The Las Vegas Thread

[Wb1234]

Honestly we could bring it down to 10 home games. It would increase the importance of attending your home fixtures resulting in bigger attendance. Sell the rest and grow the game.
We should have a Pacific round with games played in Fiji, Tonga, PNG, Samoa. Double headers in Adelaide and Perth, a Hobart game.
Annual events that make money and grow the game.

Clubs don’t want to lose revenue from home gates

 

[energizer]

In terms of influencers, I agree we should have paid for a few of the popular ones to come to the game and promote it. As an example, The ICC got that IShowSpeed guy to do reaction videos and then head out to the Cricket World Cup as well last year. They even clued him up with smack talk between the teams playing.

There's also the missed opportunity of getting some paid content done with House of Highlights where we could have packaged big hits from featuring the teams playing.

The Rabbitohs also did a pisstake on the game day "fit checks" for their Captains Run which a lot of the NFL and NBA players do on their socials.

In terms of engaging new audiences with rules I reckon we do a poor job. I took some mates who were overseas travelling to the games and I was explaining the rules to them on the fly. They asked why we didn't announce them to the crowd like the NFL. At a minimum we should show the same explanation of the infringements that Fox Sports show on the TV coverage currently.

Another idea for Vegas next year is they display the infringement on all the advertising boards for 5 secs. I noticed we did Americanise the advertising boards with US and Aussie flags during the anthems (although having these 30 minutes before kick off without the players on the field was stupid).

Eventually as we build US subscriptions the NRL should look to produce a weekly wrap show at the end of the round, similar to what the show the Aussie guy hots at the at the conclusion of the weekend NBA games on ESPN.

 

[Generalzod]

TV ratings for Vegas venture show slow initial take-up for NRL in the US

The NRL’s Las Vegas showcase has failed to win over American viewers, with just 61,000 tuning in to see the Rabbitohs v Sea Eagles clash in prime time

www.theguardian.com

 

[wittyfan]

Put Mitchell Moses handsome face on billboards over there, and we can expect 1 million American TV ratings.

He’d bring in tens of millions!!!

 

[Captain Apollo]

That's a very simplistic equation you have there mate.
Here's another simplistic one...
All products want to grow their customer base and that cost $$$ but new customers make $$$
Simply enough for you?

Yep, if you want an example of a company that won't spend money but expects to make a motza from its products I give you Channel 9's coverage of the NRL as exhibits a, b and c.

 

[final say]

Yep, if you want an example of a company that won't spend money but expects to make a motza from its products I give you Channel 9's coverage of the NRL as exhibits a, b and c.

I genuinely believe we're held back as a game by channel 9.
The commentary makes it seem boring and the teams inept.
We need a new network even for less money. f**k 9

 

[Éamonn an Chnoic]

I genuinely believe we're held back as a game by channel 9.
The commentary makes it seem boring and the teams inept.
We need a new network even for less money. f**k 9

I totally agree. Fox might underpay, but their promotion is great.

C9 meanwhile do everything to make the audience depressed and bored

 

[final say]

I totally agree. Fox might underpay, but their promotion is great.

C9 meanwhile do everything to make the audience depressed and bored

Between Gus and Johns , it's almost like they work for the AFL

 

[Éamonn an Chnoic]

And why they will be paying way more in five years

that inbound Aussie tourism is worth us 150 mill

That is actually a really clever way to look at it; we are not trying to sell RL to new fans (in the short term), we are actually selling RL fan attention to tourism groups.

ABS reckons the average overseas tip costs an Australian $5k. So directly we might assume that this LV event generated $100mil in tourism dollars from the 20k fans who went (spent mostly on airlines, hotels, etc).

THEN Vegas is the centrepiece for an event that +2million Aussies watched (assuming churn in those tv viewers). So all viewers can imagined themselves in Vegas on their next trip (how many more millions of dollars would that advertising be worth?

Yeh, if this event maintains or grows its interest just in Aus, we might start to see a fight between tourism boards in US to steal the event in 2029

From a business perspective, it is actually genius! We can try to get US fans as a side effect, but financial sustainability/success is founded on the established Aussie fans

 

[Éamonn an Chnoic]

Between Gus and Johns , it's almost like they work for the AFL

I think C9 has done more to drive fans away from the game than even SuperLeague managed to do.

I stopped watching C9 (outside of Origin and finals) back in 2012 when the tv rights were renewed. Last weeks LV game was my first time back watching C9 for a regular season game in 12 years.

they are just f*ckin unbearable

 

[siv]

Did they make any money on betting in the US?

 

[taste2taste]

I genuinely believe we're held back as a game by channel 9.
The commentary makes it seem boring and the teams inept.
We need a new network even for less money. f**k 9

I watch alot of sport and Gus and Joey are the only commentators on the planet who continually talk down thier sport.

A commentators job is to build tension and make it an event, Gus and Joey turn it into a whinge fest which turns off casual fans.

If ch 9 win the next rights the NRL should insist part of the contract is 9 get a new commentary team.

 

[Wb1234]

That is actually a really clever way to look at it; we are not trying to sell RL to new fans (in the short term), we are actually selling RL fan attention to tourism groups.

ABS reckons the average overseas tip costs an Australian $5k. So directly we might assume that this LV event generated $100mil in tourism dollars from the 20k fans who went (spent mostly on airlines, hotels, etc).

