Trees Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 EL crowds at SKY meetings are embarrassing and we've been saying that for years, the promoters know that, did they not know that it is an issue to SKY???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 EL crowds at SKY meetings are embarrassing and we've been saying that for years, the promoters know that, did they not know that it is an issue to SKY???? Can`t be too big an issue-or SKY wouldn`t show county cricket matches. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur cross Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 Can`t be too big an issue-or SKY wouldn`t show county cricket matches. Sky put up with sparse crowds for county cricket for 3 reasons ... 1) either 40-over or 4-day cricket fill up even bigger lumps of their schedule during football's off season than any speedway meeting ... 2) they accept they have to show a certain amount of county games (& a few women's internationals) as part of the domestic deal that also includes what they really want to show like the home Ashes Tests ... this issue doesn't apply to speedway because any domestic deal can't include the separately-controlled SGP/SWC ... 3) some of those county games can be very useful for trying out new commentators, camera crew and production technology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim3751 Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 All this just beggars belief. It's just so simple, yet 14 years in they haven't grasped it. TV meetings should be at vastly reduced prices, even give away hundreds of free tickets. Pack the terraces. Make tv matches the ones to be AT not the ones to stay at home for. Very quickly you would find it a lot easier to attract sponsorship for tv meetings. A guaranteed big crowd in the stadium, a vibrant looking product being shown on tv. The sheep mentality would soon kick in, some of those sat watching at home will think they are missing out and look to go themselves... NOBODY is going to be attracted when they see one man and his dog watching the current meetings. I can remember a TV meeting at Lakeside when Poole were the visitors and because the entrance was £1 I even took my friend and his wife - and she has no interest in motorsport of any kind. But they loved it. The place was packed out like never before but it was only that one off experience. If SKY do pull out where will the publicity come from to attract the casual spectator who hasn't been for years? I knew someone who was interested in ice hockey but didn't even know it was played here anymore because he hadn't seen it on TV. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 And it's NO SURPRISE that they like the PL meetings because the promoters, fans and riders make the effort to do their jobs to the best of their ability instead of anything will do(ish) at EL level! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWitcher Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 And it's NO SURPRISE that they like the PL meetings because the promoters, fans and riders make the effort to do their jobs to the best of their ability instead of anything will do(ish) at EL level! To an extent.. and as they are only on a couple of times a year it's a novelty. Still poor in the overall scheme of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 If SKY do pull out, it may be a good thing. Someone mentions casual observers who haven't been to speedway for years but have been encouraged back, which must be a small number. Perhaps armchair regulars, ones who haven't been to speedway for years, possibly because it is on TV everyweek, and live as well, maybe they will realise absence makes the heart grow... and may be persuaded away from their warm seat at home and back to their local venue. When something is always there on tap, it makes it less attractive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 " When something is always there on tap, it makes it less attractive." Apart from one thing-and I can never find the tap 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manchesterpaul Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 (edited) Its known that SKY do not like empty stadiums. I recall a few years ago when I had a season ticket for Harlequins RL, it was SKY that insisted that everyone was housed in the stand opposite the camera so it at least made the stadium look a bit fuller The reason it didn't look busy at Peterborough was because there was nobody there ! nothing to do with camera angles.When we have to shove people together to make it look artificially better its a poor show.Maybe the BSPA could supply a truck load of mannequins to be rolled out at every Sky meeting just to create the desired illusion. It's not just speedway where TV broadcasters are keen to create an impression of LOTS of people being in attendance inferring something exciting or worth viewing is going on. NASCAR in the USA is concerned that despite attendances over 100,000 people will be put off watching or going to the sport because of the sight of empty seats in a 150,000 capacity stadium! I remember pointing out years ago when challenged as to why i was so concerned with attendance figures - it tends to be one of the first things i look for a mention of in Speedway Star or any match reports - and my point was that if on one side of a street you see a handful of people in a circle and on the other side a very large gathering it's human nature to go over to see what is creating all the interest/excitement/fun/entertainment etc on the busy side. "With billions