NRC Crowd Watch

[kiap]

Reported crowd for Qld Country vs NSW Country:

NSW Country scored five tries to Queensland Country’s two to claim the win, despite a spirited second half performance from the Queensland side in front of near 2000 fans at Bond University Rugby Club.

http://www.redsrugby.com.au/Article...nsland-Country-fall-short-of-NSW-Country.aspx

 

[TOCC]

Rd 1
Brisbane vs Sydney - 3'408
Canberra vs Perth - 1'500
NSW Country vs Rams - 1'000
Melbourne vs North Harbour - 2'187

Rd 2 running average

Rams vs Vikings - 1'200
QLD Country vs NSW Country -1'800

still to go
Spirit vs City-
Stars vs Rising -

 

[kiap]

Rd 2 running average

Rams vs Vikings - 1'200
QLD Country vs NSW Country -1'800

Boo0ooo. Where'd you get the 1'800 estimate?

And why are we using apostrophes for the thousands separator?

Does it mean these are 'alleged' figures and therefore rubbery?

 

[TOCC]

Well QLD Country estimated 1,200 on twitter but the Reds article stated 'near 2000 fans' so I'm assuming it was somewhere in between.

 

[kiap]

No worries. Thought you may have found another reported estimate.

It was free entry so it's going to be a bit rubbery anyway. May as well pluck a ballpark number.

 

[Pass it to Dunning!]

1005 at the Stars game.
Numbers are well below what they were for the ARC in 2007 in the opening rounds. What's so different this time around that is keeping crowds away?

 

[Braveheart81]

There's probably been less money spent promoting it.

The bulk of the promotion this time around has been via social media.

Rugby crowds in general in Australia would also be down on where they were in 2007 I would surmise.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

1005 at the Stars game.
Numbers are well below what they were for the ARC in 2007 in the opening rounds. What's so different this time around that is keeping crowds away?

Really poor promotion and very little visiblity. I am still coming across people who are regular Super Rugby watchers but are unaware that it has started. The ARU and State Unions need to really push hard in their promotion via their mailing lists and clubs. Offer deals. Free entry for kids etc.

 

[Braveheart81]

Let's not forget that they spent a lot of money promoting the 2007 ARC and it was a financial basket case.

The approach this year seems far more pragmatic. There's not much point doubling the size of the crowd if it costs you more money to achieve that than you gain at the gate.

 

[Omar Comin']

The painting of the ARC as a 'financial basket case' is rubbish because it was never supposed to come close to breaking even in the first season. It was an investment in the game and I think it would have paid off in the long run had club land not got their way.

The biggest difference in terms of expenses were 1) having to pay for it to be broadcast, and 2) relocating an entire team to Melbourne. That's a $2 million+ swing right there.

Anyway, the problem for the NRC IMO is that not many people know about it, and a lot of the people that do perceive it as a pure development competition. Consistently calling this the 'third tier' is not a good thing for promoting the competition to fans. Why any organisation would intentionally associate any sort of product with the term 'third tier' is beyond me. Especially as the reality is it's more of a domestic extension of super rugby anyway. I mean technically the NRL is the third highest level of rugby league, but you don't hear anyone calling it the third tier.

Maybe when the NRL season finishes it might be worth doing a bit more promotion.

 

[Braveheart81]

The painting of the ARC as a 'financial basket case' is rubbish because it was never supposed to come close to breaking even in the first season. It was an investment in the game and I think it would have paid off in the long run had club land not got their way.

The biggest difference in terms of expenses were 1) having to pay for it to be broadcast, and 2) relocating an entire team to Melbourne. That's a $2 million+ swing right there.

What part of the $4.7m loss wasn't a financial basket case?

They went way too hard too early and there was no rational way they could have continued in anything like the way they started.

The approach this time around seems far more prudent.

The biggest goal for this year is to make sure there's an NRC next year.

 

[TOCC]

Rd 2 running average

Rams vs Vikings - 1'200
QLD Country vs NSW Country -1'800
Stars vs Rising - 1'002
Spirit vs Brisbane - ?

Perth Spirit apparently pulled the largest crowd of the NRC so far, does anyone have a figure?

 

[Pfitzy]

Just tweeted them to ask.

 

[Lorenzo]

I'd guess if Wilkinson was playing in the NRC Fox Sports would broadcast most or all the matches involving his team, in addition to others.

The only way all the matches will be on TV is if there's an increase in interest. And how does that get created when the competition is virtually invisible? It needs names. You watch what happens when Quade Cooper returns or if Karmichael Hunt plays, or if Izzy ever plays a match for the Stars.

The NRC product is pretty good. The challenge is getting more people to give it a shot and then turn them into fans of a team.

This is going to be a long road. There's no need to bust a nut on the $ front yet, either for the ARU, anyone else footing the bills or Fox Sports.

The goal this season should be to improve the ratings over the course of the season. There should be measurably and appreciably more people watching in the last 2 weeks than there were in weeks 2 and 3. I doubt ground attendance will ever be enough to create TV atmosphere but that doesn't matter anyway.

 

[Omar Comin']

What part of the $4.7m loss wasn't a financial basket case?

They went way too hard too early and there was no rational way they could have continued in anything like the way they started.

The approach this time around seems far more prudent.

The biggest goal for this year is to make sure there's an NRC next year.

It's more accurate to say the loss was about $2 million more than forecast. And the next years loss was going to be significantly less. Perhaps by year 3 or 4 it would have broken even.

At the time the ARU had money too.

It's not really ideal to start this competition now needing it to just about break even from day 1. If the ARU had a huge surplus of cash you can be sure Pulver would be spending more on promoting it. How a competition like this begins does a lot to effect how it's perceived longer term, and that can be difficult to change.

 

[Pfitzy]

Just tweeted them to ask.

Perth Spirit twitter reports 2300

 

[Braveheart81]

It's more accurate to say the loss was about $2 million more than forecast. And the next years loss was going to be significantly less. Perhaps by year 3 or 4 it would have broken even.

At the time the ARU had money too.

It's not really ideal to start this competition now needing it to just about break even from day 1. If the ARU had a huge surplus of cash you can be sure Pulver would be spending more on promoting it. How a competition like this begins does a lot to effect how it's perceived longer term, and that can be difficult to change.

Seriously?

What competition has started big and then contracted to a sustainable level? The competitions that are run well beyond their means are invariably cancelled due to being unsustainable, including the original ARC.

The prudent thing to do is start small and grow from there which is exactly what the NRC is trying to do.

In terms of things being difficult to change, it is far more difficult to decrease costs than increase them as finances allow.

 

[TOCC]

So not quite an NRC record for Perth but still a pretty decent crowd.

Rd 1
Brisbane vs Sydney - 3'408
Canberra vs Perth - 1'500
NSW Country vs Rams - 1'000
Melbourne vs North Harbour - 2'187
Total: 8'000

Rd 2
Rams vs Vikings - 1'200
QLD Country vs NSW Country -1'800
Stars vs Rising - 1'002
Spirit vs Brisbane - 2'300
Total: 6'300

 

[RugbyReg]

You'd have to expect a good crowd at Ballymore this weekend for Brisbane v Melbourne. Arvo footy.

 

[Wilson]

You'd have to expect a good crowd at Ballymore this weekend for Brisbane v Melbourne. Arvo footy.

And 1 vs 3 on the table, hopefully Kerevi and Gill will be fit, should be a cracker.