Wise up people, this is speedway. If it has a chance to do something stupid and make its self look even more daft, it makes the most of that chance everytime. As a punter the only thing I can do is stop handing my cash over.
Being on tv may not have affected crowd levels in general, but no one really knows for sure. What is sure though is they certainly haven't gone up since being on tv. I know of a few people that don't go as much now as they can watch it on tv.
In world superbikes last year they actually allowed the bikes to be louder, as when they cut the decibel level it lost some of what makes bikes racing. Its now louder than ever, and the fans watching live get a better experience. Nothing beats the sound of an inline 4 or a twin at 15,000 revs .