Play Nice 2022 Non AFL Crowds/Ratings/Finance/Development thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
Nov 8, 2000
33,295
21,790
South of the river
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Peel Thunder
A-League fans were wondering why there's a drinks break during cool weather in Melbourne last night:


Danny Townsend
@drt15


Replying to
@eamonnwarner
Commercial TV deal makes our game tick. They will take ads to make it tick for them. We are trying to work out how to do it without diminishing the fan experience

Are these people that actually want a FTA TV deal? Because that's the price of it. You can't avoid ad breaks during play and be on commercial FTA TV.

I can understand their frustration, but i'd hope that they were opposed to the FTA deal from the start, as opposed to only now when they've understood the reality of it.
 
May 13, 2012
15,809
5,960
AFL Club
GWS
Other Teams
Brumbies, Socceroos
Are you saying elite sport doesn't drive junior participation rates, or that kids will find other ways to keep fit outside sport?

Many elite sports use the argument that by Government funding their particular sport to compete at international level, say at an Olympics, that that drives junior participation.
I can recall an Olympic chief using the example of an Australian pole vaulter winning some sort of medal, and he stated that kids all over Australia were acting out the pole vault event in the backyard (the message being that if Government funds these sports at an elite level, that junior participation will naturally follow).
I do not believe that to be the case (that if government funds elite sport, junior participation follows).
Quite clearly, if you're interest is junior participation in sport, then funding elite sport is a low priority.
 
Nov 8, 2000
33,295
21,790
South of the river
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Peel Thunder
Many elite sports use the argument that by Government funding their particular sport to compete at international level, say at an Olympics, that that drives junior participation.
I can recall an Olympic chief using the example of an Australian pole vaulter winning some sort of medal, and he stated that kids all over Australia were acting out the pole vault event in the backyard (the message being that if Government funds these sports at an elite level, that junior participation will naturally follow).
I do not believe that to be the case (that if government funds elite sport, junior participation follows).
Quite clearly, if you're interest is junior participation in sport, then funding elite sport is a low priority.

Pole vault is a poor example because no-one actually does it. Quite literally, participation in pole vault around the country would be lucky to be 100, and most of them would only do it as part of doing decathlons. Not just that, but there is no way any kid can take it up. It's not offered as part of little athletics.

So I certainly wouldn't agree with you that the lack of a link is as clear as you suggest. Out of interest, do you have kids? And if so, were they into sport?
 
May 13, 2012
15,809
5,960
AFL Club
GWS
Other Teams
Brumbies, Socceroos
Pole vault is a poor example because no-one actually does it. Quite literally, participation in pole vault around the country would be lucky to be 100, and most of them would only do it as part of doing decathlons. Not just that, but there is no way any kid can take it up. It's not offered as part of little athletics.

So I certainly wouldn't agree with you that the lack of a link is as clear as you suggest. Out of interest, do you have kids? And if so, were they into sport?

Yes, have kids.
One not sporty at all. Zero interest in any type of sport.
The other, very sporty, did everything, but has never watched any form of sport, live or on TV in her life.
Which gets to the heart of what I'm saying. If you want to increase junior participation, there is a long, long list of things for Government to spend money on, and funding elite sport would be very close to the bottom of your list (if your main interest is increasing junior participation in sport).
 
Aug 14, 2011
44,794
16,853
Trafalgar
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Mclaren Mercedes F1
Test cricket: https://www.mediaweek.com.au/weekend-tv-ratings-sunday-january-9-2022/

Day Five Sydney (Sunday)
Seven and Fox Cricket
First session Total: 1,092,000
Seven: 845,000 (Metro 574,000 Regional 271,000) Fox 247,000
Second session Total: 1,429,000
Seven: 1,056,000 (Metro 660,000 Regional 336,000) Fox 373,000
Third session Total: 1,695,000
Seven: 1,347,000 (Metro 901,000 Regional 446,000) Fox 348,000
NB: Times uncorrected to actual third session end time
 
Nov 8, 2000
33,295
21,790
South of the river
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Peel Thunder
Yes, have kids.
One not sporty at all. Zero interest in any type of sport.
The other, very sporty, did everything, but has never watched any form of sport, live or on TV in her life.
Which gets to the heart of what I'm saying. If you want to increase junior participation, there is a long, long list of things for Government to spend money on, and funding elite sport would be very close to the bottom of your list (if your main interest is increasing junior participation in sport).

I have to say my experience is completely different. Both my kids play a lot of sport, and they take a lot of inspiration from what they see on TV (and live at grounds). I can't tell you what they'd do if they never watched sport on TV, but i'd be surprised if they were as enthusiastic about it.
 
Aug 14, 2011
44,794
16,853
Trafalgar
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Mclaren Mercedes F1
I have to say my experience is completely different. Both my kids play a lot of sport, and they take a lot of inspiration from what they see on TV (and live at grounds). I can't tell you what they'd do if they never watched sport on TV, but i'd be surprised if they were as enthusiastic about it.

I've always felt for kids whose folks dont support their kids sporting ambitions.
 

