Mitre 10 Cup Attendance
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@Stargazer said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@shark said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
I totally accept we'll never see current ABs in the comp again, but there are other things that can be done to spice it up a little.
The finals this year will be on the weekends of 18th - 20th and 25th - 27th of October. This is a pretty traditional domestic season completion window, going back 20 years or so at least. But there's no reason why we can't play on for a couple of weeks into even better weather, while the All Blacks are still touring (the now yearly NH tour doesn't finish until late November normally). Better weather = better crowds, while November is still light on international cricket normally, and this might allow a merger of the two upper tiers of the competition and a much more palatable proper round robin.
In most years, still a few players - who didn't make the ABs for the TRC - have been picked for the ABs end-of-year tours. Also a lot of provincial players end up in the Maori ABs for their EOYTs. Your scenario would:
- achieve that some provinces who play finals will (still) have to miss one, or maybe more, of their players for those finals. Think Canterbury and Richie Mo'unga in 2017;
- Maori ABs tours in November won't be possible, if NPC gets priority. Or provinces playing finals will also lose these players for the finals.
So, I'd say there is a reason why we can't play on into November.
The NZRU needs to recognise the provincial base is being eroded, and a little too dramatically. With that goes star power and bums on seats also. One leak they can plug is guys playing in Japan in lieu of provincial rugby. If they're at that level, then they're at SR level and we need those guys playing domestic rugby here. I know they let them go and still come back and play SR rugby in order to not lose them to our game completely, but it's counter-productive. Their presence in SR helps overseas players develop as much as our own, whilst also inhibiting the development of our replacement provincial players by not being around in the domestic comp. So either pay them more to play both levels for NZ teams, or simply block them from going to Japan when it clashes with the NPC. Again, these guys put bums on seats while contributing to player development.
The Japanese Top League has been moved to the first half of the year, so maybe players won't leave for Japan anymore during the NPC season? Anyway, NZR doesn't have the money to pay the more experienced players more, and if you'd stop them from increasing their income via short-term stints overseas, you'd lose them for SR as well. I think the priority should be to keep them in NZ for as long as possible, so I'd be against stopping them from going for short-term stints, even if they miss NPC. I don't like it, but I'd rather have them in SR, than lose them completely.
Add some fucking hype.
Yes. You lost me with rest of that paragraph.
It's a decent point about the larger AB squad taking out more guys from the latter games if the NPC raged on into November. Less so re the Maori squad as that's not annual. But yeah, this might defeat the intent of the later finish. We only need 3-4 more weeks in order to create a full round robin and six team finals series though, so we could potentially finish at labour weekend still (Sunday final for mine if on labour weekend) if we lessen the gap between SR and the NPC and/or throw in a couple of storm weeks (the players love them as they can play more and train less).
The Top League has only been moved this season due to the RWC hasn't it? So that point may be moot and the problem returns in 2020. I think we need to draw a line in the sand and if a mid tier player wants to chase the money then let him go. I'm not into a bunch of guys being paid by NZ to play SR but not contributing at the next level down. The benefit they offer at SR level may be outweighed by the money being thrown at them despite not playing NPC.
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@Yeetyaah said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
Add some fucking hype.
All you had to say. I agree. From the teams, from the broadcasters, from the players.
I'd love to see two really good 'support shows'. One along the lines of the Matty Johns shows and if we don't have footy players who are creative enough to come up with the comedic content then hire Jono and Ben as the Fletch and Hindy types with a footy side kick, and a footy host. Chuck in some eye candy and funny segments.
Then a 360 style show. Really good analysis and some challenging of the establishment which has always been sorely missed.
The shows we do have are all in between these two in genre and just not good enough at what they do. They're all similar and a bit mundane.
There's got to be some kind of glamour applied to our footy scene. I mean a lot of the players must have enviable lifestyles, so show this as it creates star profiles and creates hype. I don't wana see George Bridge, Mitch Hunt and Mitch Drummond do their weekly shop at Fresh Choice Merivale for spag bol ingredients but people may want to see a cool car or some fresh gear and a cafe lifestyle, that kinda thing. Put them on a pedestal to a degree, show some of the trappings of being a well paid, possibly trendy 25 year old rugby player FFS. HYPE.