THEN Vegas is the centrepiece for an event that +2million Aussies watched (assuming churn in those tv viewers). So all viewers can imagined themselves in Vegas on their next trip (how many more millions of dollars would that advertising be worth?

Yeh, if this event maintains or grows its interest just in Aus, we might start to see a fight between tourism boards in US to steal the event in 2029

From a business perspective, it is actually genius! We can try to get US fans as a side effect, but financial sustainability/success is founded on the established Aussie fans

Las Vegas is already paying for it

with proof of concept the arlc should be able to get 10 to 15 million usd to host it

with future sell outs it will be a good profit earner before gambling and higher sales of the nrl app come into play

 

[Wb1234]

I watch alot of sport and Gus and Joey are the only commentators on the planet who continually talk down thier sport.

A commentators job is to build tension and make it an event, Gus and Joey turn it into a whinge fest which turns off casual fans.

If ch 9 win the next rights the NRL should insist part of the contract is 9 get a new commentary team.

It’s nine

foxsports need to lose the news lts guys ie hooper sloth Kent and Richie

 

[final say]

I watch alot of sport and Gus and Joey are the only commentators on the planet who continually talk down thier sport.

A commentators job is to build tension and make it an event, Gus and Joey turn it into a whinge fest which turns off casual fans.

If ch 9 win the next rights the NRL should insist part of the contract is 9 get a new commentary team.

Totally agree.
If we got a new deal with another network, they would be excited and work harder to make thier investment a success. 9 just going through the motions..

 

[taste2taste]

That is actually a really clever way to look at it; we are not trying to sell RL to new fans (in the short term), we are actually selling RL fan attention to tourism groups.

ABS reckons the average overseas tip costs an Australian $5k. So directly we might assume that this LV event generated $100mil in tourism dollars from the 20k fans who went (spent mostly on airlines, hotels, etc).

THEN Vegas is the centrepiece for an event that +2million Aussies watched (assuming churn in those tv viewers). So all viewers can imagined themselves in Vegas on their next trip (how many more millions of dollars would that advertising be worth?

Yeh, if this event maintains or grows its interest just in Aus, we might start to see a fight between tourism boards in US to steal the event in 2029

From a business perspective, it is actually genius! We can try to get US fans as a side effect, but financial sustainability/success is founded on the established Aussie fans

Chamos ( or one of the other journos ) said on the radio this morning that the NRL needs to renegotiate thier deal with Las Vegas, more fans than expected travelled and there will be even more going next year.

 

[Canard]

That is actually a really clever way to look at it; we are not trying to sell RL to new fans (in the short term), we are actually selling RL fan attention to tourism groups.

ABS reckons the average overseas tip costs an Australian $5k. So directly we might assume that this LV event generated $100mil in tourism dollars from the 20k fans who went (spent mostly on airlines, hotels, etc).

THEN Vegas is the centrepiece for an event that +2million Aussies watched (assuming churn in those tv viewers). So all viewers can imagined themselves in Vegas on their next trip (how many more millions of dollars would that advertising be worth?

Yeh, if this event maintains or grows its interest just in Aus, we might start to see a fight between tourism boards in US to steal the event in 2029

From a business perspective, it is actually genius! We can try to get US fans as a side effect, but financial sustainability/success is founded on the established Aussie fans

Las Vegas gets around 40million visitors a year https://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/News/Blog/Detail/strong-growth-for-tourism

You have to ask yourself how much money the would be willing to spend to add another 15 or 20k to this number, and what value proposition it would give?

 

[Éamonn an Chnoic]

Las Vegas is already paying for it

with proof of concept the arlc should be able to get 10 to 15 million usd to host it

with future sell outs it will be a good profit earner before gambling and higher sales of the nrl app come into play

I figured Las Vegas paid, but I only just did a calculation to estimate the tourism value. Im guessing $100mil total value would be about right and about half would go to the city (the other half to flights, etc)

That is much bigger than I would have guessed.

I wondering (assuming interest stays high) if we could move to other cities (LA, San Diego, etc) that is keen to advertise to Aussie tourists.

It only just hit me that the game is not the product being sold. It is the travelling Aussie fans…

 

[shewi6]

Totally agree.
If we got a new deal with another network, they would be excited and work harder to make thier investment a success. 9 just going through the motions..

You just have to look at the explosion in popularity of the BBL when ch 10 got the rights and brang a fresh approach to broadcasting and made it feel exciting and like every game was an event.

I would watch plenty of games before but literally haven't watched a single minute since fox and 7 got the rights.

 

[yakstorm]

I wondering (assuming interest stays high) if we could move to other cities (LA, San Diego, etc) that is keen to advertise to Aussie tourists.

If nothing else, those cities (LA, SF, San Diego) will all bid for it if travel numbers stay static or grow, which may just push what Vegas pays up.

20K international visitors (plus another 15K+ domestic) is significant, especially when multiplied over multiple days (most of the international visitors stayed in Vegas 4 nights), even for cities like Vegas who have no trouble attracting visitors, they're not going to pass that up, especially when the cost to them is relatively minuscule.

From selling to RTOs in the past, including the likes of Vegas, they are bidding & subsidising events from as little as 500 visitors all the time (they have whole teams employed focused on this). They know what is the desired ROI they're chasing for their investment and will spend appropriately.