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1800 at Widnes last night


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26 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

Im all for using the BBC as much as we can, all for pusing it as much as we can. But i just don't see that bundling up those games in one stadium makes those games look more valuable. It makes them look less valuable which is the absolute worst thing we could do for the CC.

We do need to widen our big city appeal but that doesnt happen by giving them a Leeds v Widnes or Hull v Fev game WE dont think is all that valuable. And Whilst Leigh and Fev and Workington all deserved their place, they arent big draws, they are realistically, pretty poor draws. They are less of a draw than the SL clubs. The attendance at 4 cc games this weekend was about half the Magic Weekend attendance from 6 games.

If we use the BBC for our exposure, what we have to show has to be good. It has to make people think that they want to get involved. it has to make them think this is important and i have been missing out. 10-15k rattling around the Etihad on the one out of 4 games that was important enough to go on a main channel doesnt do that. it does the opposite. And we have to give up the money Sky pay for the CC rights to do all that.

Im an RL fan, i go to RL events. Ill hopefully be going to both Denver (if it happens) and the Lions tour next year. I had no interest in going to Widnes v Leeds. I would have no interest in going to watch that game played at the Etihad along with Workington v Les Catalans, Salford v Leigh and Huddersfield v Wakefield. The wider public had no interest in them for the same reason. It has little value. The CC is either a distraction or a day out in the smoke and that is the best case scenario. And that isnt solved by bundling them all up.

Scotch I only suggested round of 16 as potentially in the future. I have consistently suggested QF and SF as 1st priorities. You are clearly a higher rolling RL fan in planning Denver and Lions and good luck to you. We need more events like that. But the Challenge Cup needs a solution, and casual sport fans aren’t goind to spend thousands on going to Denver or Oz. However, Manchester or Coventry if marketed well during the football and RU off season will have an appeal.

 

Looking at this season QF draw, really hoping Catalan beat Hudderfield and with a months notice the RFL pick Barcelona’s B stadium as a SF venue. Would be great exposure for our sport on the BBC and Catalan fans should cross the border in good numbers, and hopefully a few Catalan flag flying locals 

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Less about CC in general, and more due to Betts' bad PR (blaming everyone - including Hudds players - for the defeat previous defeat - except himself).  Us Widnes fans fed up with him and his one-dimensional rugby.  Can be fixed.

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On 12/05/2018 at 12:41 PM, saintspete83 said:

Says a lot for the game at the moment when 4000k is classed as a positive. Total of 10,625 for 4 games including 6 SL clubs is a serious issue, and it's sending out a terrible image for the game. I fear lots more embarrassing moments for the game this year with 1/4 full stadium in denver and a possible sub 60k at Wembley. 

Sub 60k at wembley??

Don't think so...

If saints get there they not been there for 10 years, if they play Wigan who are riding high also it could be a sell out?

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On 5/15/2018 at 11:50 PM, scotchy1 said:

I agree the challenge cup needs a solution. I just cannot see a way that this is it. I cannot see a lot of rl fans really that bothered about a trip to Manchester or Coventry and I cant see the challenge cup suddenly showing enough interest to make it worthwhile.

If for instance we were to say for instance from 2019 the quarter finals will be played easter bank holiday friday saturday sunday double header in Barcelona at espanyols stadium or perhaps somewhere like Montpellier, the semis may day bank holiday saturday sunday in Edinburgh or Dublin,  and the final the second May bank holiday then i can see possibly working. The niche it fills is a trip away and bank holidays mean challenge cup RL and three games in two months (sometimes a bit more sometimes a bit less) gives it a better flow.

Fact is its as quick and easy and cheap to get to Barcelona or Dublin as it is to get to Coventry yet lets be honest, a bank holiday weekend in Barcelona sounds fun. A bank holiday weekend in Coventry sounds like a punishment. And it shows the game in a much better light. But that would also take time to build and commitment from the BBC/Sky to build that recognition that this happens every year and bank holiday equals trip away to watch RL.

We obviously disagree markedly, although I don’t think a move to earlier in the season is bad idea. Just not sure your more ‘high-rolling’ locations have appeal to locals where the Challenge Cup is unheard of as opposed to the UK where it could have a wider appeal, especially outside of football and RU seasons.

Again looking at this seasons QF draw, seems we are missing a trick in that Leeds can’t play their home game at home due to a cricket match and are instead playing at Fev. Surely playing it at huddersfield would have been better. Make it a double header with fans able to watch both games. Should see an uplift in the Huddersfield fans attending and closer for Leigh fans. Could allow BBC to televise both games and a much fuller stadiums. That said the games at Saints and Wire should sell well and be good for TV. 