Better music, graphics and ads around the coverage would help. I never see an ad hyping up a particular game. All you see are 15 second basic voice-overs telling us what this weekends' games are. Wow.
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@shark said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
It's a decent point about the larger AB squad taking out more guys from the latter games if the NPC raged on into November. Less so re the Maori squad as that's not annual. But yeah, this might defeat the intent of the later finish. We only need 3-4 more weeks in order to create a full round robin and six team finals series though, so we could potentially finish at labour weekend still (Sunday final for mine if on labour weekend) if we lessen the gap between SR and the NPC and/or throw in a couple of storm weeks (the players love them as they can play more and train less).
Most unions don't want the club rugby season to clash with NPC rugby, which means you can't start the NPC much earlier than it is now. If the provinces are removing their best players from club finals it doesn't say much about the importance of their club rugby. I know that already happens for pre-season games.
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The current timing makes a lot of sense - Club and Super overlap because there's not much overlap in player base, while Club building into NPC is the obvious pathway, and Super players who don't make international rugby can still get a game or 3 at a decent level to be ready for next year and any late call-ups.
International rugby obviously has to take precedence but NPC is better than Super if there must be a clash.
I'm also not sure that the answer to common concerns around player welfare caused by too much first class rugby is even more first class rugby.
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@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
We've talked about this quite a lot this season amoungst our season ticket group.
Essentially we have 7 season tickets in a group, most NPC games only 3 or 4 of us show up and it's bloody hard to give away the seats.
I reckon all NPC games should be held on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, I doubt it's going to make a huge difference to the numbers watching on TV if you play 2 games at the same time. Afternoon rugby is a far better schedule and better for those with young families.
I agree with that in-principle and it worked well back in the day for the VFL/AFL here in OZ with all games on Saturday and the one live TV match was built as the “match of the round”. Crowds were excellent and it did build the foundations of the great tribalism that footy has.
But if the comp is heavily reliant on TV money to survive then the TV stations are going to want as much content as possible and being able to advertise ‘Live’ content is all part of their marketing strategy.
What difference that makes for viewers is arguable, but if they are forking out big coin they will want it accessible as possible.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
We've talked about this quite a lot this season amoungst our season ticket group.
Essentially we have 7 season tickets in a group, most NPC games only 3 or 4 of us show up and it's bloody hard to give away the seats.
I reckon all NPC games should be held on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, I doubt it's going to make a huge difference to the numbers watching on TV if you play 2 games at the same time. Afternoon rugby is a far better schedule and better for those with young families.
I agree with that in-principle and it worked well back in the day for the VFL/AFL here in OZ with all games on Saturday and the one live TV match was built as the “match of the round”. Crowds were excellent and it did build the foundations of the great tribalism that footy has.
But if the comp is heavily reliant on TV money to survive then the TV stations are going to want as much content as possible and being able to advertise ‘Live’ content is all part of their marketing strategy.
What difference that makes for viewers is arguable, but if they are forking out big coin they will want it accessible as possible.
Eek, no way that would work ... do people not remember pre-pro rugby and the one game a week on TV One. Although I do understand where you're coming from.
Also, haven't we been bemoaning the lack of crowds in the NPC for about the past 10 years. Most teams now work within the limitations of the competition (lower crowds. x share of the tv money) and budget accordingly. If we can ensure all teams break even (hopefully) and NZR are happy for the comp itself to run at a loss (assuming it does) and is propped up by the ABs and Super then I don't see an issue with that. It's a cost of the business (the business being NZ rugby as a whole).
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@rotated said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
Ta$man were also part of that cull, but to their credit they got their act together - although a large part of their failure at that point was due to being used as a contract holding pen for the Crusaders - the changes to the Super catchment system fixed that.
As I recall, the thing that mainly put Ta$man into the red was the NZRU's requirements for ground upgrades.
Though I heard some hair-raising stories about fringe players being contracted for hefty payments and some horribly optimistic revenues being budgeted. Much of which was laid at Lee Germon's door- fairly or not.
