Would Crowds Increase If Speedway Was Not On Television

[Hunty]

Take SKY away and you take the money away which basically means the better riders will leave and the quality of speedway will be lower which wont be as intresting as a result the crowds will not INCREASE they will DECREASE!

 

At first armchair supporters may go back to local tracks but it loosing SKY (unless the BSPA sort it out) will make speedway even more obscure and less people will know about it!

 

One more point, British Final and other events like this the attendances might rise however!

Edited February 8, 2013 by Hunty

[Martin Merritt]

Long time lurker, first time poster. First of all i'd like to say well done to the O.P. for the most sensible post in what seems like ages.

 

Following a 15 year hiatus i have recently started watching speedway at my nearest tracks, this is mainly due to the fact i am too tight to pay 50 quid a month for what amounts to a few hours of the same riders all riding round the same tracks.

 

Surely i can't be the only one who has recently re-awoken to the speedway bug, what they need to do is bottle the smell and release it in a town centre or 2!

[adz_mft]

Personally, I'd rather see a highlight review show once a week,showing the best races from around the country from all 3 leagues.Rather this than sitting there watching a meeting where everything is won from the gate.I always end up turning the tv off if I'm honest before the meeting has ended.Would imagine anyone catching it by the off chance would do this also.By showing the best races it will get people more interested imo.

They can show full meetings when the meeting itself is a big one (playoffs or riders championships)

[Chris Brown]

I think Saturday night clubs could well benefit from the GPs not being on TV, but overall, if speedway is not shown on at all then I think this will have an overall detrimental affect on crowds in the medium to long term.

 

Not sure about GPs not being televised having an impact, not sure they will. No EL certainly will because the brain dead promoters will simply up the admission price to cover the £100k they lose through TV revenue, therefore making the sport more expensive than it already is

 

People will want something in return and the point made about grotty stadiums, poos presentation et al all contribute to this

[SteveLyric2]

Not sure about GPs not being televised having an impact, not sure they will. No EL certainly will because the brain dead promoters will simply up the admission price to cover the £100k they lose through TV revenue, therefore making the sport more expensive than it already is

 

People will want something in return and the point made about grotty stadiums, poos presentation et al all contribute to this

 

I always turn my nose up at 'poos presentation'!!

 

or

 

The stadium must be really crappy for the presentation to be that poos!!

Edited February 9, 2013 by Skidder1

[Chris Brown]

I always turn my nose up at 'poos presentation'!!

 

or

 

The stadium must be really crappy for the presentation to be that poos!!

 

Whoops, the R is not even next to the S on the keyboard

 

You get the point though

[Mixy230]

What a fantastic interesting question!

People who want to watch Speedway have to go to a live meeting so potentialy a bigger crowd and more gate money.

V,s

Less/No Sky revenue

Maybe less sponsorship for the teams & riders (Less or no TV exposure)

 

Who knows the answer until it happens and we have the hard proof.

 

But I expect the answer to still be fewer spectators until the promotors / tracks bring the sport into the modern age.

Clean toilets!

Some paint!

More modern music / sound system!

Decent food & drinks!

Less time wasted (Youngsters are used to non stop action, they do not want to wait around between races) neither do I realy but that is what I am used to!

Proper promotion, making each meeting an event!

Reasonable competitive pricing!

Some excitement!

 

Had a bad nights sleep so a little grumpy today! ha ha

 

M

[MattK]

Assuming around 100,000 people watch the GPs on Sky and about 40,000 people attend a meeting in any given week, that leaves 60,000 "potential" customers who could be tapped-up by British clubs to actually attend a meeting, if the GPs are not on Sky.

[Backless]

If the crowds would supposedly go up without tv exposure, why not go further & stop advertising, publications, newspaper reports & websites. After all, Freemasonry attracts decent numbers.

 

Saying that TV detracts from attendance is reminiscent of the pork butchers & builders that used to own football clubs in this country.

