V’landys Faces NRLs Biggest Test: Blowout Scores (Merged threads)

[Scubby]

3 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

How are the NRL viewing figures holding up compared to previous seasons? 

I have missed a few games to be fair, not sure if it will have an impact or not.

[Sports Prophet]

5 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

A couple of blowouts can blowout the average winning margin of a round.

For instance, I`m been agonizing about the effect Bulldogs 144 Saints 33 and Bombers 141 Kangaroos 69 could have on perceptions of AFL. Crowds and TV ratings were already tumbling. Big test for Gillon McLachan.

That’s for some other thread. I am discussing NRL here. If you really do enjoy the weekly code war drivel that takes place, then set that up on another thread.

Frankly I’m very bored of it and simply interested in discussing the subject at hand which is the competitiveness of opposing teams in the NRL across a full 80 minutes.

The Sharks v Dragons was an absolute stinker of a match, but boy did I watch it to the end. Because the contest was still there with both teams still in with a shot of winning in the last ten, five and two minutes.

 

[Sports Prophet]

4 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

How are the NRL viewing figures holding up compared to previous seasons? 

 

1 hour ago, Davo5 said:

That would be interesting to know,personally in finding myself switching games off early and after last weeks latest clampdown/overreaction to high tackling I’m not even watching some games I’ve recorded.

That sure would be good to know. Do the RV ratings demonstrate the avg number of viewers for the entire match, or just the peak number of viewers a game had?

[Man of Kent]

1 hour ago, Davo5 said:

That would be interesting to know,personally in finding myself switching games off early and after last weeks latest clampdown/overreaction to high tackling I’m not even watching some games I’ve recorded.

Me too. It's become a bit predictable and blowout-y. 

Super League has been the better comp to watch so far this season, in my view. 

[The Rocket]

4 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

How are the NRL viewing figures holding up compared to previous seasons? 

 

1 hour ago, Davo5 said:

That would be interesting to know,personally in finding myself switching games off early and after last weeks latest clampdown/overreaction to high tackling I’m not even watching some games I’ve recorded.

League is having a stellar year on both Foxtel and Kayo(their streaming service) with combined viewing figures up 13% to 374 000 per match in comparison to 2020. 

The figures released for fumble ball were up 17% on 2019 to 243 000 per match. Interestingly that the League figure was based on a comparison with 2020 and afl 2019, it has been suggested that the afl 2020-2021 percentage change has been disappointing hence the comparison with 2019.

Viewing figures for both codes on FTA were down 5%.

You may think it strange that I bring afl into this conversation but I do it purely for comparative purposes so that any broader trends in viewing habits may be attempted to be accounted for.

Not sure about League crowd figures so far this year but I do know that fumble ball crowds were down 800 000 on the same stage of the season in 2019. Comparison made with 2019 due to no crowds allowed in 2020.

So look the League is holding up relatively well, I read both the main broadsheets over here every day, the national paper The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald, I would say that broadly the reaction in the comments section would be roughly 70-30 for the crackdown on high play, I would imagine the reaction in the tabloids would be similar.

I think generally there is broad acceptance for the changes as most people know that there has been crackdowns in other codes and League has been dragging the chain on this. V`landy`s has been interviewed on tv and radio almost daily explaining where the League is coming from and I think doing a pretty good job, convincing most except for the troglodytes who insist there is nothing wrong with the game despite a 12 000 decrease in junior playing numbers over the last 5 years in NSW. Interestingly there is now 16 000 registered LeagueTag players in NSW which suggests that the appetite for some sort of League exists but not necessarily one where you may suffer long-term brain injury. Despite whether these fears being real or imagined.

 

[Man of Kent]

15 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

League is having a stellar year on both Foxtel and Kayo(their streaming service) with combined viewing figures up 13% to 374 000 per match in comparison to 2020. 

Viewing figures for both codes on FTA were down 5%.

 

So down overall?