I read somewhere that Ta$man is currently making a lot of money from it's high performance academy/programmes, though I'm not sure how or who is paying.
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@Snowy said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@rotated said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
a birth in top flight provincial rugby
Luka?
I thought he was going to be named after David?
#Coat
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@Nepia said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
We've talked about this quite a lot this season amoungst our season ticket group.
Essentially we have 7 season tickets in a group, most NPC games only 3 or 4 of us show up and it's bloody hard to give away the seats.
I reckon all NPC games should be held on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, I doubt it's going to make a huge difference to the numbers watching on TV if you play 2 games at the same time. Afternoon rugby is a far better schedule and better for those with young families.
I agree with that in-principle and it worked well back in the day for the VFL/AFL here in OZ with all games on Saturday and the one live TV match was built as the “match of the round”. Crowds were excellent and it did build the foundations of the great tribalism that footy has.
But if the comp is heavily reliant on TV money to survive then the TV stations are going to want as much content as possible and being able to advertise ‘Live’ content is all part of their marketing strategy.
What difference that makes for viewers is arguable, but if they are forking out big coin they will want it accessible as possible.
Eek, no way that would work ... do people not remember pre-pro rugby and the one game a week on TV One. Although I do understand where you're coming from.
Also, haven't we been bemoaning the lack of crowds in the NPC for about the past 10 years. Most teams now work within the limitations of the competition (lower crowds. x share of the tv money) and budget accordingly. If we can ensure all teams break even (hopefully) and NZR are happy for the comp itself to run at a loss (assuming it does) and is propped up by the ABs and Super then I don't see an issue with that. It's a cost of the business (the business being NZ rugby as a whole).
I don’t think anyone is seriously suggesting to going back to that, but if crowd numbers are to be improved then the time of game and what day it is on are massive factors. Thursday and Friday nights at 7:30 doesn’t really work for young families. The Friday night games probably don’t attract young adults either.
I’d be really interested in how many 15-30 year old kiwis support a provincial side let alone go to a game. That’s the next generation of watcher that these unions need.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@Nepia said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
We've talked about this quite a lot this season amoungst our season ticket group.
Essentially we have 7 season tickets in a group, most NPC games only 3 or 4 of us show up and it's bloody hard to give away the seats.
I reckon all NPC games should be held on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, I doubt it's going to make a huge difference to the numbers watching on TV if you play 2 games at the same time. Afternoon rugby is a far better schedule and better for those with young families.
I agree with that in-principle and it worked well back in the day for the VFL/AFL here in OZ with all games on Saturday and the one live TV match was built as the “match of the round”. Crowds were excellent and it did build the foundations of the great tribalism that footy has.
But if the comp is heavily reliant on TV money to survive then the TV stations are going to want as much content as possible and being able to advertise ‘Live’ content is all part of their marketing strategy.
What difference that makes for viewers is arguable, but if they are forking out big coin they will want it accessible as possible.
Eek, no way that would work ... do people not remember pre-pro rugby and the one game a week on TV One. Although I do understand where you're coming from.
Also, haven't we been bemoaning the lack of crowds in the NPC for about the past 10 years. Most teams now work within the limitations of the competition (lower crowds. x share of the tv money) and budget accordingly. If we can ensure all teams break even (hopefully) and NZR are happy for the comp itself to run at a loss (assuming it does) and is propped up by the ABs and Super then I don't see an issue with that. It's a cost of the business (the business being NZ rugby as a whole).
I don’t think anyone is seriously suggesting to going back to that, but if crowd numbers are to be improved then the time of game and what day it is on are massive factors. Thursday and Friday nights at 7:30 doesn’t really work for young families. The Friday night games probably don’t attract young adults either.
I’d be really interested in how many 15-30 year old kiwis support a provincial side let alone go to a game. That’s the next generation of watcher that these unions need.
My 17 and 19 year old nieces go to games quite often. That's balanced out by the fact they go to Manawatu games.
I guess the unions would prefer Saturday and Sunday matches whereas TV want them spread out for viewership reasons - well and guys like me want them spread out too so I can watch as many during the week (as long as those nimrods at Fox play them all).
