AFL moves to win back fans

[Mantis]

Agree totally. It's a double edged sword. And the AFL knows it has to maximise attendance from the big clubs in prime times so that it doesn't look like crowds are completely falling off a cliff, which is why we get stuck with the shit times and it becomes us that are completely reliant on the TV money as an equalisation measure as we slip further away from the exposure we need.
Hopefully a strong competitive team in the next couple of years and some emerging stars helps redress the balance somewhat.

And if that fails.. then what?

Hoping like hell that the current crop can take us back into the top 6 within the next 2-3 years, but if we fall short we are going to be pushing '..it' up hill to hang in there.

[Cyberdoggie]

So no mention of actually getting rid of the ticketing policy/cost structure and the high prices.

I still don't understand why they can't play a game before hand, whether it be the reserves or even a TAC game occasionally.

Surely the surface isn't that precious that we can't schedule a Saturday afternoon game on before a night game once a week at the G or Etihad?

I wonder how much they will actually revert to traditional fixturing.

Would it surprise anyone to know that there is a total of 0 games this year that we play at 2:10 on a Saturday or Sunday.

[LostDoggy]

Agree ML. We go to the footy to watch the Dogs play and do not go for match day entertainment. There are plenty of others things out there if you wanted to be entertained. We need to steer away going down the path of the NFL.

I don't entirely agree. My young children enjoy the little entertainments at the footy, and I find these things to be a lifesaver as it allows me to keep them sedated so I can watch the footy in peace . Things like fan engagement, chants, pre-game stuff, whilst most of it might be cringeworthy to the diehards, the lesser-intense fans amongst us might enjoy such things, especially the kids.

[wimberga]

When I lived in the US, I got right into the college football, which has an interesting media arrangement.

Over there, you might have 10-12 games against teams in your conference, with perhaps a couple of others here or there outside (including bowl games).

Now what happens is that the fixture is drawn up showing who is playing who on any given weekend but the days and times are decided for the first 4 weeks only. After that the broadcaster (CBS or ESPN) would then assess each round a few weeks out, optimising the promising matchups (the teams who were playing well) and shafting the teams who were playing poorly.

This obviously works a bit different when every team in the competition has an 85,000 stadium which packs out each game regardless of performance, but it was a great way to ensure the best quality games, irrespective of the teams, got the prime time slots.

[Eastdog]

So no mention of actually getting rid of the ticketing policy/cost structure and the high prices.

I still don't understand why they can't play a game before hand, whether it be the reserves or even a TAC game occasionally.

Surely the surface isn't that precious that we can't schedule a Saturday afternoon game on before a night game once a week at the G or Etihad?

I wonder how much they will actually revert to traditional fixturing.

Would it surprise anyone to know that there is a total of 0 games this year that we play at 2:10 on a Saturday or Sunday.

It wasn't at the MCG but we did play earlier this year Round 3 against Richmond at Etihad on Saturday afternoon 2:10pm I'm pretty sure but yeah we have hardly played at that time which for me is the best time.

[Mofra]

And if that fails.. then what?

Hoping like hell that the current crop can take us back into the top 6 within the next 2-3 years, but if we fall short we are going to be pushing '..it' up hill to hang in there.

So what's the alternative?

[Eastdog]

So what's the alternative?

It shouldn't matter based on how teams are performing really. You could have a great Friday night match that is close between 2 weaker teams just the same as between 2 stronger teams.

Here is my solution:

Scrap twilight footy
Strike a fair balance between the TV rights and supporters that would like to go to the matches
Every team gets at least 1 Friday match to get exposure of the club brand
Have a Saturday afternoon MCG match at 2:10pm each week and every Victorian team plays at least once at this timeslot.

[KT31]

If they want to win back our fans, gift us a team and concessions like they have Sydney, Brisbane, GWS and GC.
Equalise the draw and let us win a flag.
That should just about do it.

[FrediKanoute]

When I lived in the US, I got right into the college football, which has an interesting media arrangement.

Over there, you might have 10-12 games against teams in your conference, with perhaps a couple of others here or there outside (including bowl games).

Now what happens is that the fixture is drawn up showing who is playing who on any given weekend but the days and times are decided for the first 4 weeks only. After that the broadcaster (CBS or ESPN) would then assess each round a few weeks out, optimising the promising matchups (the teams who were playing well) and shafting the teams who were playing poorly.

This obviously works a bit different when every team in the competition has an 85,000 stadium which packs out each game regardless of performance, but it was a great way to ensure the best quality games, irrespective of the teams, got the prime time slots.

They do a similar thing in the Uk with PL. Sky/BT Sport put out a schedule at the start of the season of games they will show and then tinker with it as the season goes on. Sometimes annoyingly you buy tickets to a 3pm Saturday kick off only to find that its been moved to a 1pm Sunday kickoff to accommodate TV.

I find interesting the differences in scheduling. There are no PL games on a Friday night, but they have a 1pm 12:34 kickoff on a Saturday, the standard 3pm kick-off's on Saturday and almost every week a 5pm kickoff. The first and last are on TV. On Sunday's the kick-off's are generally 1pm and 4pm and games will be shown. They also have PL games on Monday nights most weeks and occaisionally on Wednesday nights.

[boydogs]

Scrap twilight footy
Strike a fair balance between the TV rights and supporters that would like to go to the matches

Scrapping twilight footy isn't part of a fair balance. The Sunday twilight games are gold for Foxtel, in fact they would be unhappy that the AFL is putting us there all the time instead of a bigger club. If the AFL listened to Foxtel more, there would be more Collingwood on Sunday twilights and more of us on Saturday afternoons. The fact that the AFL is giving Sunday twilights to us means they are more conscious of attendances than TV viewers, as losing 20% of the fans at one of our games is less than losing 20% of the fans at a Collingwood game

[The Underdog]

And if that fails.. then what?

Hoping like hell that the current crop can take us back into the top 6 within the next 2-3 years, but if we fall short we are going to be pushing '..it' up hill to hang in there.

Then what?
I think the first person who can come up with a way for the club to seriously gain membership and get us prime time free to air TV exposure without us being a really competitive team on the field, would have solved a problem that has plagued the club for years (ie. not me). TV wants as many eyes as possible on games, so we'll always struggle for prime time games regardless of how good we are. But some emerging stars and a team with something to play for is our easiest way to get access to those games.
To be honest in the short term I don't think there is much else we can do. Even in 2008-2010 we struggled to get above 35000 members and anything short of a premiership won't break that barrier. I'm sceptical it will gain us much more that that.

The club is clearly focussing on trying to rebuild the "brand" in the Western suburbs and get people (particularly new wave migrants in the area, be they from overseas or across town) to identify with the club as a representative of where they live. This is a slow burn though which would hopefully increase membership down the road. I'm fine with that strategy, it's old school in a way but identifies that the area is changing in a lot of ways. Without a sudden influx of cash from somewhere (Edgewater?) we are reliant on AFL/TV money for a good while yet.

[Hotdog60]

The words 'match-day experience' send cold chills through my heart.

On which topic, a friend has written a pertinent article:
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/eno...731-zyvcl.html

I totally agree, as with BAD I would always rock up to the Western Oval and catch half of the under 19's through to the end of matches. It was a great day out with a sore bum.

One of my biggest hates in the pre game entertainment on grand final day. What a lot of shite. What's wrong with the days when there was 3 games of football on grand final day. If ever a woman's comp got up and running maybe it's grand final could be the curtain raiser. Or maybe the Foxtel cup could have it's final as the pre game. At least it's a game of footy.