BWitcher

Yeah I understand, just think it's easier to organise such a thing when the team is struggling.

And if Dortmund were riding high and challenging for the Bundesliga like they were in the not too distant past do you think they would be boycotting?

No, because it is impossible to prove. I know of a number of people who have started attending the sport since TV coverage came in. What I will say is that the way the tv coverage has been used has not been anywhere near as beneficial to the sport as it should have been in terms of attracting new fans. It's not TV coverage itself that is the problem, simply the way it has been used.

A very small minority.

Baffling you say, yet the evidence is already there from the thousands who drifted away prior to TV coverage and were quite simply lost. It really isn't rocket science. If the customer was happy with the product they wouldn't be deciding to skip it to watch another team on TV instead. TV is just providing them with the excuse to break that 'habit'. It is also keeping that waning interest alive so they do attend some matches still. Without TV they'd have continued attending regularly for a little longer but those underlying issues would still have been there and the more regular exposure to them would have eventually caused them to stop entirely.. and with nothing on TV to rekindle the flame, they are lost to the sport. As said, the first thing people say as a reason for not buying something is very often not the real reason.

Actually I do. Fortunately TV has kept the interest of these people for a longer period so they still attend occasionally. Without TV the actual issues that have caused them to skip meetings and watch 'other' clubs on TV would have simply meant they stopped going to the sport altogether. TV is the tip of the iceberg you can see, it's not what sinks the ship. Dig deeper and you'll find the real reasons.

FA Cup crowds have been way down for a long time, regardless of TV.

No, I just know about general human nature. TV may have given them an excuse to stop going, but the reasons they stopped going lie elsewhere. Those reasons would have stopped them going altogether at some point.. tv is simply keeping their interest alive.

Not proof at all, highly likely they wouldn't be going as much anyway. Simple iceberg theory.

Yes I know, but the claim was that TV was causing the crowds to fall..

They were falling long before TV came along.

Not all, but it would some. The sheep factor.

Is that really surprising?

Quite simply week after week it was broadcast in front of a minimal, atmosphere-less crowd.

And it is blindingly obvious the reasons why. Nothing to do with 'on track action' either.

If this was true.. which I highly doubt, that's one company.. there are thousands!

Are there no ends to your nonsense?

Second halves are a complete and utter waste of time. You are arguing from the point of view of us old time fans who used to love watching every single race, even riders practicing gave us a thrill. Those days are gone, there is a new breed of supporter out there and they're not interested in practice races, exhibition races. I'm like you, I never used to leave, I would always stay for 2nd halves, whatever the 2nd half may have been and then riders practicing after that. They were great days, but they're not going to get anyone back in through the door.

The problem is most sports have this natural loss of fans, even football. I know of many, many folk who were season ticket holders or regular attenders to football but now don't go, or very infrequently go. However, the difference is, other sports, again especially football have a consistent flow of new supporters. Of course that is mostly down to media coverage. The sport isn't going to recover by aiming to get 'back' those lost fans.. it has to learn how to attract new fans and keep them. Unfortunately it is still such a long way behind in it's approach. Still trying to shun a tv deal that they had finally figured out how to use in a positive fashion (i.e. ensuring there is a decent crowd). Somehow being unable to find a sponsor for the TV coverage?? Seriously, how is that possible?ANYTHING is better than nothing. "Premiership Speedway brought to you by.." at the start and end of each advert break. Once one company has that, others will show an interest and bid a bit more to get it. Asking stupid prices from the off and ending up with nothing.. where oh where is the benefit in that?

Completely agree. Especially on cold nights, the last thing you want is the meeting being dragged out and then the words "10 minute interval".

It never ever ceases to amaze me how some spend so much time posting about something they day after day say they no longer have any interest in. ANYONE, who in a time when the major complaint is the sport doesn't give value for money, thinks reducing the match by two heats is a viable idea has seriously got a screw loose.

In the past. That is the whole point. The sport is still stuck in THE PAST. Reduce the main meeting by 2 more heats and you may as well shut the gates now. Folk aren't gullible now and won't be interested in 2nd halves.

It doesn't tell part of the story, it tells the whole story. It is simply bona fide fact that the more teams there are in a league, the more perceived 'star' riders there will be. I agree with most of your post but that is just the ebb and flow of individual riders careers and nothing to do with the original point.

As already explained, they had healthy averages because there were more teams., bonus pts were included and the bottom end of sides was poor. This is so easily evidenced when the leagues merged in 1995. Top flight riders who averaged around 6 suddenly jumped to 8.5-9pt riders. Now imagine they had ridden in a league of that size all their careers, they'd be looked back on as near 'stars'. As it is, they didn't, so they are looked back on as middle of the road journeyman. Same rider, same ability.

Some fair points here. As I've explained previously, two main reasons for this. One: Size of the league. The bigger the league, the more 'heat leaders' there are. Two: Heat format. Back in the 70's and early 80's the big guns didn't meet that often. That meant they lost less, their averages were higher and there were far more of them with that 'superstar' appeal. I'm not knocking that, it's a good thing and makes it easy to promote. Although would I advocate a switch back to a 13 heat format and the big guns racing each other less, not sure I would, that wouldn't improve the racing either.