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@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
I’d be really interested in how many 15-30 year old kiwis support a provincial side let alone go to a game. That’s the next generation of watcher that these unions need.
Me and the Mrs and my mate frequently go to Waikato games, only missed the last one. We're 24 & 25.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@Nepia said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
We've talked about this quite a lot this season amoungst our season ticket group.
Essentially we have 7 season tickets in a group, most NPC games only 3 or 4 of us show up and it's bloody hard to give away the seats.
I reckon all NPC games should be held on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, I doubt it's going to make a huge difference to the numbers watching on TV if you play 2 games at the same time. Afternoon rugby is a far better schedule and better for those with young families.
I agree with that in-principle and it worked well back in the day for the VFL/AFL here in OZ with all games on Saturday and the one live TV match was built as the “match of the round”. Crowds were excellent and it did build the foundations of the great tribalism that footy has.
But if the comp is heavily reliant on TV money to survive then the TV stations are going to want as much content as possible and being able to advertise ‘Live’ content is all part of their marketing strategy.
What difference that makes for viewers is arguable, but if they are forking out big coin they will want it accessible as possible.
Eek, no way that would work ... do people not remember pre-pro rugby and the one game a week on TV One. Although I do understand where you're coming from.
Also, haven't we been bemoaning the lack of crowds in the NPC for about the past 10 years. Most teams now work within the limitations of the competition (lower crowds. x share of the tv money) and budget accordingly. If we can ensure all teams break even (hopefully) and NZR are happy for the comp itself to run at a loss (assuming it does) and is propped up by the ABs and Super then I don't see an issue with that. It's a cost of the business (the business being NZ rugby as a whole).
I’d be really interested in how many 15-30 year old kiwis support a provincial side let alone go to a game. That’s the next generation of watcher that these unions need.
Every week I send round an email at work (40 staff, half of which are in the 22-30 age bracket) offering up our spare tickets for the games.
Not once this season has anyone taken up my offer.
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@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@Nepia said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
We've talked about this quite a lot this season amoungst our season ticket group.
Essentially we have 7 season tickets in a group, most NPC games only 3 or 4 of us show up and it's bloody hard to give away the seats.
I reckon all NPC games should be held on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, I doubt it's going to make a huge difference to the numbers watching on TV if you play 2 games at the same time. Afternoon rugby is a far better schedule and better for those with young families.
I agree with that in-principle and it worked well back in the day for the VFL/AFL here in OZ with all games on Saturday and the one live TV match was built as the “match of the round”. Crowds were excellent and it did build the foundations of the great tribalism that footy has.
But if the comp is heavily reliant on TV money to survive then the TV stations are going to want as much content as possible and being able to advertise ‘Live’ content is all part of their marketing strategy.
What difference that makes for viewers is arguable, but if they are forking out big coin they will want it accessible as possible.
Eek, no way that would work ... do people not remember pre-pro rugby and the one game a week on TV One. Although I do understand where you're coming from.
Also, haven't we been bemoaning the lack of crowds in the NPC for about the past 10 years. Most teams now work within the limitations of the competition (lower crowds. x share of the tv money) and budget accordingly. If we can ensure all teams break even (hopefully) and NZR are happy for the comp itself to run at a loss (assuming it does) and is propped up by the ABs and Super then I don't see an issue with that. It's a cost of the business (the business being NZ rugby as a whole).
I’d be really interested in how many 15-30 year old kiwis support a provincial side let alone go to a game. That’s the next generation of watcher that these unions need.
Every week I send round an email at work (40 staff, half of which are in the 22-30 age bracket) offering up our spare tickets for the games.
Not once this season has anyone taken up my offer.
Would that be more because of the Crusaders success? I expect you will have a few at home for this weekends match. Do you have spare tickets this time? I would interested if they got snapped up at your work
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@Hooroo said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@Nepia said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
We've talked about this quite a lot this season amoungst our season ticket group.
Essentially we have 7 season tickets in a group, most NPC games only 3 or 4 of us show up and it's bloody hard to give away the seats.
