The LOI and RTE

**dancinpants** · 31/03/2004, 3:36 AM

Originally Posted by Bald Student

There's usually about 4000 in Donnybrook for a Celtic League game and an average of about 20,000 in Landsdown for a European game.

The viewing figures do seem to support it.

In fairness boss as yer man says thats because of provincial support and not local games. Tell me this how many people would go and support Garryowen or Old Belevdere or whatever for a regular AIL game? And when ye think about it 4000 is a pish attendance for a provincial teams game!!!!

**Schumi** · 31/03/2004, 11:25 AM

Originally Posted by dancinpants

In fairness boss as yer man says thats because of provincial support and not local games. Tell me this how many people would go and support Garryowen or Old Belevdere or whatever for a regular AIL game? And when ye think about it 4000 is a pish attendance for a provincial teams game!!!!

How does that mean that CL rugby shouldn't be on TV? The fact that 10 people go to a Leinster Senior League game has nothing to do with the EL being on TV.

Originally Posted by eoinh

4000 for one game- pathetic.

There are 10 home games in the CL plus 3 in the European Cup. That's not far off a full league campaign (about the same as the transition season to summer football). Cork has at least half the population of Munster I would think so 4,000 must be a $hit crowd for Cork City as well?!

**Bald Student** · 31/03/2004, 11:26 AM

The original point made by eoinh was thet the viewing figures for the celtic league show thet there is less interest in it than in the eircom League. I don't think that that is true.

Attendances in the AIL are lower than the eircom League and the AIL gets less TV coverage as a result.

Krusty The Mon · 31/03/2004, 1:17 PM

i am sick at having to fork out E152 a year for a licence to those ****s in rte who do not give a sh1te about our national league.

**eoinh** · 31/03/2004, 1:27 PM

Originally Posted by Schumi

How does that mean that CL rugby shouldn't be on TV? The fact that 10 people go to a Leinster Senior League game has nothing to do with the EL being on TV.

There are 10 home games in the CL plus 3 in the European Cup. That's not far off a full league campaign (about the same as the transition season to summer football). Cork has at least half the population of Munster I would think so 4,000 must be a $hit crowd for Cork City as well?!

I'm not saying it shouldnt be shown! I am saying that LOI football under any fair system would be above Celtic League Rugby in wether to cover it or not. Your point about the 4,000 crowd - well if its compared to our last game, we had well over 4000 thousand almost double in fact. for last season our average would be over 4000. Your also comparing Leinster with munster. Leinsters population is bigger than munsters and you are conveniently not including Waterfords, Limericks and Cobhs contribution to our figures - all munsters clubs.
we played 19 league matchs in cork last season plus fai cup, league cup and friendlies. That will be repeated this year with the added attraction of european football.

Bald Student

The original point made by eoinh was thet the viewing figures for the celtic league show thet there is less interest in it than in the eircom League. I don't think that that is true.

Could RTE show any more rugby?

**Macy** · 31/03/2004, 1:34 PM

Originally Posted by Bald Student

Attendances in the AIL are lower than the eircom League and the AIL gets less TV coverage as a result.

Bar "Against the Head", in a primetime slot everyweek, plus a good few live games in the run in.....

**Schumi** · 31/03/2004, 1:42 PM

Originally Posted by eoinh

I'm not saying it shouldnt be shown! I am saying that LOI football under any fair system would be above Celtic League Rugby in wether to cover it or not.

Why? The interest is as high.

Your point about the 4,000 crowd - well if its compared to our last game, we had well over 4000 thousand almost double in fact.

4,500 I thought

But however many it was, it's not representative of either the EL as a whole or Cork over the season, unfortunately.

last season our average would be over 4000.

Leinster, Munster and Ulster's average over a season would be over 4,000 too I'd imagine and no other EL club gets that many. The interest in the Celtic League is quite high, higher than the EL I would think.

Your also comparing Leinster with munster. Leinsters population is bigger than munsters and you are conveniently not including Waterfords, Limericks and Cobhs contribution to our figures - all munsters clubs.

Would Co. Cork not have a population equal to the rest Munster combined? I'm just guessing but I would have thought it would, or close enough. The size of the catchment area is hardly relevant anyway, it's the level of interest in the games that will determine whether they'll be shown on TV.

I don't think there's a real argument, both the EL and the Celtic League should be on TV. It's English and Celtic games that I have a problem with.

**eoinh** · 31/03/2004, 2:28 PM

someone posted up the viewing figures for a recent Celtic League match on TG4. If memory serves me right (and i may be wrong) the figure was somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000.

Im sure those Hockey matchs will pull in the punters

**pete** · 31/03/2004, 2:34 PM

Originally Posted by eoinh

someone posted up the viewing figures for a recent Celtic League match on TG4. If memory serves me right (and i may be wrong) the figure was somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000.:

Ah but they all ABC1 (or whatever they call it) punters with loads of spending power.

New strategy should be for eL fans to give posh names to supporters clubs etc...

Incidently traditional ways of looking at societies spending power is probably flawed these days. Rugby supporters tend to be middle aged so probably stuck with mortgages & little extra cash as opposed to younger eL market with more discretionary spending...?

