Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:02 pm  

I'm not blaming the rfl,far from it actually.
Its the sl clubs themselves who have devalued the sport over many years, to such an extent with cheap and free tickets, that thousands of people have now found better things to do with there hard earned now the prices have gone up

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:06 pm  

j.c wrote:

I'm not blaming the rfl,far from it actually.
Its the sl clubs themselves who have devalued the sport over many years, to such an extent with cheap and free tickets, that thousands of people have now found better things to do with there hard earned now the prices have gone up

In some cases i think you are right. I think some clubs have seen "bodies in the ground at all costs" as a viable strategy. And that isn't the answer.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:29 pm  

FarsleySteve wrote:

In some cases i think you are right. I think some clubs have seen "bodies in the ground at all costs" as a viable strategy. And that isn't the answer.

Problem is, the damage is done now,not just to the sl but to the sport as a whole,and it will be for at least a few years more.

I use to watch SSN and laugh at the football fans who were paying outrages prices for the product,but they still payed it and they're still paying it now and they'll be paying it in the future.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Sun Mar 17, 2013 7:02 am  

FarsleySteve wrote:

In some cases i think you are right. I think some clubs have seen "bodies in the ground at all costs" as a viable strategy. And that isn't the answer.

OK, follow that logic through to a question:

There remains in the UK a capacity to spend money on sports tickets ( Check out other sports, and their high-end prices ). Given that we believe RL to be the greatest sport, it would seem like a reasonable strategy to get people in cheap at first, exposing them to this brilliance, after which they'll be hooked. And yet, as soon as we asked them for a sensible ticket price, they went away. So the question is, are we so sure that our competition is such the spectacle we claim?

People need to realise that it is sporting tension that attracts fans far more than the actual activity - that's why, to the disbelief of those of us who watch an RU scrum collapse for 30th time, people turn up to watch that sport. Devalue the regular season ( or do anything else that reduces tension ) at your peril.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Sun Mar 17, 2013 8:36 am  

FarsleySteve wrote:

Would they? Where have they expressed "worry" about this years attendances?

The RFL hardly ever expresses worry. Their press releases are almost always hyped to the positive. If attendances continue to be so far down on last season the RFL simply will not talk to the press about attendances.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:03 am  

The irony is that the 2013 season so far has been much better than 2012 which was a let down in terms of on-the-field action. I've watched several of the Sky games so far and enjoyed them all.

I would say instead of just going for the reason of the Playoff format being the problem I would instead look at how well clubs are promoting their games. You see when it's done well (the Wigan Big Ones series) it has a good effect. Obviously this costs money in marketing it so it depends if the increases in crowd cover that extra cost.

Also I liked to see when the football season ends, Sky have a SL game on a Sunday at 2/3pm featuring some of the bigger match-ups. You're always going to hit a limit to how many you'll attract on Friday and Saturday nights to games as people will have many other options on those nights/times than their Sunday afternoons, it also helps more travelling fans attend.

Looking at the viewing figures on BARB, football regularly gets around the 1.5million mark for Sunday games on Sky Sports 1. Last summer in the football off-season only 1 or 2 events on Sunday afternoons managed to break 500,000 (England Cricket games) after them nothing registered anything really better than what SL does on a Friday night.

Surely their is a potential for big Sunday Sky games? I know that some clubs prefer Friday nights but if Sky come calling wanting big games for Sunday afternoons then they'll get what they want. Looking at last years fixtures played on a Sunday inbetween the period their was no football (10 Rounds) then probably the biggest game on paper scheduled was Hull vs Saints, a good game but definitely can go bigger than that.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:11 am  

I'd expect that the RFL is very aware of this apparent fall in attendances but wouldn't expect comment until it has determined its causes. Once they're aware of the reasons I think they'll make some changes - something they've not previously been afraid to do, for better or worse. Providing, of course, that the clubs support it.

The big worry, of course, is not only that attendances are falling big style this season but that they will continue to do so next and beyond.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:33 am  

Perhaps Mr Eve, who seems to have plenty of time, could give us a club by club break down on attendances.
On thing that stands out this weekend is the league leaders crowd of just 5536 at home to FC, compared to last seasons 9950 for the same fixture albeit taking place 4 weeks earlier.
Now that is a worrying stat !

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:53 am  

wrencat1873 wrote:

Perhaps Mr Eve, who seems to have plenty of time, could give us a club by club break down on attendances.
On thing that stands out this weekend is the league leaders crowd of just 5536 at home to FC, compared to last seasons 9950 for the same fixture albeit taking place 4 weeks earlier.
Now that is a worrying stat !

Then again, Huddersfield drew more against Bradford this year than last.

The increased season ticket prices are obviously having an impact. Even if their attendances are down, they will be more financially stable from it.

Re: Opening SL weekend sees attendances tumbling by 12.66% : Sun Mar 17, 2013 10:18 am  

JonB95 wrote:

The increased season ticket prices are obviously having an impact. Even if their attendances are down, they will be more financially stable from it.

I think a few clubs have put prices up, knowing that attendances will fall slightly, but hope the revenue they make will increase overall. Bradford proved that its the revenue you make, not the attendance figure that pays the bills. You really need to be comparing gate receipts to see if clubs are being more or less successful than last year.