Sixty years out of date - like the stadiums. THAT'S where the problem lies.

 

The fact is that in 2013, no one is going to spend money travelling & paying admission to a hole in the ground.

Some dog tracks are just about okay - because they've had money spent on them.

One or two other stadiums are okay too but there's a hell of a lot that you wouldn't venture into wearing a decent pair of shoes.

 

Showing them on television is where television damages attendances.

[Roger Jacobs]

Assuming around 100,000 people watch the GPs on Sky and about 40,000 people attend a meeting in any given week, that leaves 60,000 "potential" customers who could be tapped-up by British clubs to actually attend a meeting, if the GPs are not on Sky.

 

I have always said that more people physically attend the Cardiff GP than the sum total of one week's fixtures for all EL, PL & NL clubs.

 

I know several former fans who watch speedway on TV who have no intention of going to live racing again - or maybe once a season, e.g. Good Friday at Foxhall.

 

If former fans aren't attracted back, why would new fans want to go - especially when they watch the TV and see largely empty terraces/grass mounds and people in grubby Wulfsport anoraks.

Edited February 9, 2013 by Roger Jacobs

[foamfence]

Assuming around 100,000 people watch the GPs on Sky and about 40,000 people attend a meeting in any given week, that leaves 60,000 "potential" customers who could be tapped-up by British clubs to actually attend a meeting, if the GPs are not on Sky.

How do you know that those people would visit a track, could visit a track and would continue to do so when they see the state of most stadiums and the lack of spectators? Then there are the "let's just see what this is" viewers.

[MattK]

How do you know that those people would visit a track, could visit a track and would continue to do so when they see the state of most stadiums and the lack of spectators? Then there are the "let's just see what this is" viewers.

 

Well, that's why I said "potential" customers. I do find it surprising though that British speedway doesn't try to do more to convert the armchair fans into paying customers.

[BluPanther]

Domestic speedway is in a decline situation, i would like to think this will turn around, but i cant see that happening. The world has changed and not many kids have speedway on their radar, they would rather play with their gadgets and game stations. Presentation is so dreadful at some tracks, the meeting can become boring because of it. Why does it take over two hours to run 15 heats, its just not good enough and must be addressed.

[orion]

They certainlty would increase. Every single TV live match if not televised would have probably 1000 more people there. So 20 non TV matches, during a season, that would be 20,000 more people going. I used to go to all my teams home matches except when they were on TV live, and then I did not go.

Belle Vue should double the amount of people going there in 2014

Speedway has always been most successful when there has been no live speedway on Television.

 

How do you figure that out ? you really think that if Eastboure were not on tele they would some how get a 1000 extra fans in even thou they hardly get over a 1000 at a normal league match ?

 

As for your comment about speedway being successful where there has been no live speedway on tv, surely the only time that has happened is when sky were never showing it so intill it's not on tv again you can't really judge .

[HAMMER57]

Some really good points made on this topic and I agree with a lot of them.

 

But can i just say I was talking too a friend who has been heavily involved

in speedway for 40+ years and he also had some good points.

 

Many clubs cannot afford what some of the riders want and with out sky money

and some clubs losing sponsers we could end up with an amateur sport in a couple

of seasons.We already have many DUs and riders with jobs outside of speedway

riding in the EL.

But with no speedway on tv and very little in the press how do you bring in the

new younger fans? Only so many family and friends we can get too go.

 

I dont know the answer really wish i did

 

 

[oldtimer]

Things are only going to get worse regarding costs with the FIM's decision to allow the use of titanium throughout a speedway engine. Riders costs will rise to stay competitive, they will want more money, admission prices will rise, fans will stay at home, it's already too expensive for what you get.

[Mixy230]

Hammer57

"But with no speedway on tv and very little in the press how do you bring in the

new younger fans? Only so many family and friends we can get too go."

PROMOTION! The owners, bosses, managers must promote the sport.