[Sports Prophet]

Good coverage there @The Rocket, importantly for context, how did viewing figures fare for NRL in 2020 against 2019 in a COVID affected season?

Keen to know if RL televised viewership is growing against a great performing 2020 or an underperforming 2020.

[The Rocket]

1 minute ago, Man of Kent said:

So down overall?

Well not really, when you consider that Foxtel shows all 8 games per week and they are up 13%, that equates to 345 000 extra viewers per round,( 43k on av. per game) and given the three FTA games probably pull about an average of 600 000, total 1.8m viewers across three games, a 5% loss on this would equate to about 90-100 000 viewers per week. You would have to say that overall viewing numbers are up about 245 000 viewers per week. ( 345K(+) - 100 000(-)).

I`m trying to be as fair as possible on these figures and all the numbers I use are from published data. You might wonder where I am getting these figures. I can tell you I have a long standing interest in this area of the game and if I come across any relevant articles I get my wife to print it out so I can keep the hard copy, I`ve got quite the stack.

To quote one article " TV ratings are an under-explored and critically important part of the modern game. Ratings should be a, if not the, key factor in judging how clubs are performing and what they bring to the commercial viability of the game".

[Southerner]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

Well not really, when you consider that Foxtel shows all 8 games per week and they are up 13%, that equates to 345 000 extra viewers per round,( 43k on av. per game) and given the three FTA games probably pull about an average of 600 000, total 1.8m viewers across three games, a 5% loss on this would equate to about 90-100 000 viewers per week. You would have to say that overall viewing numbers are up about 245 000 viewers per week. ( 345K(+) - 100 000(-)).

I`m trying to be as fair as possible on these figures and all the numbers I use are from published data. You might wonder where I am getting these figures. I can tell you I have a long standing interest in this area of the game and if I come across any relevant articles I get my wife to print it out so I can keep the hard copy, I`ve got quite the stack.

To quote one article " TV ratings are an under-explored and critically important part of the modern game. Ratings should be a, if not the, key factor in judging how clubs are performing and what they bring to the commercial viability of the game".

So this would suggest that the new stricter rules are not negatively affecting the interest in the game! Albeit the new rules have only been in place for a couple of weeks.

Would be interesting to see whether there’s a dip in the coming weeks.

Personally it’s not affected my enjoyment of the NRL. If anything it’s only enhanced my viewing experience as I know culprits will finally be sufficiently punished. 

[Davo5]

If the game keeps dishing out suspensions for minor infringements,I think 10 so far from the weekend and we get games with teams reduced to 11 players fans will turn away from the game.

[lucky 7]

13 minutes ago, Davo5 said:

If the game keeps dishing out suspensions for minor infringements,I think 10 so far from the weekend and we get games with teams reduced to 11 players fans will turn away from the game.

Perhaps players need to engage their brains and not do stupid things

[Davo5]

12 minutes ago, lucky 7 said:

Perhaps players need to engage their brains and not do stupid things

Only stupidity I see is from the NRL and this crazy overreaction.

[lucky 7]

7 minutes ago, Davo5 said:

Only stupidity I see is from the NRL and this crazy overreaction.

Surely the coaches should make the players aware of the law of the game  as well

[Cumbrian Mackem]

36 minutes ago, Davo5 said:

If the game keeps dishing out suspensions for minor infringements,I think 10 so far from the weekend and we get games with teams reduced to 11 players fans will turn away from the game.

Don’t attack the head. Don’t get suspended.

[Cumbrian Mackem]

1 minute ago, lucky 7 said:

Surely the coaches should make the players aware of the law of the game  as well

They’ll soon get the message after a few suspensions.

[unapologetic pedant]

4 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

That’s for some other thread. I am discussing NRL here. If you really do enjoy the weekly code war drivel that takes place, then set that up on another thread.

Frankly I’m very bored of it and simply interested in discussing the subject at hand which is the competitiveness of opposing teams in the NRL across a full 80 minutes.