Johnny Bananas

Premiership Player Hater
Sep 10, 2010
12,674
17,002
Next door
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Are you saying elite sport doesn't drive junior participation rates, or that kids will find other ways to keep fit outside sport?
If it did, the USA should be the world's fittest country because of how many elite sports they have. But they're obviously not. According to this article, Finland and Uganda are the world's fittest countries. I'm sure they have their own pro soccer leagues, and Finland probably has some pro ice hockey, but I doubt any of them are well-funded because I've never heard of a club from either country. Funding elite sport isn't mentioned anywhere in the article.

Looking at Finland, the more economically similar country to ours, their fitness seems to be due to government and private business both encouraging accessible activities like pole walking to get their people more active. It's all at the level of the average person.
 
May 13, 2012
15,809
5,960
AFL Club
GWS
Other Teams
Brumbies, Socceroos
If it did, the USA should be the world's fittest country because of how many elite sports they have. But they're obviously not. According to this article, Finland and Uganda are the world's fittest countries. I'm sure they have their own pro soccer leagues, and Finland probably has some pro ice hockey, but I doubt any of them are well-funded because I've never heard of a club from either country. Funding elite sport isn't mentioned anywhere in the article.

Looking at Finland, the more economically similar country to ours, their fitness seems to be due to government and private business both encouraging accessible activities like pole walking to get their people more active. It's all at the level of the average person.

This is it.
So I"m not saying that there is zero benefit from funding elite sport, but if your goal is to increase junior participation, or even more, get all people more active, then funding elite sport is way, way, way down the bottom of your list in terms of priority.
 
Nov 8, 2000
33,295
21,790
South of the river
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Peel Thunder
If it did, the USA should be the world's fittest country because of how many elite sports they have. But they're obviously not. According to this article, Finland and Uganda are the world's fittest countries. I'm sure they have their own pro soccer leagues, and Finland probably has some pro ice hockey, but I doubt any of them are well-funded because I've never heard of a club from either country. Funding elite sport isn't mentioned anywhere in the article.

Looking at Finland, the more economically similar country to ours, their fitness seems to be due to government and private business both encouraging accessible activities like pole walking to get their people more active. It's all at the level of the average person.

I don't know if you've ever been to Finland, but the entire country is below zero for about a third of the year. The amount of calories you need to stay warm in that environment is insane, so it wouldn't surprise me if obesity levels are low. You'd have to eat about 10 big macs a day to get fat there.

And the amount of elite athletes the USA produce is insane, even on a per capita basis. There must be a pretty decent participation level amongst kids to achieve that. That (comparatively) rich adults decide to spend their lives eating s**t food doesn't take away from that.
 
Aug 14, 2011
44,794
16,853
Trafalgar
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Mclaren Mercedes F1
I see a young Socceroo Riley McGree is making some headlines in international soccer.
Can some fan give me an idea of the dollars attached to the transfers paid since he debuted in 2016 in the A-League?


I trust its an easy ask when you know the ins & outs of the game.
 
Oct 9, 2001
18,059
15,823
2, 4, 6, 8
AFL Club
Sydney
I see a young Socceroo Riley McGree is making some headlines in international soccer.
Can some fan give me an idea of the dollars attached to the transfers paid since he debuted in 2016 in the A-League?


I trust its an easy ask when you know the ins & outs of the game.

Here is a link for you with the values in Euros:


They have his Total Transfer fees at €5.19 million.
 
Aug 14, 2011
44,794
16,853
Trafalgar
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Mclaren Mercedes F1
Here is a link for you with the values in Euros:


They have his Total Transfer fees at €5.19 million.

Thanks :thumbsu:

Its the early transfers involving Aus & the A-League I'm interested in - can you talk me through that detail ?

 
Jul 5, 2012
24,743
40,159
AFL Club
Sydney
Other Teams
Kidding, right?
Many elite sports use the argument that by Government funding their particular sport to compete at international level, say at an Olympics, that that drives junior participation.
I can recall an Olympic chief using the example of an Australian pole vaulter winning some sort of medal, and he stated that kids all over Australia were acting out the pole vault event in the backyard (the message being that if Government funds these sports at an elite level, that junior participation will naturally follow).
I do not believe that to be the case (that if government funds elite sport, junior participation follows).
Quite clearly, if you're interest is junior participation in sport, then funding elite sport is a low priority.
I'm pretty sure there's some research out there that shows very little link between elite sporting success and community participation.
 
Jul 5, 2012
24,743
40,159
AFL Club
Sydney
Other Teams
Kidding, right?
A-League fans were wondering why there's a drinks break during cool weather in Melbourne last night:


Danny Townsend
@drt15

Replying to
@eamonnwarner
Commercial TV deal makes our game tick. They will take ads to make it tick for them. We are trying to work out how to do it without diminishing the fan experience
This. On paper, soccer is really not a great product for TV advertising, because there are so few breaks in play. Oz soccer zealots often seem to forget that their game is up against very popular TV sports like cricket (ad breaks every over, numerous other breaks in play, tests go for five effing days), AFL (four quarters, ad breaks after every goal, and there are a lot of goals) and even rugby league usually has at least a dozen or so tries per game.

