KOB1987
John Eales (66)
The reason I find these numbers disappointing is twofold:
Firstly, Oz rugby fans are acutely aware due to political Shit fight that ended with Castle getting axed, and the players having pay cuts that the game is in absolute dire straits - this has all come about after the Super Rugby has its initial start -
Secondly, Oz rugby fans have (like other sports fans) been starved of live sport - and live rugby in particular. Fans from other sports responded to the return of games with huge ratings numbers.
It appears nothing can motivate the Australian rugby community to return to Watching the game - or at least paying to watch the game.
If the two biggest rugby states can only pull 69k after all that has happen. well I don’t think we can expect to see numbers above that any time soon.
I would have thought 100k would have been reasonable after all that has happened and considering how other sports fans have reacted.
It's not really that simple though, people have become used to doing other things. Remember that the NRL was the first sport (outside horse racing) to return to our screens, and the May 28th kick off date was hyped for an age:
Nine can thank Peter V’landys (the horse racing guy) for pushing hard for the return of NRL as the reduced rights deal was only revealed moments before the first returning match. The match did 535,000 in Sydney and Brisbane. Add in Gem and the number climbs to 619,000, but there seems to have been a modest hunger only for the returning sport in non-NRL markets.