The Las Vegas Thread

[Canard]

The NRLs lack of engagement with American sport You Tubers or podcasters is baffling.

Cover an all expenses paid trip to Vegas for a few of the big ones and let them spread the gospel of Rugby League.

Potentially Fox wouldn't allow this as the 'grass roots' personalities are a big threat to their print and TV editorial content.

You think a bunch of boomers that think that the North Sydney Bears playing at North Sydney Oval is the number 1 priority for Rugby League in 2024, are engaged with social media?

 

[Chins get the wins]

The NRLs lack of engagement with American sport You Tubers or podcasters is baffling.

Cover an all expenses paid trip to Vegas for a few of the big ones and let them spread the gospel of Rugby League.

Potentially Fox wouldn't allow this as the 'grass roots' personalities are a big threat to their print and TV editorial content.

The NRL take down almost everything from YouTube. This is something that Pete and Abdo should be looking to fix before the next broadcast deal if possible.

 

[Captain Apollo]

True. All it needs is someone in power at the network to like what they saw. And do some research to see if viewers liked what they saw Then they might give it a bit of a push so more people can be exposed to the game. The NRL has said from the outset that the first game wasn't going to be the outbreak for the sport in the USA. It will take time.

.

The Melbourne Storm could probably give the NRL some pointers about what to do at the ground in terms of rule explanations. They used to do a lot of that kind of stuff for about the first 5-10 years of its existence.

 

[blue bags]

LAS Vegas new rugby league Heartland
Home Town of USA NRL

 

[Munky]

You think a bunch of boomers that think that the North Sydney Bears playing at North Sydney Oval is the number 1 priority for Rugby League in 2024, are engaged with social media?

Besides puff pieces with minimal engagement in Murdoch owned rags was any promotion done in non traditional media?

A tweet with four likes is not something that should be shared as a measure of success.

The event day itself was a success but at the moment seems like a junket for NRL executives and Australian media rather than promoting the game to the American public.

I follow a few of the American sports influencers and there was nothing I can see on Rich Eisen, Pat McCafee etc.

Even smaller guys like Clickbait Sports would have been worth getting there.

The NFL season is over and they're are desperate for content and absolutely nothing done by NRL it seems.

 

[Canard]

Besides puff pieces with minimal engagement in Murdoch owned rags was any promotion done in non traditional media?

A tweet with four likes is not something that should be shared as a measure of success.

The event day itself was a success but at the moment seems like a junket for NRL executives and Australian media rather than promoting the game to the American public.

I follow a few of the American sports influencers and there was nothing I can see on Rich Eisen, Pat McCafee etc.

Even smaller guys like Clickbait Sports would have been worth getting there.

The NFL season is over and they're are desperate for content and absolutely nothing done by NRL it seems.

To be honest the biggest winner in all of this was the Las Vegas tourism board.

Huge promotion for the city to Australians.

 

[Éamonn an Chnoic]

To be honest the biggest winner in all of this was the Las Vegas tourism board.

Huge promotion for the city to Australians.

I assume that is where most of the funding came from

 

[Foreign Legion]

I have a feeling the PVL will learn another and improve it.

 

[Vlad59]

I have a feeling the PVL will learn another and improve it.

Uncharted waters. Next year will be bigger and better.

 

[Captain Apollo]

From https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/af...from-afl-and-club-bosses-20240306-p5fack.html (Note I only have reproduced part of the article, as the rest of it talks about what the AFL is doinng for this weekend's games and the like, which is not relevant) -

How rugby league’s US push won private praise from AFL and club bosses​

By Andrew Wu​

March 6, 2024 — 5.00pm

The NRL’s successful launch in the US has not gone unnoticed by the AFL, as it spruiked their ambitious billion-dollar plan to have football on in every home around the country within the next 10 years.

Rugby league’s Las Vegas experiment was the subject of many conversations among AFL and club bosses at the league’s commission meeting in Sydney on Wednesday, according to two sources present who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly.

The sources said there was widespread acknowledgment the NRL had done a good job and gained traction with last week’s games in Sin City.

Former AFL chief Gillon McLachlan made a concerted effort to never mention Peter V’landys’ name as part of his approach to handling the ARL Commission chairman, but there is much respect for the Sydney administrator among football circles, where he is regarded by many senior figures as being a formidable opponent.

The shift comes amid an intensifying of the code wars between the country’s two biggest football competitions. While the NRL has embarked on a quest to crack the US market, the AFL is making a renewed bid to win over new fans in rugby league heartland.

 

[Bukowski]

From https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/af...from-afl-and-club-bosses-20240306-p5fack.html (Note I only have reproduced part of the article, as the rest of it talks about what the AFL is doinng for this weekend's games and the like, which is not relevant) -

It worries me that this is their focus while we are talking about PNG. A place that no other sport, broadcaster or Australian gives a crap about.

