Poor local attendances

[DJ...]

It's poor engagement with the supporters on the part of the sponsors and broadcasters, as well as atrocious support by the broadcasters, CricketSA, and sponsors for development cricket. And by development, I mean all the way to the Supersport series. A series sponsored by a broadcaster but not even televised for the most part. The only time SA fans are engaged properly is when SA plays international cricket at home, or when Supersport need to fill an ad gap during the day.

CricketSA, Supersport, and SABC are to blame.

Oh, and the BCCI...

And while I say that in jest, I am actually rather pissed off about the sorry excuse of a tour we just had...

 

[bwana]

It's poor engagement with the supporters on the part of the sponsors and broadcasters, as well as atrocious support by the broadcasters, CricketSA, and sponsors for development cricket. And by development, I mean all the way to the Supersport series. A series sponsored by a broadcaster but not even televised for the most part. The only time SA fans are engaged properly is when SA plays international cricket at home, or when Supersport need to fill an ad gap during the day.

CricketSA, Supersport, and SABC are to blame.

Oh, and the BCCI...

And while I say that in jest, I am actually rather pissed off about the sorry excuse of a tour we just had...

Supersport series? I'm probably mistaken but hasn't the four day domestic series been called the sunfoil series since 2012?

 

[DJ...]

Supersport series? I'm probably mistaken but hasn't the four day domestic series been called the sunfoil series since 2012?

Shows you when last I got to watch it...

 

[Bryn]

My family has a box at St George's Park here in PE, and I go watch cricket quite often. Attendance is usually abysmal, despite the cheapest tickets being R20. A lack of advertising and games played during working hours are mostly to blame I think.

On a side note, free drinks, TV coverage, shade, comfortable seats, hours of socialising and a perfect viewing position makes cricket one of the best live sports ever. I can't recommend having a box enough.

 

[Alan]

I'd say it's over exposure too sport in general.

Benson and Hedges domestic games used too full stadiums during isolation

 

[MickeyD]

My family has a box at St George's Park here in PE, and I go watch cricket quite often. Attendance is usually abysmal, despite the cheapest tickets being R20. A lack of advertising and games played during working hours are mostly to blame I think.

On a side note, free drinks, TV coverage, shade, comfortable seats, hours of socialising and a perfect viewing position makes cricket one of the best live sports ever. I can't recommend having a box enough.

Got a spot open for me during the Test?

 

[kalongbat]

Simple, no-one wants to watch a bunch of losers on the field.

Once those...."cricket" .....players (I use the term loosely) actually stop choking and start winning the games that matter like the world cups, people may start supporting them again. Until them, stuff that pathetic excuse of a team - I can rather spend my day watching paint dry, at least it is not as frustrating.

 

[CAPS LOCK]

Simple, no-one wants to watch a bunch of losers on the field.

Once those...."cricket" .....players (I use the term loosely) actually stop choking and start winning the games that matter like the world cups, people may start supporting them again. Until them, stuff that pathetic excuse of a team - I can rather spend my day watching paint dry, at least it is not as frustrating.

No 1 test team, and you battle to term them cricket players? Odd!

 

[Bernie]

I could be totally wrong here, but when I was in Oz in 2000, we went to a couple of major events in Sydney (not sporting though) and it was the easiest thing to do using the public transport, bus / train and was totally amazed how convenient and easy it was. Here, I hate driving to a stadium, looking for parking 3 kms away then trying to leave etc. etc, so I rarely go nowdays, yes there is park and ride which helps, but I found that also to be a bit of a pain, and then when I wanted to go to Loftus last year using park and ride and it didnt pitch up, or it was like 45mins late if it did I dont really trust it anymore. So maybe one one of the issues is just convenient transport. I think cost would be the other major deterrent.

 

[OzzieCapie]

Our overall population might be 50 million but I'm willing to wager that the cricket watching portion is probably ten percent of that.

Cricket is a much bigger sport in Oz both in participation and interest from public. Add to that the fact that the Aussies will go and watch anything, especially in Melbourne....everybody has to say 'I was there", anything from rock concerts etc will sell more in Oz than most other places.

The economic comparison is hard to relate...if you just looked at SA's middle class then there is not as big a difference as simply GDP, however our tickets are way way more expensive- think about $400 for sitting way back at a rock concert, paying $10 a beer or soft drink ...it is a much bigger chunk of salary.

This is why the schedule so may matches here, 5 ashes tests just after doing 5 in England, always a long series over summer.

 

[walterl]

Maybe it's a credibility issue? Pro Wrestling is more credible than cricket these days

 

[Garson007]

Hansie Cronje damaged the image that badly, eh?

 

[Wall]

I think its more an issue of affordability IMO. Ticket prices to take the family to a game can set you back a good few hundred.

 

[MickeyD]

So far:

1. Lack of public transport
2. Affordability
3. Credibility
4. Overexposure on TV

 

[Garson007]

Overexposure on TV just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[bwana]

Overexposure on TV just doesn't make sense to me.

People are lazy and often prefer to watch local matches on TV. In the states they typically blackout major sporting events on TV to encourage people to go to the match.

 

[Ecco]

Test cricket is relatively cheap. Tickets at the wanderers were R70 for a full day, R30 After lunch, and free after tea time. The final day was even cheaper and probably the most exciting day. Yet people did not go and watch.

I think for one thing, test cricket is not popular in SA. In England and Aus, its very popular and tickets are not easy to come by.

There is just a culture of South Africans not being interested in watching cricket. It might have to do with SA not really winning any major trophys.

 

[cr@zydude]

People are lazy and often prefer to watch local matches on TV. In the states they typically blackout major sporting events on TV to encourage people to go to the match.

But usually only 1 local match get's shown per match day. Leaving 4 teams' supporters in the dark. I think that it's mainly apathy, coupled with a lack of marketing. Tickets for local games are dirt cheap, PE tickets can be as cheap as R30.

Has anyone considered the lack of matches since franchises were introduced? Cities used to get more games, when the provinces were the top tier. More regular games meant more involvement. Now cities may only see their team once per month or less.

 

[bwana]

But usually only 1 local match get's shown per match day. Leaving 4 teams' supporters in the dark. I think that it's mainly apathy, coupled with a lack of marketing. Tickets for local games are dirt cheap, PE tickets can be as cheap as R30.

Looking at the RamSlam T20 that just started:

Buffalo Park
R10.00 - R45.00

SuperSport Park
R60.00

Diamond Oval
R20.00 - R40.00

AXXESS St Georges
R40.00 - R80.00

Chevrolet Park
R20.00 - R40.00

Sahara Stadium Kingsmead
R30.00 - R110.00

Boland Park
R30.00 - R50.00

Sahara Park Willowmoore
R50.00

And don't forget that the Sunfoil 4 day matches are free.

 

[Polymathic]

the main reason is to even get to watch the matches on TV you need to fork out R600 to multichoice which means less and less people are watching domestic cricket, If nobody is able to watch it on TV how the hell are they going to get people in stadiums. I noticed rugby crowds dwindling locally as well