You often see the media trotting this one out. The cheapest season tickets are terracing tickets that are absolutely impossible to get hold of. They are held and retained by staunch supporters who would go bananas if prices went up.

No. We are a sport that in the UK at least, has little idea of how to market itself. Play-off and Challenge cup games are not part of a Season Ticket, which will have cost about 200 quid, so fans need to be encouraged to fork out another tenner or 15 notes.

Many clubs will do little in the way of promotion for CC games because they are made to split the gate with the visiting team and quite rightly, don't see the point in them paying to attract fans that they will only get 50% of the revenue from. Meanwhile, the RFL's Marketing Guru has so far drawn some cartoons......which have pretty much achieved nothing other than making Crabtree slightly less ugly than he already is.
If the RFL continue with the revenue share for CC games and the money grab in Play-offs/Challenge cup semis and finals, then it is THEIR responsibility to market the game.......and I have news for the marketing Guru...the cartoons aren't working!

Personally, I like the idea of Round 5 replacing the Magic weekend.......22.50 for 8 games......15 for 4 games. 30,000 last years round 5 attracted......I doubt it will be any more this year. It frees up a weekend of SL...maybe start the season a week later?

All I know is that regardless of whether a cc ticket represents value for money or not, without promotion, it makes no difference. Sticking posts in the ground and announcing KO times doesn't work

[uSL Round 14 attendances - comparison to same fixtures last year[/u

Bradford V Leeds in 2013 = 12,016
Bradford V Leeds in 2012 = 20,851
% decrease = -42.37%

Hull V London in 2013 = 11,490
Hull V London in 2012 = 10,096
% increase = +13.81% =#FF0000**heavily discounted tickets on sale ALERT**

St Helens V Widnes in 2013 = 11,438
St Helens V Widnes in 2012 = 14,253
% decrease = -19.75%

Wigan V Salford in 2013 = 12,489
Wigan V Salford in 2012 = 13,703
% decrease = -8.86%

Wakefield V Catalan in 2013 = 6,125
Wakefield V Catalan in 2012 = 7,254
% decrease = -15.56%

Castleford V Hull KR in 2013 = 6,474
Castleford V Hull KR in 2012 = 6,396
% increase = +1.22%

Huddersfield V Warrington in 2013 = 8,585
Huddersfield V Warrington in 2012 = 8,184
% increase = +4.90% =#FF0000**heavily discounted tickets on sale ALERT**

Total Attendance in SL Round 14 = 68,617
Total Attendance same fixtures last year = 80,737
% decrease = -15.01%

4 out of 7 fixtures have shown a decrease in attendance compared to the same SL fixtures last year, though it's worth pointing out that the two of those attendances which managed to buck the trend this week (at Hull and Huddersfield) were on the back of the sale of heavily discounted tickets. Such discounts may boost attendances but it's all artificial and mere window dressing which doesn't really solve the serious issue of loss of income in the game this year. Heavily discounted ticket policies only serve to mask the problems and are tantamount to sticking one's head in the sand hoping the problems will magically disappear.

**********************

Out of 96 SL fixtures played thus far in 2013, 23 out of 96 have shown an increase in attendance compared to the corresponding SL fixtures last year. 73 out of 96 fixtures have shown a decrease in attendance compared to the corresponding SL fixtures last year.

[uRound 1 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 64,387 (Avg: 9,19icon_cool.gif
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 63,376 (Avg: 9,054)
% increase = +1.59%

[uRound 2 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 69,809 (Avg: 9,973)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 71,989 (Avg: 10,284)
% decrease = -3.03%

[uRound 3 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 58,711 (Avg: 8,387)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 71,246 (Avg: 10,17icon_cool.gif
% decrease = -17.59%

[uRound 4 Fixtures (6 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 46,166 (Avg: 7,694)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 55,477 (Avg: 9,246)
% decrease = -16.78%

[uRound 5 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 50,207 (Avg: 7,172)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 57,593 (Avg: 8,22icon_cool.gif
% decrease = -12.82%

[uRound 6 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 67,079 (Avg: 9,583)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 71,439 (Avg: 10,206)
% decrease = -6.10%

[uRound 7 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 57,048 (Avg: 8,150)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 69,941 (Avg: 9,992)
% decrease = -18.43%

[uRound 8 Fixtures (6 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 42,216 (Avg: 7,036)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 60,028 (Avg: 10,005)
% decrease = -29.67%

[uRound 9 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 80,429 (Avg: 11,490)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 81,841 (Avg: 11,692)
% decrease = -1.73%

[uRound 10 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 57,882 (Avg: 8,269)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 71,601 (Avg: 10,229)
% decrease = -19.16%

[uRound 11 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 55,117 (Avg: 7,874)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 62,013 (Avg: 8,859)
% decrease = -11.12%

[uRound 12 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 53,477 (Avg: 7,640)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 63,337 (Avg: 9,04icon_cool.gif
% decrease = -15.57%

[uRound 13 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 49,525 (Avg: 7,075)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 59,648 (Avg: 8,521)
% decrease = -16.97%

[uRound 14 Fixtures (7 in total)[/u
Total attendance in 2013 = 68,617 (Avg: 9,802)
Total attendance for same fixtures in 2012 = 80,737 (Avg: 11,534)
% decrease = -15.01%

[uRounds 1 to 14 Fixtures (96 in total)[/u
Total attendance for 96 fixtures in 2013 = 820,670 (Avg: 8,549)
Total attendance for same 96 fixtures in 2012 = 940,266 (Avg: 9,794)
Cumulative attendance loss = 119,596
% decrease = -12.72%