The NRL doesn`t exist in a vacuum. Likewise any test that V`landys faces, to refer this to the title of the thread.

It helps to understand NRL facts and figures when they`re compared to those of other sports, particularly AFL as the principle rival of NRL.

Your desire to focus exclusively on NRL blowouts, NRL player behaviour, and other putative NRL negatives, whilst dismissing scrutiny of the same issues in AFL, will naturally make people suspect your motives.

[unapologetic pedant]

2 hours ago, Southerner said:

So this would suggest that the new stricter rules are not negatively affecting the interest in the game! Albeit the new rules have only been in place for a couple of weeks.

Would be interesting to see whether there’s a dip in the coming weeks.

Personally it’s not affected my enjoyment of the NRL. If anything it’s only enhanced my viewing experience as I know culprits will finally be sufficiently punished. 

Along with concerns over player welfare, V`landys has made clear that the determination to limit contact with the head in the NRL is aimed at protecting and boosting participation rates. He judges that if fewer people play junior RL, the future popularity of the game will suffer. And that AFL and Soccer will threaten RL in its heartlands if more parents deem those games safer to play.

So even if there were a dip in ratings, it won`t affect the focus, which is on the long term benefits.

[Sports Prophet]

7 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

The NRL doesn`t exist in a vacuum. Likewise any test that V`landys faces, to refer this to the title of the thread.

It helps to understand NRL facts and figures when they`re compared to those of other sports, particularly AFL as the principle rival of NRL.

Your desire to focus exclusively on NRL blowouts, NRL player behaviour, and other putative NRL negatives, whilst dismissing scrutiny of the same issues in AFL, will naturally make people suspect your motives.

If you are being objective, then actually add something of value to the discussion about the NRL. Your post was simply referring to AFL. Major competitor or not, this consistent need to compare NRL to AFL is tiring. I wish people would focus more on RL and the issue at hand rather than saying “well, there are blowouts in the AFL too, so everything is ok”.

——

A couple of blowouts can blowout the average winning margin of a round.

“For instance, I`m been agonizing about the effect Bulldogs 144 Saints 33 and Bombers 141 Kangaroos 69 could have on perceptions of AFL. Crowds and TV ratings were already tumbling. Big test for Gillon McLachan.” UP - Yesterday

——-

The fact that you do not “agonise” over AFL blowouts is an obvious demonstration that you simply want to bring me into a code war debate, which I have already recently explained, I simply can’t be bothered to do anymore on this thread, because it is irrelevant.

[The Rocket]

11 hours ago, Southerner said:

So this would suggest that the new stricter rules are not negatively affecting the interest in the game! Albeit the new rules have only been in place for a couple of weeks.

Would be interesting to see whether there’s a dip in the coming weeks.

Personally it’s not affected my enjoyment of the NRL. If anything it’s only enhanced my viewing experience as I know culprits will finally be sufficiently punished. 

You know what, apart from the predictable moaning from a few drongos, Andrew Johns et.al. there has been a lot of really positive headlines coming out of this whole saga. To paraphrase a couple " World expert on Concussions says Rugby League is on the right track", "Neuroscientists says League doing the right thing" right down to " Kids League as safe as soccer", I`ve been really heartened by this stuff because it`s the sort of headlines that will achieve a cut-through with an audience that may well be very skeptical about League, and even if it doesn`t mean those people will let their kids play, just associating the game with those sort of headlines adds a positivity and professionalism that we are seriously concerned about player welfare and that can only benefit the game on so many levels.

With regards your last paragraph I think a lot of thinking people out there would agree. Rugby League does not necessarily need to be associated with thuggery to be a tough exciting sport..

[The Rocket]

9 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

So even if there were a dip in ratings, it won`t affect the focus, which is on the long term benefits

I don`t think we have to worry about that.

NRL news: TV ratings, Roosters vs Broncos, figures, Foxtel, Kayo, Joseph Suaalii, crackdown (foxsports.com.au).

Epic Bronco boilover attracts historic ratings amid NRL crackdown debate.