of dollars guaranteed for NASCAR TV rights til 2020 and 2024, discussions have now surfaced of removing those empty grandstands at many Sprint Cup venues. On television, those empty seats look Bad - Bad with a capital B. We’ve seen those empty spaces disguised with sponsors banners, and broadcast networks have been very careful about not panning the spaces with their coverage. Don’t you think that those hollow canyons must have a psychological effect on fans in attendance. They must think, “Why did I come to this race?” But, getting back to the dismantling of those empty grandstands, most of the 1-1/2 mile tracks with about 150,000 seats will more than likely be the first to do it. In the event that ticket sales eventually do pick up, they can always be reassembled." Edited August 24, 2013 by manchesterpaul 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lioness Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 I suppose they could always follow the 'St Johnstone' route and try and paint fans on bits of wood to make the ground look fuller. If I remember rightly they even gave their fans a chance to pay to have one of the bits of wood done as a self portrait! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 Brilliant! Imagine a few Steve Shovlar's in the Poole grandstand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_martin Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 So its looks as if sky will be waving goodbye to planet speedway. What the hell happened to the money ? Somebody remind us all please...how much was the Sky Contract, and what percentage of it all went to Terry Russell's GoSpeed company as "commission"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grachan Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 Is Terry Russell still around to negotiate a Sky contract? I guess he's not as he's not so involved with speedway any more. If that's the case, then people can make as many snide comments about him as they like, but at least he got the job done and got the sport on TV. Is it just coincidence that when Terry Russell takes a back seat in speedway then the sport looks likely to get dropped by Sky? Or is he still involved with negotiating a new contract with the tv station? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 You'd hope that the BSPA could do that on their own now without Terry's help?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans fan Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 You'd hope that the BSPA could do that on their own now without Terry's help?! yep why should the bspa pay somebody else to do a deal for them and give him commision when they should be quite capable on there own , hopefully bt sport or some other tv station will take a interest in speedway THE comment I made was just my opinion. I don't think SKY would want to show anything but the best league; however, they were quite happy to drop the SGP/SWC which featured the World's best riders - apparently. I think they are - like many of us - fed up with the Sport which should promise so much and provide a great product to the viewer / fan. My view - and it is only that - is that if the BSPA can provide a plan for next year then it would go a long way in making SKY's mind up. As for crowd levels; SKY are aware that more fans would watch the match from home, but they are perhaps dissapointed that promoters don't make it cheaper - as others have suggested - to make it look more attractive on the TV. I have to applaud what Birmingham did recently, with £10 entry on SKY nights... I don't get all this sky is great cack , how much do clubs get out the sky contract 80-90k each , the home club next to nothing when there on live ,sky get speedway on the cheap , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_martin Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 You'd hope that the BSPA could do that on their own now without Terry's help?! Well precisely, one would, wouldn't one? After all they are all "successful" businessmen , with their own legal advisers for their "other" business interests. Surely they can negotiate a bit of a contract can't they? Any of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur cross Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 Is it just coincidence that when Terry Russell takes a back seat in speedway then the sport looks likely to get dropped by Sky? How about turning the above sentence inside-out because maybe as soon as there was a serious risk of Sky dropping speedway, then speedway didn't seem so attractive to Terry Russell. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 How about turning the above sentence inside-out because maybe as soon as there was a serious risk of Sky dropping speedway, then speedway didn't seem so attractive to Terry Russell. Fair comment. ................................................. a sinking ship springs to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grachan Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 Terry Russell was involved in Speedway way before Sky TV came along, so I don't think that's the case at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lioness Posted August 28, 2013 Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 Brilliant! Imagine a few Steve Shovlar's in the Poole grandstand. Think you might just have given a few people nightmares! lol Im tempted to say Peterbrough would be okay with one persona and all their aliases taking up one side 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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