**Schumi** · 31/03/2004, 2:42 PM

Originally Posted by eoinh

If memory serves me right (and i may be wrong) the figure was somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000.

Haven't a clue what the viewership is like but if those figures are correct, that'd be a very big audience for TG4, wouldn't it. If it was on RT�, the amount of people who'd come across it by accident and watch it would make those figures much higher.

**eoinh** · 31/03/2004, 2:51 PM

Originally Posted by pete

Ah but they all ABC1 (or whatever they call it) punters with loads of spending power.

I agree, thats why you find so much rugger on. But as we all subsidise it equally that shouldnt apply to RTE.

And Schumi stop ducking and diving! You sound like an undercover RTE/Rugger fan!

**Schumi** · 31/03/2004, 2:58 PM

Originally Posted by eoinh

And Schumi stop ducking and diving! You sound like an undercover RTE/Rugger fan!

is right! I am far from an RT� fan and am not undercover in being a rugby fan, I've been every Leinster home match that doesn't clash with a UCD game this season. I'm not defending RT� in any way (hell, they don't show the Celtic League rugby anyway!). Of course they should show the EL, we all agree on that. I'm merely replying to your cheap (and not particularly relevent) digs at rugby being on the TV. Both should get coverage, it's not a case of either or.

**Aberdonian Stu** · 31/03/2004, 2:58 PM

Covering the el is a public service. The general principle behind the very term is that it isn't based solely on commerical value so viewing figures alone can't be used as a stat. The principle behind the term is that by showing it they are "providing a service to the nation" that wouldn't be available in a commercial environment.

**TommyT** · 31/03/2004, 9:58 PM

Originally Posted by Schumi

I've been every Leinster home match that doesn't clash with a UCD game this season. Of course they should show the EL, we all agree on that. I'm merely replying to your cheap (and not particularly relevent) digs at rugby being on the TV. Both should get coverage, it's not a case of either or.

It is since there's limited resources for outside broadcasts and limited time allocated to sport. Our ''digs'' at rugby our based on the viewing figures it attracts. You can't argue with the numbers generated by Bogball, the Premiership or Celtic's big Euro games, all of which would out-draw most Rugby Internationals, so we don't, or at least not as much.

**eoinh** · 01/04/2004, 7:39 AM

Originally Posted by TommyT

It is since there's limited resources for outside broadcasts and limited time allocated to sport.

And now they are planning to bring us live Hockey! What will it be next - tiddlywinks? ****ing into a toilet from ten yards?

**Jim Smith** · 01/04/2004, 9:11 AM

The central issue here isn't about what social category of people watch rugby or its relative popularity.

The people who run rugby (not just in Ireland) have their PR down to a tee - and they always have. Remember the days before the Heiniken Cup when Irish rugby wasn't quite as good as it is now? There was still a fair bit of TV coverage with a lot less interest from the general public. Now maybe its a middle class-RTE "coverage for the boys" type thing but when was the last time you heard of Irish rugby clubs threatening court action against their governing body? When was the last time Irish rugby had a public incident like the registration fiasco of a couple of seasons ago?

Rugby run a slick operation and football should look and learn from them. In fairness football has become a bit more pro-active (Summer Soccer, some PR as opposed to none, Licenses....) and we should focus on what we need to do to improve our image rather than on why rugby, hockey or pitch and toss get quality air time and we don't.

**pete** · 01/04/2004, 9:32 AM

When was the last time Irish rugby had a public incident like the registration fiasco of a couple of seasons ago?

Err...Leinster stuffed up the registration of their big name foreign signing who was supposed to solve their outhalf problems so he couldn't play in any Heineken Cup games so Contepomi had to play for County Carlow instead.

Sure there was a bit of bad publicity but 1/2 the country probably never seen a rugby game so didn't care.

(writting this as person been to good few Munster & a couple of Ireland games)

btw All the Banks are run by rugby lads & they dominate the sponsorship of irihs rugby - Irish Permanent, Bank of Scotland, Bank of Ireland, AIB. Hell theres barely a financial institution in the country not sponsoring some form of rugby.

**Bald Student** · 01/04/2004, 9:56 AM

[QUOTE=pete]Err...Leinster stuffed up the registration of their big name foreign signing QUOTE]

But the point is that Leinster accepted their mistake and got on with playing rugby. The issue didn't end up in the high court.

Every sport has mistakes like this. The eL is very bad at handling them and a lot of bad publicity is generated as a result. A good example is the article in yesterdays Irish Indo about Alan Cawley which can be seen in the UCD section.

**Macy** · 01/04/2004, 10:05 AM

There's plenty of bad stuff about rugby - the change to the AIL, City of Derry registrations, drugs etc etc. That's before we get onto the financial mismanagement of clubs, who like the eL are paying over the top wages for average players.

Difference is, the media has no problem covering rugby. With the eL anything is a stick to beat us with and excuse their lack of coverage. Certain clubs, eL management and the FAI hardly help the cause, but similar incidents simply don't get the coverage in other sports.