Clearly it's not a problem for soccer elsewhere in the world, but I suspect that for reasons I can't fathom, soccer reached a position of such massive domination in many countries that it can still attract huge ad revenue despite the lack of game breaks.

In Oz, where soccer is still trying to find its niche, the game has nothing like the sort of clout it can leverage overseas.
 
Nov 8, 2000
33,295
21,790
South of the river
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Peel Thunder
Clearly it's not a problem for soccer elsewhere in the world, but I suspect that for reasons I can't fathom, soccer reached a position of such massive domination in many countries that it can still attract huge ad revenue despite the lack of game breaks.

I don't know about other countries, but the EPL has been on pay TV for ages.

I suspect most other popular leagues would be in the same boat.
 

Johnny Bananas

Premiership Player Hater
Sep 10, 2010
12,674
17,002
Next door
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
I don't know if you've ever been to Finland, but the entire country is below zero for about a third of the year. The amount of calories you need to stay warm in that environment is insane, so it wouldn't surprise me if obesity levels are low. You'd have to eat about 10 big macs a day to get fat there.
Except the article wasn't about their obesity levels, it was about their fitness levels and how active they are.

And the amount of elite athletes the USA produce is insane, even on a per capita basis. There must be a pretty decent participation level amongst kids to achieve that. That (comparatively) rich adults decide to spend their lives eating sh*t food doesn't take away from that.
Then why do the US suffer from high childhood obesity levels? And even if all their kids were active, why hasn't that translated into the adults all being very active too?
 
Nov 8, 2000
33,295
21,790
South of the river
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Peel Thunder
Except the article wasn't about their obesity levels, it was about their fitness levels and how active they are.


Then why do the US suffer from high childhood obesity levels? And even if all their kids were active, why hasn't that translated into the adults all being very active too?

Obesity levels and fitness levels are pretty highly correlated though. How many obese active people are there?

And I didn't say all their kids were active, far from it. Just that they must have a pretty decent sport participation rate if they're pumping out an incredible number of elite athletes. I suspect there's also a pretty high correlation between obese kids and obese parents.
 

Johnny Bananas

Premiership Player Hater
Sep 10, 2010
12,674
17,002
Next door
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Obesity levels and fitness levels are pretty highly correlated though. How many obese active people are there?
You just said above that people burn calories in cold countries by virtue of staying warm, so they're not always highly correlated. The question we should be asking is, how many not obese inactive people are there? In cold countries, probably many.

And I didn't say all their kids were active, far from it. Just that they must have a pretty decent sport participation rate if they're pumping out an incredible number of elite athletes. I suspect there's also a pretty high correlation between obese kids and obese parents.
It'd be great to have statistics to substantiate this, instead of mere suspicions.
 
Last edited:
May 13, 2012
15,809
5,960
AFL Club
GWS
Other Teams
Brumbies, Socceroos
I'm not sure if this made it on here anywhere.
Last Sat night, the A-League rated 56k.
That's the lowest rating so far this season (that's on Ten's main channel).
That's obviously an abysmal figure for the main channel on prime time (there was a time when an A-League game would get that much on Fox alone).

But that's not the worst part of the story.
For the first time, Ten decided to simulcast the two games to specific local markets, and as it happens, the four teams involved were from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Maximum bang for you buck...you would have thought.

Whatever descriptor we can use that is below "abysmal", that's really the word we're looking for.

For the 6th week in the row (at least, sort of lost count now), SBS main channel defeated Ten's main channel for the whole evening.

All of the top 20 on the multis rated higher than the A-League, and by a huge margin too, even the 20th show.

Even an U19 cricket game on Fox rated 50% higher.

And don't forget, the A-League is on Ten's main channel, and two games were simulcast into local markets.

Things really don't get any worse than that for a main FTA channel in prime time.
 
Jul 5, 2012
24,743
40,159
AFL Club
Sydney
Other Teams
Kidding, right?
I'm not sure if this made it on here anywhere.
Last Sat night, the A-League rated 56k.
That's the lowest rating so far this season (that's on Ten's main channel).
That's obviously an abysmal figure for the main channel on prime time (there was a time when an A-League game would get that much on Fox alone).

But that's not the worst part of the story.
For the first time, Ten decided to simulcast the two games to specific local markets, and as it happens, the four teams involved were from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Maximum bang for you buck...you would have thought.

Whatever descriptor we can use that is below "abysmal", that's really the word we're looking for.

For the 6th week in the row (at least, sort of lost count now), SBS main channel defeated Ten's main channel for the whole evening.

All of the top 20 on the multis rated higher than the A-League, and by a huge margin too, even the 20th show.

Even an U19 cricket game on Fox rated 50% higher.

And don't forget, the A-League is on Ten's main channel, and two games were simulcast into local markets.

Things really don't get any worse than that for a main FTA channel in prime time.
In the immortal words of Titus O’Reily - we’ve been told for a long time that soccer is the “sleeping giant” of Australian sport. If that’s true, all I can say is that it’s clearly a very sound sleeper.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back