Rugby League World Cup 2021 (Merged Threads)

[Jim from Oz]

3 hours ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

Without checking, I think 2013 was about 460k total attendance 

To be exact;

458,483 (16,374 per match)

[DoubleD]

14 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

 

 

Good stuff, glad we've got a broadcaster and with a decent amount of time still to go. Hopefully Fox can now start promoting it, as previously (other than Voss) they tended to ignore it existed

[Scubby]

14 hours ago, Dave T said:

Assume that means no FTA coverage? 

Hopefully it's worth a decent amount if not. 

There should be a clause in there that the World Cup final will be FTA. 

[jim_57]

1 hour ago, Scubby said:

There should be a clause in there that the World Cup final will be FTA. 

Ideally Kangaroos & Finals would be on FTA but probably isn’t as big of a deal as it used to be. Most sports fans would have foxtel or Kayo these days, may lose a few casual viewers but not many considering the times games will be on here.

On-demand replays on Kayo will be a lifesaver for me personally.

[Big Picture]

5 hours ago, jim_57 said:

Ideally Kangaroos & Finals would be on FTA but probably isn’t as big of a deal as it used to be. Most sports fans would have foxtel or Kayo these days, may lose a few casual viewers but not many considering the times games will be on here.

On-demand replays on Kayo will be a lifesaver for me personally.

Realistically free to air broadcast at those times won't have a lot of value due to the small audience available then.

[Copa]

On 28/07/2022 at 07:05, The Partisan said:

Wonder if that extends to Kayo subscription that is basically Foxtels sports channel via streaming. 

I hope so. 

From what I’ve read, it will be on Kayo. 

[Damien]

On 28/07/2022 at 09:16, Dave T said:

In reality, beating 2013 would give the biggest wc yet, and if they do it with current pricing, it should make a lot of money. 

Indeed. A total attendance in the same ballpark with tickets considerably more expensive, by all my calculations at least triple whatever I paid previously, would be a heck of an achievement.

While total attendances is nice, and a great headline figure, the total profit made is the real important figure and ultimately hard cash is what can really help grow the game and give the IRL a bit of clout.

I think if this World Cup considerably beats previous profits then it can absolutely be regarded as a success regardless of headline cumulative attendance. That is before all the Northern powerhouse funding money too.

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, Damien said:

Indeed. A total attendance in the same ballpark with tickets considerably more expensive, by all my calculations at least triple whatever I paid previously, would be a heck of an achievement.

While total attendances is nice, and a great headline figure, the total profit made is the real important figure and ultimately hard cash is what can really help grow the game and give the IRL a bit of clout.

I think if this World Cup considerably beats previous profits then it can absolutely be regarded as a success regardless of headline cumulative attendance. That is before all the Northern powerhouse funding money too.

Yep, and the perception of theast tournament was a success as many grounds were bustling. 

The main worry for me is that we do still have bad crowds in us. Even in that WC there were some poor crowds, some of the good crowds were actually low in number, and I do think that the likes of Coventry and Middlesborough could be disasters. 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

21 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Yep, and the perception of theast tournament was a success as many grounds were bustling. 

The main worry for me is that we do still have bad crowds in us. Even in that WC there were some poor crowds, some of the good crowds were actually low in number, and I do think that the likes of Coventry and Middlesborough could be disasters. 

They are the two that I read the organisers themselves have admitted will be hard sells. I'm a bit concerned for the games in Doncaster as well. They look to be the next worst for ticket sales so far but I'm just keeping in mind what they said the other day, that they expected 2/3rds of ticket sales to be from August onwards so if that's what the organisers have been planning for then I won't start panicking just yet. 

[Copa]

I just saw a promotion for it on Kayo during half time in the Warriors v Storm match. They showed both men and women playing..

[Sports Prophet]

On 28/07/2022 at 19:13, DoubleD said:

Good stuff, glad we've got a broadcaster and with a decent amount of time still to go. Hopefully Fox can now start promoting it, as previously (other than Voss) they tended to ignore it existed

Just saw the first ad in Aus.

6 hours ago, Copa said:

I just saw a promotion for it on Kayo during half time in the Warriors v Storm match. They showed both men and women playing..

You must have watched the same one. First one I have seen. Good to see that Foxtel are giving it an early push straight after Origin. Hope to see this ad and more versions more and more as the weeks pass.

[RS]

I’m aware I’m going to sound a tight wad here but I really don’t think the tickets are priced to encourage multi game attendance.
 

Think I did around 12 or 13 in 2013 with the wife but I suspect it will be around five this time. £55 for anywhere other than an end or a corner for NZ v Lebanon ain’t going to attract many league fans used to league pricing. 
 

 

[EggFace]

Has any one bought tickets through the Klarna website where you pay through 3 instalments ?

[ghost crayfish]

It's great for the promotion of the RLWC in Australia that foxtel/kayo have the rights. They're already promoting the hell out of it, and the panel shows have noticeably gone from ignoring it completely to regularly finding ways to bring it up. This is far better than having it on a free network that barely mentions it, because then fox league would ignore it too. Most Australian sports fans have kayo these days, and the timeslots mean neutrals free TV usually grabs won't watch anyway. Ideally some would still be on free, but if fox paid more for exclusive rights, I think it's a win.