[uClub... Games... 2013... 2012... %gain/loss[/u
Widnes... 6... 39962... 39508... +1.15%
Hull... 7... 85538... 87379... -2.11%
Hull KR... 7... 52678... 54372... -3.12%
Wakefield... 6... 46926... 48877... -3.99%
Leeds... 7... 102910... 108601... -5.24%
Wigan... 6... 91706... 96915... -5.37%
Warrington... 6... 64496... 68516... -5.87%
Castleford... 8... 48298... 51585... -6.37%
Catalan... 6... 46247... 56363... -17.95%
Huddersfield... 7... 44944... 55584... -19.14%
St Helens... 8... 86433... 110702... -21.92%
Bradford... 7... 63451... 88769... -28.52%
London... 7... 13861... 20437... -32.18%
Salford... 7... 20731... 38955... -46.78%

TOTAL... 96... 820670... 940266... -12.72%

[uCurrent Average Attendances V Same Fixtures Last Year[/u
[uClub... SL:2013... (SL:2012)[/u
Wigan... 14885... (15803)
Leeds... 14701... (15514)
Hull... 12220... (12483)
St Helens... 10804... (1383icon_cool.gif
Warrington... 10749... (11419)
Bradford... 9064... (12681)
Wakefield... 7821... (8146)
Catalan... 7708... (9394)
Hull KR... 7525... (7767)
Widnes... 6660... (6585)
Huddersfield... 6421... (7941)
Castleford... 6037... (644icon_cool.gif
Salford... 2962... (5565)
London... 1980... (2920)

During the current franchised, 14 club, top 8 play-off system SL era... the total attendances in SL to date remain the lowest we have ever witnessed. Neither the replacement of the poorly-supported Crusaders with the better-supported Widnes, or the establishment of 2 new stadia, or the re-establishment of heavily-discounted SL tickets has prevented 2013 SL attendances from being the worst on record so far.

[uSL Rounds 1 to 14 total attendances comparison (2009 to 2013)[/u
=#FF0000SL 2013 - 820,670 from 96 fixtures.
SL 2012 - 940,266 from the same 96 fixtures.
SL 2011 - 873,371 from the same 96 fixtures, apart from replace Widnes with Crusaders.
SL 2010 - 846,339 from the same 96 fixtures, apart from replace Widnes with Crusaders.
SL 2009 - 851,112 from the same 96 fixtures, apart from replace Widnes with Crusaders.

[uSL 2013 % decrease in attendances[/u
V SL 2012 = -12.72%
V SL 2011 = -6.03%
V SL 2010 = -3.03%
V SL 2009 = -3.58%

The Cas/Hull KR attendance last year was 6,396 not 9,050.

Quick question, how come you have put "heavily discounted tickets" in big red letters for the Hull game, but haven't done this for the Bulls 2012 game?

Thanks for the correction.. my mistake. It was actually Castleford V Hull which attracted 9,050 last year. It didn't look out of place because Castleford V Hull KR in 2011 attracted an attendance of 8,537 and 8,709 in 2009.

I'll adjust the total figures accordingly.

Which Bulls game in 2012 was heavily discounted for those paying at the turnstiles?

I paid full admission price at the Bradford V Leeds game in 2012. Wasn't paying full admission prices at that game actually marketed and promoted in that fashion in order to save the club from imminent collapse?

That’s a pretty conclusive argument against your own conclusions Mr Eve. Well done on that!

Anomalies are exactly what they say they are but feel free to draw conclusions from them

Well no, i would certainly warn against you continuing to do so. It’s probably far more sensible to remove a statistical outlier from your results, lest they skew them and result in people drawing unsupported conclusions. This is especially an issue in partial data, and even more relevant to data like this which is partial and with errors in it.

In fact it would be such an issue as to make it obvious that if anyone were to use such an obvious and explainable statistical outlier as part of their evidence to support their conclusion, it would be clear they were trying to present a conclusion based upon their own bias, rather than a true picture of the situation.

The Bradford V Leeds attendance last Friday was the lowest recorded attendance for that particular SL fixture since 1996.

Thats nice.

Really? The lowest gate since 1996 for a "derby" fixture and you think that's nice?

The RFL should get you employed straight away...you'd fit right in

By 'heavily discounted tickets on sale ALERT' in relation to the Hudds/Wire game are you referring to the : Buy a full price ticket and get a Challenge Cup ticket half price (saving £4) offer?

Must have gone down a storm with the many Wire fans who made the trip over.

Heavy man!

That's an interesting definition of a full price ticket at Huddersfield these days. Probably goes a long way towards explaining why Huddersfield's home attendances are currently 19.14% down on last year. Can't even persuade enough folk from Hudds to fork out a measly 8 quid for a CC game, so it has to be discounted at 4 quid instead. Richard Thewlis... what a genius... no, really,

Glad you agree that you are talking garbage with the "heavily discounted comment" for the Wire game.

The Warrington and Leeds [url=http://www.examiner.co.uk/huddersfield-giants/huddersfield-giants-news/2013/05/02/huddersfield-giants-chairman-ken-davy-hoping-bumper-turn-out-at-catalan-dragons-is-a-taste-of-things-to-come-86081-33269613/"double offer"[/url was marketed by Huddersfield at 25 quid for both games. The only one talking garbage here is the one claiming there was no discount involved for the Warrington home game last weekend. That'll be you then.

You'd have been better just ignoring the point rather than looking a tool

Advice that would have been better given and accepted some 7 years and 16,000+ posts ago