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1 hour ago, scotchy1 said:

There isnt much more knowledge or familiarity with the CC in Coventry than there is in Barcelona or Dublin. And these arent high-rolling locations. You can get to Barcelona for 100-150, you can get to Dublin for 30quid. It would probably be cheaper and quicker for me to get from Leeds to Dublin than from Leeds to coventry. It would cost me roughly the same for a flight to dublin as for a train to Manchester.

We need to sell the challenge cup as an important, valuable, prestigious competition. 8-10k rattling around the Kirklees Stadium for a quarter final double header really doesnt show that as an image.

Cheap and cheerful isnt working for the game. Our tickets are next to nothing, we have a magic weekend that doesnt sell out, I cannot believe that there is anyone who is sat there thinking that 10-15 is too much for a ticket to a top level sporting event. Its bargain basement prices. The people who will attend because of rock bottom prices and bargain bundles are already going. Its not enough.

A bit contrarian Scotchy, so I’m out after the below. If you book miles in advance then travel by public transport is comparable. But if 4 of you share a car to Manchester or Coventry for a day trip it’s miles apart. And if you are suggesting that the Challenge Cups heritage of Offiah, Hanley and Robinson is a recognizable to. Barcelona resident as a Coventry one you are being very selective.

Huddersfield and Leeds did a great job promoting a CC tie a few years back to convince the Beeb to show a CC game there a few years back. No reason this couldn’t be the same, and you can add a few thousand Leigh fans. Would be far more creative than having the Leeds game at fev which the Been won’t be interested in showing. Missed chance at having 3 games instead of 2 and showing ourselves to the BBC as a willing partner. Not a final solution for the Challenge Cup, but in the context of this seasons competition a bit of an opportunity lost.

Enjoy Denver and the GB tour

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1 hour ago, scotchy1 said:

Thats fair enough, but l ill say is there are a limited amount of people looking for an excuse to go on a day trip to manchester, huddersfield or coventry.

One last reposte then! There are millions of people looking for a day out in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. And London for the final. What a I have been suggesting all along is that we need to be marketing to a new audience, and the BBC is both a great viehicle for attracting those bums on seats and a great place for those bums on sofas. The RFL should be looking to grow it’s market in the UK. 

The Huddersfield suggestion is tactical this year not the strategic solution. But I’d wager you’d get more people through the door there than for 1 game each at Hudd and Fev, and combined would look good for TV alongside Saints and Wire. 3-4-2 for the BBC and the Challenge Cup.

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On 5/15/2018 at 8:22 PM, JoneslessBishop said:

 Saracens and Harlequins don’t get big crowds for regular season games, but they get big crowds at Twickenham and Wembley when they really push it.

 

What would you define a big crowd? Harlequins sell out regularly and they average around 12/14k...higher than most SL clubs.

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40 minutes ago, milpool said:

What would you define a big crowd? Harlequins sell out regularly and they average around 12/14k...higher than most SL clubs.

In the season just gone Harlequins averaged 13,600 at the Stoop, a smudge over 20k when you include their showpiece 'Big Game' vs Gloucester(?).

So from their Stoop games (Cap 14,800) alone they're equal with second highest average attendance in SLE from last year (Wigan), and about 1,000 behind Leeds. Harlequins' average attendance in total is more than 5k higher than the best SLE club (Leeds), and their average is higher than every single SLE game last year bar the Magic Weekend and Wigan Vs St Helens (where it was 3k short).

If Harlequins don't draw a 'big crowd', then no-one is SLE draws a big crowd.

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20 hours ago, scotchy1 said:

Sky already own the rights to one of those matches and im not convinced that you would see any more people through the door at huddersfield for a double header than you would if those games were separate. I just dont think there are an awful lot of people who wont go to watch at fev that would go to Huddersfield to watch a doubleheader.

I think the magic concept for the challenge cup misunderstands the problems the challenge cup faces, it solves problems the challenge cup doesnt face. The problems with the challenge cup arent that there isnt value for money, it isnt that there arent multiple games at one stadium. Its not a problem of value, its not a problem of quantity.

its an issue of quality. We are selling blackpool in a world of las vegas

My understanding is that asks don’t have rights beyond the last 16. Has that changed?

The Challenge Cup has a quality heritage to millions of c40 year old sports fans in the UK who can bring their kids and get a new generation interested. We need a big city outreach. Maybe City of Manc too big intially for QFs. Bramall Lane would be a good venue in a big city with good legacy potential to appeal to new fans. RL fans could enjoy a grown up weekend in a city that is getting a great reputation for its craft beer production. 

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