[The Rocket]

3 hours ago, ghost crayfish said:

This is far better than having it on a free network that barely mentions it, because then fox league would ignore it too. Most Australian sports fans have kayo these days, and the timeslots mean neutrals free TV usually grabs won't watch anyway

One, it would be far better having it on a FTA network and them be promoting the hell out of it, and two, we`re a long way from " most Australian sports fans " having Kayo. I don`t and I bet a lot of regional viewers who can`t get good enough internet, don`t either.

But I`ll cop all that if the organisers got a good amount for it and even better if Foxtel on-sell some games to FTA.

[Damien]

5 hours ago, ghost crayfish said:

It's great for the promotion of the RLWC in Australia that foxtel/kayo have the rights. They're already promoting the hell out of it, and the panel shows have noticeably gone from ignoring it completely to regularly finding ways to bring it up. This is far better than having it on a free network that barely mentions it, because then fox league would ignore it too. Most Australian sports fans have kayo these days, and the timeslots mean neutrals free TV usually grabs won't watch anyway. Ideally some would still be on free, but if fox paid more for exclusive rights, I think it's a win.

That's great to hear. Hopefully it gets plenty of plugs for the remainder of the NRL season.

[ghost crayfish]

3 hours ago, The Rocket said:

One, it would be far better having it on a FTA network and them be promoting the hell out of it, and two, we`re a long way from " most Australian sports fans " having Kayo. I don`t and I bet a lot of regional viewers who can`t get good enough internet, don`t either.

But I`ll cop all that if the organisers got a good amount for it and even better if Foxtel on-sell some games to FTA.

One: well yeah, of course. But 9 tends to be pretty indifferent towards test footy and the sneering arrogance of Gould and co. towards it does more harm than good, IMO. Channel 7 has been an enthusiastic supporter of the last few world cups, but their sports budget is gone on cricket and the fact they don't broadcast NRL means the world cup build up tends to be non existent through the season. Now, at least, the world cup is becoming part of the season narrative on fox league. It's great.

Two: fair enough, perhaps, but kayo is pretty widely subscribed. 

As I said, ideally big games would be on free TV, but it is what it is. Just hope the exclusivity got more money!

[Scubby]

Fox Sports strikes an exclusive TV deal and suddenly the World Cup exists with blanket adverts. I assume, in the same way, the World Cup will fail to exist now on Channel 9. The Australian media really are narrow minded bigots sometimes when it comes to the bigger picture.

[bobbruce]

10 minutes ago, Scubby said:

Fox Sports strikes an exclusive TV deal and suddenly the World Cup exists with blanket adverts. I assume, in the same way, the World Cup will fail to exist now on Channel 9. The Australian media really are narrow minded bigots sometimes when it comes to the bigger picture.

Sky do exactly the same. 

[Jim from Oz]

1 hour ago, Scubby said:

Fox Sports strikes an exclusive TV deal and suddenly the World Cup exists with blanket adverts. I assume, in the same way, the World Cup will fail to exist now on Channel 9. The Australian media really are narrow minded bigots sometimes when it comes to the bigger picture.

Yep

[Davo5]

2 hours ago, Scubby said:

Fox Sports strikes an exclusive TV deal and suddenly the World Cup exists with blanket adverts. I assume, in the same way, the World Cup will fail to exist now on Channel 9. The Australian media really are narrow minded bigots sometimes when it comes to the bigger picture.

At least we won’t have to listen to Gould telling us how the NRL are the saviour of International RL.

[Tommygilf]

2 hours ago, bobbruce said:

Sky do exactly the same. 

With Rugby League yes because it is a minor sport, but they acknowledge and cover (on SSN) plenty of sport that they don't directly cover on their channels. This is a weird Australian thing imo.

It would be like Sky Sports completely ignoring the Champions League, World Cup or Euros existed, because they don't broadcast them. 

[Sports Prophet]

On 30/07/2022 at 18:19, Scubby said:

Fox Sports strikes an exclusive TV deal and suddenly the World Cup exists with blanket adverts. I assume, in the same way, the World Cup will fail to exist now on Channel 9. The Australian media really are narrow minded bigots sometimes when it comes to the bigger picture.

It’s no loss. The promo of the RLWC on 9 hasn’t existed anyway.

The networks are pretty poor with any cross reporting of sports not on their own network. NRL and AFL of course get a look in on competitor networks, but the sports roundup on the news these days is almost exclusively the sports included on their own network. Pretty weak.

[The Future is League]

On 01/08/2022 at 13:42, Sports Prophet said:

It’s no loss. The promo of the RLWC on 9 hasn’t existed anyway.

The networks are pretty poor with any cross reporting of sports not on their own network. NRL and AFL of course get a look in on competitor networks, but the sports roundup on the news these days is almost exclusively the sports included on their own network. Pretty weak.

That will suit Phil Gould as he doesn't like SOO being challenged on any level.

[The Future is League]

England Women can take the lead at the world cup

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/aug/02/lindsay-hoyle-speaker-england-women-rugby-league-world-cup