499 000 on Foxtel and Kayo......incredible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[unapologetic pedant]

35 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

If you are being objective, then actually add something of value to the discussion about the NRL. 

You didn`t respond to the substantive point (you`re making a habit of that), which was that one or two lop-sided scores can disguise how close all the other games in a round were. And that therefore the average winning margin figure you keep using isn`t necessarily illuminating.

Moreover, all these blowout stats don`t measure general entertainment appeal. However tiring for you, comparisons with AFL are relevant to your arguments. The type of RL game that turns off an AFL fan is more enjoyable to watch for most RL fans.

And BTW, I genuinely welcome fans of other sports following RL. We need higher degrees of casual interest. We`ll never fill stadia or rate well on TV with only devotees.

1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:

The fact that you do not “agonise” over AFL blowouts is an obvious demonstration that you simply want to bring me into a code war debate, which I have already recently explained, I simply can’t be bothered to do anymore on this thread, because it is irrelevant.

Very callous to belittle the agonies I`ve endured trying to discover the joys of Aussie Rules.

[The Rocket]

1 minute ago, unapologetic pedant said:

Very callous to belittle the agonies I`ve endured trying to discover the joys of Aussie Rules

I loved your comment the other day where you said you can`t stand the afl highlights especially when they leave the " funny bits out", I know exactly where you are coming from, I know I find myself often bursting into spontaneous laughter watching their fumble ball antics. I only wish you could hear some of the channel 7 commentary, it is just as priceless as they attempt to add a veneer of skill and toughness to that mad-cap enterprise. Just a taster I`ve heard lately: electric handball; hot-handball; sky-ball; low-ball; chiseler (a low kick), " a bit of candy" that one is just plain weird, and they seem to borrowing a lot of League terms: no-look, don`t argue, dummy, half-back and wings. It`s a knock-out.

 

[unapologetic pedant]

3 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

I don`t think we have to worry about that.

NRL news: TV ratings, Roosters vs Broncos, figures, Foxtel, Kayo, Joseph Suaalii, crackdown (foxsports.com.au).

Epic Bronco boilover attracts historic ratings amid NRL crackdown debate.

499 000 on Foxtel and Kayo......incredible.

I noticed the rating for this game on Foxtel was 314k which, considering all the negativity surrounding the Broncos, was surprisingly high. Raiders/Storm was 287k and Eels/Sea-Eagles was 279k.

At risk of upsetting Sports Prophet, the highest rating AFL game on Foxtel at the weekend was 214k. That was one of only two games that went beyond 200k. The Geelong/Gold Coast game got 55k. - LOL, as the young people say.

[The Rocket]

1 minute ago, unapologetic pedant said:

I noticed the rating for this game on Foxtel was 314k which, considering all the negativity surrounding the Broncos, was surprisingly high. Raiders/Storm was 287k and Eels/Sea-Eagles was 279k.

At risk of upsetting Sports Prophet, the highest rating AFL game on Foxtel at the weekend was 214k. That was one of only two games that went beyond 200k. The Geelong/Gold Coast game got 55k. - LOL, as the young people say.

It goes to show what a force streaming is becoming and we really have no idea of the whole picture until those figures are included. Something we can discuss later but in the extended afl tv deal there does seem to be a change with regards the number of games they are broadcasting FTA.

[lucky 7]

17 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

The NRL doesn`t exist in a vacuum. Likewise any test that V`landys faces, to refer this to the title of the thread.

It helps to understand NRL facts and figures when they`re compared to those of other sports, particularly AFL as the principle rival of NRL.

Your desire to focus exclusively on NRL blowouts, NRL player behaviour, and other putative NRL negatives, whilst dismissing scrutiny of the same issues in AFL, will naturally make people suspect your motives.

Our troll, Sports prophet isn't going to like this

https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/australian-football-more-dangerous-institute-of-health-and-welfare-report/news-story/e48c79775c3e68d03a15e6a7acbc9904