two local teams.

There're a lot of people that feel that way about international RL in Australia, and the NRL, ARLC, and WC organisers have done little to change their minds about it.

Ironically those guys I mentioned earlier are almost to a man the sort of guy that'd pay through the nose to watch a Wallabies v All Blacks game or the Socceroos at the world cup, unfortunately the irony is lost on them.

 

[Raiderdave]

One thing you forgot whilst i agree with some of your comments re familiarity of NRL players, the State Govts /TV stations and sponsors are prepared to pay the bikkies in Australia.Why? Because the games that are shown on FTA rate.
Whilst the code is trying to grow the code elsewhere, it needs money to do so.Sky NZ is not going to cough up the monies nor PNG TV.
Until such time as you understand the code really is in its infancy internationally ,then you'll realise my point.Money makes the world go round.

yes but the uk Tv stations will pay , & the UK govt have already or will , pay 30 Million for the 2021 WC.
time to keep the event off australian soil , it seems we're more spoilt then any of us realised.
What we do with the pacific to capitalise on the interest there is the next big developmental question for the code
Samoa, Tonga , Fiji & PNG have all earned the right to play regular internationals & we need to work out how we can get them to , like possibly during the stand alone origin weekend in 2018 , & when that goes to 3 stand alone weekends ( and it will ) they play a series every year

 

[adamkungl]

Remember when that Micheal Brown dope who resigned after abusing people who disagreed with him was hailed as some sort of visionary by the fruitcakes on here for selling 6 games to FNQLD

 

[The Partisan]

Out of curiosity has anyone seen any promos for RLWC related holiday packages or short breaks ? Did the RLWC people do any deals with travel providers to accommodate this ? Could have promoted the hell out of the 'Rugby League, Reef and Rainforest' angle for FNQ / NQ.

Crowds have not been as great as I would have liked .... and the results of some games has possibly had some people wondering why they bothered .... but this is only the second 'all in one timeframe' RLWC held in Oz / NZ since the late 70's. International RL is a product ....just like the NRL, SL and Origin. Every product needs promotion....and the time to promote it needs to be ' all the time'. Unfortunately the international angle gets pretty much ignored by most Australian RL media during the season. Perhaps mocked even by the ignorant. This weekend has seen a few non RLWC internationals played in Asia. Any mention made anywhere on mass media ???? What a bonus it would be if one of the commentators yesterday made mention of the Hong Kong game. 10 seconds of time to create an awareness of the game's growing frontiers. ..............

 

[PARRA_FAN]

It's little things like that that would have made the biggest difference.

Certainly. Just to add to my previous post. Surely the would've let the players meet the fans leading up to the matches. There's no signs or adverts saying "Meet the Kangaroos". It doesn’t have to be the entire squad.

 

[T-Boon]

Two games with minnows and you are shocked when the crowd isn't great?

the minnow games should be played in places like Maitland, Cessnock, Mudgee, Tamworth, Toowoomba, Melbourne.

 

[ULYSSES]

The TV ratings are pretty good, therefor people must be aware the WC is on. So why blame lack of marketing for poor ground attendance. The problem is much deeper but in true Rugby League style we want to blame somewhere other than address the real issues facing our game.
Until we develop the domestic game in the WC playing nations we will not be seen as a major player.

 

[taipan]

yes but the uk Tv stations will pay , & the UK govt have already or will , pay 30 Million for the 2021 WC.
time to keep the event off australian soil , it seems we're more spoilt then any of us realised.
What we do with the pacific to capitalise on the interest there is the next big developmental question for the code
Samoa, Tonga , Fiji & PNG have all earned the right to play regular internationals & we need to work out how we can get them to , like possibly during the stand alone origin weekend in 2018 , & when that goes to 3 stand alone weekends ( and it will ) they play a series every year

The Oz Tv station paid $12m,the PNG Govt $5m ,Q;ld Govt $8m,Vic/WA/NT/ACT/NZ Govts also paid decent sums, never ignore revenue when it is available.If they are not prepared to put their hands in their pockets, then never have it here.
We have ATM limited choices to stage RLWC.Apart from Australasia,there is UK and looks like the USA.

I agree about the Pacific countries.The best games,the best atmosphere ,the best commitment,the best passion all involved PNG/Fiji?Tonga/Samoa

 

[lockyno1]

I'm expecting both next weeks games will be blow outs in Perth, can't wait! Beers and lunch with mates before game, down in the England section with more beers. Two rare games of international league to enjoy, why would any RL fan miss it for $30? I spend more on coffee in a week.

Maybe because in these days especially leading up to Christmas people decide where to spend their entertainment dollars. It is just reality here. I wouldn't call watching a flogging entertaining.

 

[taipan]

Remember when that Micheal Brown dope who resigned after abusing people who disagreed with him was hailed as some sort of visionary by the fruitcakes on here for selling 6 games to FNQLD

I think that's why he resigned.He could see the writing on the wall, after he"stuffed' up the scheduling.
I don't consider Cairns a disaster crowdwise.But gee Townsville just didn't work IMO.
Feel sorry for Andrew Hill,who took over from Brown and had to clean up or stabilise what he could.

Let's see the financials at the end.If the event makes $5m plus, then prepared to accept the occasional crappy crowds.If a loss then that puts Intl rl ,two steps back and someone need a right real a*se kick.