 

If you cant afford tv adverts, radio adverts, news adverts etc etc They must do what other businesses do (Double glazing, pizza shops, curry houses, village shops)

They knock on doors, attend local shows, post fliers promo leaflets, offer prizes freebies, mailshots, visit schools, local business, shopping centres!

 

If people want their business to succeed nowadays they MUST get off of their a*** and work at it promoting it! If they do not the business dies.

 

M

[daveallan81]

Did crowds improve in the late 80's when the demise of World of Sport condemned speedway to the mainstream television bargain bucket? I seem to recall that it was seen as an issue of critical importance that the sport returned to our screens as soon as possible. The sport needed the exposure or it would slip from the public consciousness seemed to be the standard they lined up behind.

 

That in itself was a noble quest supported by everyone. This time around the starting gate has shifted however. The money involved now assumes the position of importance, jostling the public eye clause down the pecking order a touch.

 

So just how vital is Sky's involvement? Without raking around too much, I found a quote that one speedway deal cost Sky £3m over 5 years. That equates to 200,000 adults at £15 a time having to come through the turnstiles just to return to the position speedway finds itself in financially today, which even by the longest chalk could not be described as 'healthy'.

 

Let's break that down further: each track operating in Britain will have to increase it's gate by circa. 1400 per season. Over a 20 meeting season that's 70 folk per meeting. Perhaps foolishly I am assuming the Sky money filters down evenly through all 3 leagues but for the purpose of this post I'll play the fool. So, Sky are paying for the loss of 70 spectators per track per meeting, or give or take a nicker £1000 per meeting. A tidy sum I'm sure you'll agree.

 

Again without going too far into figures, if you take the money as going almost entirely to Elite League teams, losing that cash could equate to £4000 (260+ paying adults) a meeting over a 15 home meeting league season. The tidy sum now has the potential to be a fatal blow and I have serious reservations about clubs meeting those levels of shortfall.

[The White Knight]

Did crowds improve in the late 80's when the demise of World of Sport condemned speedway to the mainstream television bargain bucket? I seem to recall that it was seen as an issue of critical importance that the sport returned to our screens as soon as possible. The sport needed the exposure or it would slip from the public consciousness seemed to be the standard they lined up behind.

 

That in itself was a noble quest supported by everyone. This time around the starting gate has shifted however. The money involved now assumes the position of importance, jostling the public eye clause down the pecking order a touch.

 

So just how vital is Sky's involvement? Without raking around too much, I found a quote that one speedway deal cost Sky £3m over 5 years. That equates to 200,000 adults at £15 a time having to come through the turnstiles just to return to the position speedway finds itself in financially today, which even by the longest chalk could not be described as 'healthy'.

 

Let's break that down further: each track operating in Britain will have to increase it's gate by circa. 1400 per season. Over a 20 meeting season that's 70 folk per meeting. Perhaps foolishly I am assuming the Sky money filters down evenly through all 3 leagues but for the purpose of this post I'll play the fool. So, Sky are paying for the loss of 70 spectators per track per meeting, or give or take a nicker £1000 per meeting. A tidy sum I'm sure you'll agree.

 

Again without going too far into figures, if you take the money as going almost entirely to Elite League teams, losing that cash could equate to £4000 (260+ paying adults) a meeting over a 15 home meeting league season. The tidy sum now has the potential to be a fatal blow and I have serious reservations about clubs meeting those levels of shortfall.

 

As I understand it the SKY money stays in the Elite League with a little sweetener every now and again for the Premier League when one of their Meetings are shown.

[oldace]

Many clubs cannot afford what some of the riders want

 

My business can't afford what my staff want, neither can any other business in the land. Fortunately most business's pay a rate commensurate with the employees value to the company, rather than what the employee wants. Speedway seems to operate on a tail wagging the dog basis were riders dictate payscales

Edited February 10, 2013 by oldace