 

[Vlad59]

It worries me that this is their focus while we are talking about PNG. A place that no other sport, broadcaster or Australian gives a crap about.

They can plan scheme and strategise all they like. They are in a highly competitive sports market and nobody is giving way (except union). Their product is unsellable outside Australia and they are paranoid about any opposition. This mob are scared shitless of any progress we or anybody else makes. I find it all amusing. As for PNG it’s one of any number of options we have to expand. They have Tasmania.

 

[Bukowski]

They can plan scheme and strategise all they like. They are in a highly competitive sports market and nobody is giving way (except union). Their product is unsellable outside Australia and they are paranoid about any opposition. This mob are scared shitless of any progress we or anybody else makes. I find it all amusing. As for PNG it’s one of any number of options we have to expand. They have Tasmania.

It's great to have lots of options to expand. Going in the right direction is the key though. NSO, Cairns and PNG is worrying.

 

[Vlad59]

It's great to have lots of options to expand. Going in the right direction is the key though. NSO, Cairns and PNG is worrying.

Yeah we’ll see but I don’t disagree with you

 

[yakstorm]

The NRLs lack of engagement with American sport You Tubers or podcasters is baffling.

Cover an all expenses paid trip to Vegas for a few of the big ones and let them spread the gospel of Rugby League.

Potentially Fox wouldn't allow this as the 'grass roots' personalities are a big threat to their print and TV editorial content.

This really should be part of the strategy. Honestly it's possibly worthwhile picking a few strategic ones and fly them over for an Origin or big match here to start getting them talking about the sport.

In a country as big as America, if nothing else it means NRL is getting shown to markets that the channels the code has been leveraging so far aren't reaching.

 

[wain]

This really should be part of the strategy. Honestly it's possibly worthwhile picking a few strategic ones and fly them over for an Origin or big match here to start getting them talking about the sport.

In a country as big as America, if nothing else it means NRL is getting shown to markets that the channels the code has been leveraging so far aren't reaching.

yep, agreed. so simple but so effective. rather than us only being able to get over there once a year...lets bring them to us multiple times.
Id push for magic round, origin and GF.
then come next year in vegas there will be some content thats fresher in the memory than Vegas from the year before.

 

[Jamberoo]

So we rated higher in America than the Lions, Swans, Suns, Giants or any Australian Super Rugby teams do in their own country? Sweet!!

0.016% of Americans watched the NRL. PVL would be disappointed with that. But it’s not about America. That is spin. There is not a dollar to be made there.

It is primarily a spectacular way to kick off the season. Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world. It gets people taking and is a ratings and media bonanza In Australia. Also, it is something that no other Australian code can replicate.

 

[Captain Apollo]

In relation to the US TV ratings, one thing we are all overlooking is that the US Collegiate basketball game that was on before it went well over its broadcast time, with the game itself going into over time.

This meant a few things:

1. The first 17 minutes was not on Fox Sports 1, but Fox Sports 2 which is not available in all areas in the US; and

2. It meant the local broadcaster had no opportunity to do any pre-game build up/introduction for the local audience.

Those factors alone would, in my opinion, have had an impact on TV ratings.

 

[Captain Apollo]

0.016% of Americans watched the NRL. PVL would be disappointed with that. But it’s not about America. That is spin. There is not a dollar to be made there.

It is primarily a spectacular way to kick off the season. Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world. It gets people taking and is a ratings and media bonanza In Australia. Also, it is something that no other Australian code can replicate.

Also it's a starting point. I mean did anyone think it'd rate its socks off the very first time it was shown in the US? I dare say the NRL knew it would be hard work even after the first occasion.

 

[kurt faulk]

.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/las-vegas-tv-ratings-reveal-just-60000-americans-watched-the-first-ever-nrl-match-in-las-vegas/news-story/1a5f11b1b52bbc21b077c48008632ec9

Abdo compared the ratings with Major League Soccer, a staple in the US, which made the NRL’s first incursion into Las Vegas a success for the league.
“The Las Vegas matches were watched by a huge number of people around the world, including a record Australian audience,” Abdo said.
“We had a 61,000 average viewership on Fox Sports 1 for the first game, which was more than one-third of the marquee college basketball clash between Xavier and Georgetown which preceded our games. That figure also compares to some US Major League Soccer games on Fox Sports 1.
“The second game attracted an average audience of 44,000. These are the two most-watched NRL matches in the US on record.
“The audience of the first game was three times higher than the most-watched NRL games on Fox Sports in the past three seasons and over 280 per cent higher than the most recent Saturday games on Fox Sports 1.
“We are proud of what we achieved this year in Las Vegas and have been blown away by how positively Americans have responded to rugby league.
“The exposure the game received and the reviews of the matches by US fans and media will be a massive boost for year two and beyond. We are very focused on the long-term opportunity this presents for the game.”
.