I reckon all NPC games should be held on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, I doubt it's going to make a huge difference to the numbers watching on TV if you play 2 games at the same time. Afternoon rugby is a far better schedule and better for those with young families.
I agree with that in-principle and it worked well back in the day for the VFL/AFL here in OZ with all games on Saturday and the one live TV match was built as the “match of the round”. Crowds were excellent and it did build the foundations of the great tribalism that footy has.
But if the comp is heavily reliant on TV money to survive then the TV stations are going to want as much content as possible and being able to advertise ‘Live’ content is all part of their marketing strategy.
What difference that makes for viewers is arguable, but if they are forking out big coin they will want it accessible as possible.
Eek, no way that would work ... do people not remember pre-pro rugby and the one game a week on TV One. Although I do understand where you're coming from.
Also, haven't we been bemoaning the lack of crowds in the NPC for about the past 10 years. Most teams now work within the limitations of the competition (lower crowds. x share of the tv money) and budget accordingly. If we can ensure all teams break even (hopefully) and NZR are happy for the comp itself to run at a loss (assuming it does) and is propped up by the ABs and Super then I don't see an issue with that. It's a cost of the business (the business being NZ rugby as a whole).
I’d be really interested in how many 15-30 year old kiwis support a provincial side let alone go to a game. That’s the next generation of watcher that these unions need.
Every week I send round an email at work (40 staff, half of which are in the 22-30 age bracket) offering up our spare tickets for the games.
Not once this season has anyone taken up my offer.
Would that be more because of the Crusaders success? I expect you will have a few at home for this weekends match. Do you have spare tickets this time? I would interested if they got snapped up at your work
Yeah Crusaders ticlets are pretty easy to give away.
Will have some spares for the weekend, I'll let you know how I get on.
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@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@Hooroo said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@Nepia said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
@SammyC said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
We've talked about this quite a lot this season amoungst our season ticket group.
Essentially we have 7 season tickets in a group, most NPC games only 3 or 4 of us show up and it's bloody hard to give away the seats.
I reckon all NPC games should be held on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, I doubt it's going to make a huge difference to the numbers watching on TV if you play 2 games at the same time. Afternoon rugby is a far better schedule and better for those with young families.
I agree with that in-principle and it worked well back in the day for the VFL/AFL here in OZ with all games on Saturday and the one live TV match was built as the “match of the round”. Crowds were excellent and it did build the foundations of the great tribalism that footy has.
But if the comp is heavily reliant on TV money to survive then the TV stations are going to want as much content as possible and being able to advertise ‘Live’ content is all part of their marketing strategy.
What difference that makes for viewers is arguable, but if they are forking out big coin they will want it accessible as possible.
Eek, no way that would work ... do people not remember pre-pro rugby and the one game a week on TV One. Although I do understand where you're coming from.
Also, haven't we been bemoaning the lack of crowds in the NPC for about the past 10 years. Most teams now work within the limitations of the competition (lower crowds. x share of the tv money) and budget accordingly. If we can ensure all teams break even (hopefully) and NZR are happy for the comp itself to run at a loss (assuming it does) and is propped up by the ABs and Super then I don't see an issue with that. It's a cost of the business (the business being NZ rugby as a whole).
I’d be really interested in how many 15-30 year old kiwis support a provincial side let alone go to a game. That’s the next generation of watcher that these unions need.
Every week I send round an email at work (40 staff, half of which are in the 22-30 age bracket) offering up our spare tickets for the games.
Not once this season has anyone taken up my offer.
Would that be more because of the Crusaders success? I expect you will have a few at home for this weekends match. Do you have spare tickets this time? I would interested if they got snapped up at your work
Yeah Crusaders ticlets are pretty easy to give away.
Will have some spares for the weekend, I'll let you know how I get on.
Yeah nice. I hope you get to give them all away
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@ACT-Crusader said in Mitre 10 Cup Attendance:
I’d be really interested in how many 15-30 year old kiwis support a provincial side let alone go to a game.
They're the people who spend most of the time walking up and down the aisles annoying the rest of us.
