RTEngland?

[pineapple stu]

Originally posted by patsh
Times and conditions have changed, Schumi.
Government CAN insist on certain conditions for RTE.

Don't think he denied that they can - the point is that experience shows that they probably won't .

[patsh]

Originally posted by Shed End John
Not to open a right can of worms here, but what about Musgrave AND Thomond Park. Went to nearly all Munsters home Celtic League games last season and 7-8,000 was about the smallest crowd.

So what are you suggesting?
One soccer team for Munster, one for Leinster and one for Connacht?
Bit boring having only two other teams to play wouldn't it?
Maybe Ulster would join in?
Then we could crowds of 7,000?
Compare like with like at least...
City get 5,000 average for home games, not too far of your figure, without looking for fans from Waterford, Limerick, Kerry, Clare and Tipp.

As for whether RTE would or would not change, all it takes is a small effort to insist they do, not give up before you even try...

[Schumi]

Originally posted by patsh
So what are you suggesting?
One soccer team for Munster, one for Leinster and one for Connacht?
Bit boring having only two other teams to play wouldn't it?
Maybe Ulster would join in?
Then we could crowds of 7,000?
Compare like with like at least...

You're missing the point I'm trying to make. I'm not saying EL is $hit, rugby is great and you should be a rugby fan. What I'm saying is that Celtic League rugby is a more attractive TV product than EL football. More importantly, covering one match live is cheaper than doing highlights of 5 games a week.

[patsh]

Originally posted by Schumi
Well how many crowds of 7,000+ have there been in the EL in the past few years (barring cup finals)?

How did my post miss this point?

[pete]

Coverage of sports events is not dictated by the attendance at those games but the potential viewing public in the homes around the country.

I've been to many rugby games but it is a miniority sport in Ireland. Whereas almost everyone watched the Soccer WC i'd guess there be at least 50% of the population that don't veen know the Rugby WC is on let alone be interested in watching it.

I would be surprised if TG4 got good viewing figues for their Celtic League games last year. I would assume these figures will collapse in Rugby WC year.

btw TV3 coverage is not improving so things need to change.

[DruggyDrog]

I agree that serious change is needed with regard to coverage of the EL, but I think that underestimating the appeal of other sports could be suicidal. TG4 gets more viewers for their Celtic League coverage then RTE ever got for a live EL match. TG4 do not have the money to spend on projects that do not appeal to the consumer, and Celtic League rugby appeals to the consumer at present. Obviously the soccer WC is a bigger event than the rugby WC, but lets not forget that the biggest demand for tickets from Irish fans in the history of Lansdowne Road was for the Ireland v England 6 Nations decider this year. Yes, a minority sport. But so is soccer.

[pineapple stu]

You can't just compare rugby and soccer and say that any soccer should be on over any rugby. Celtic League rugby is (as is my very limited understanding - if anyone wants to correct me, fire ahead) a fairly high standard of rugby featuring the four Irish provinces and including many Irish internationals. The provincial competitions have been a masterstroke as far as rugby in Ireland is concerned as most of the best-known Irish names have been kept in Ireland. eircom League soccer, on the other hand, features journeymen pros and semi-pros (let's be completely honest here). Therefore a much higher proportion of rugby fans are going to watch the Celtic League (and interpros and Heineken Cup, etc.) than the proportion of soccer fans who'll watch the eL. Therefore, it makes more sense for TG4 to show the rugby over the soccer. To slightly change DruggyDrog's comment above - rugby is a minority sport. But so is eircom League soccer.

RTÉ also seem to have serious problems with showing eL football. The highlights show they used to have (were forced into showing) got higher attendance figures than The Premiership. Yet they still screwed clubs around by asking them to move games at short notice (the important point) purely for their convenience. When one club refused to move, RTÉ, despite having two other decent enough matches they could show, went in a huff and showed a Wicklow GAA match. That's where the cynicism over RTÉ is coming from, should anyone have any doubts as to what they're capable of.