Free to air rugby : does it hold the sport back?

I can only speak as an Englishman but when the English 6Ns Twickenham games were contracted out to Sky, fewer than 10% of games were viewed according to BARB (www.barb.co.uk/) TV viewing figures. I can only justify that from recollection as I last posted the source on v1.

However either by design or cajolement the RFU reverted to Auntie and viewing figures recovered and kept the 6Ns (much like tennis and Wimbledon) at the forefront of public sporting conscientiousness. BBC England 6Ns viewing figures fluctuate roughly from approx 5-10m.

The Beeb however has never serially featured English domestic live rugby games yet attendances in the Jeff are less discouraging than in some other parts of the HNs.

Free to air or subscription TV -what do you think?.

Free to Air works better. It generates a lot of publicity for the sport and I think generates interest.



If you want to go somewhere in between, you could do what American football (other American sports might do it too but I'm not sure). If the stadium, isn't sold out 72 hours before kickoff, the game isn't shown within a 75 mile radius of the stadium (obviously the buffer zone would be less in the UK). The game is not shown on TV

Thomond wrote:Free to Air works better. It generates a lot of publicity for the sport and I think generates interest.



If you want to go somewhere in between, you could do what American football (other American sports might do it too but I'm not sure). If the stadium, isn't sold out 72 hours before kickoff, the game isn't shown within a 75 mile radius of the stadium (obviously the buffer zone would be less in the UK). The game is not shown on TV

But Thom,

Is that because American sports are never free-to-air and the cable companies have the ability to dictate the airwaves?

NBC,CBS,FOX are the main groups who carry the NFL. I think they are free to air. The American system is a bit more complicated. They are Basic Cable at least.

TNT/ESPN do some basketball and baseball and FOX also carry baseball, NBC do basketball too. I would say close to 90% of Americans have basic cable.

Thomond wrote:NBC,CBS,FOX are the main groups who carry the NFL. I think they are free to air. The American system is a bit more complicated. They are Basic Cable at least.

TNT/ESPN do some basketball and baseball and FOX also carry baseball, NBC do basketball too. I would say close to 90% of Americans have basic cable.

Australia has in the past (and may still do?) done the same with cricket. If a game in Sydney isn't sold out, viewers in NSW don't receive a broadcast but the other states too. It is a lot easier to implement in bigger countries though - you just pump a different signal out of the Sydney transmitters.

Kiwireddevil wrote:

Thomond wrote:NBC,CBS,FOX are the main groups who carry the NFL. I think they are free to air. The American system is a bit more complicated. They are Basic Cable at least.

TNT/ESPN do some basketball and baseball and FOX also carry baseball, NBC do basketball too. I would say close to 90% of Americans have basic cable.

Australia has in the past (and may still do?) done the same with cricket. If a game in Sydney isn't sold out, viewers in NSW don't receive a broadcast but the other states too. It is a lot easier to implement in bigger countries though - you just pump a different signal out of the Sydney transmitters.

I know you're a Kiwi KD, but do you know if the transfer from ABC to channel 9 (which I assume is a subscription channel) has had any affect on cricket as a sport in general?

Certainly the current test side is nothing like it was.

People often disagree with this, but I do feel that free to air has some impact on Welsh Regional attendances. We're spoiled in Wales because they always show the Friday night game and the Saturday game, and more recently Sunday games. You can be a follower of nearly all Welsh pro matches from your armchair on BBC 2 Wales and S4C. Plus, with Sky you can pick up BBC Alba and NI which also show the games. I believe Setatnta used to show games in the ROI too. With only 4 teams you're pretty much guaranteed to be able to watch all of your teams games, home and away! Now, I know diehard fans will always attend, but for those fans on the fence the ability to stay in on a cold, wet night with a beer and watch the rugby is reason enough not to go. We'll always have the diehards, but it's the occasional fan that we need to capture.

Diehards will also have no problem with kick off times. They'll probably get a new job if need be! But for the occasional fan the 7.05 kick off on a Friday is often difficult, but the thought of missing the game diminishes when it's on TV. I'm sure this must make a difference. Put it this way; I've been a Newport RFC and subsequently Dragons season ticket holder for 14 years and I have missed numerous games either due to rushing home from work or the weather BECAUSE it is on TV. If it wasn't on TV then I would feel that I was missing out and would force myself to go. TV takes away that dilemma.

Portnoy wrote:

Kiwireddevil wrote:

Thomond wrote:NBC,CBS,FOX are the main groups who carry the NFL. I think they are free to air. The American system is a bit more complicated. They are Basic Cable at least.

TNT/ESPN do some basketball and baseball and FOX also carry baseball, NBC do basketball too. I would say close to 90% of Americans have basic cable.

Australia has in the past (and may still do?) done the same with cricket. If a game in Sydney isn't sold out, viewers in NSW don't receive a broadcast but the other states too. It is a lot easier to implement in bigger countries though - you just pump a different signal out of the Sydney transmitters.

I know you're a Kiwi KD, but do you know if the transfer from ABC to channel 9 (which I assume is a subscription channel) has had any affect on cricket as a sport in general?

Certainly the current test side is nothing like it was.

Channel 9 is free to air - think ITV rather than BSkyB for your business model. FoxTel fills the BSkyB "role" in Australia.

The current test side's decline has more to do with the retirement of several all-time greats (Gilchrist, Warne and McGrath would all make an all-time Aus team, and possibly an all-time World XI) and the rise in poularity of Australian Rule football - 20 years ago Cricket was indisputably the most popular sport in Australia, but AFL has successfully expanded out of Victoria and built decent sized "colonies" in NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, and is now the more popular sport. Talented youngsters are increasingly not funnelling into cricket.