This TV thread is going to sit uncomfortably with some as the season progresses methinx

PHOENIX NIGHTS LEAGUE TABLE - Week 1
1. Premier League Darts 6/2/14 - 284,000
2. Wigan V Huddersfield 7/2/14 - 243,000

No need.

The BARB figures that have just been released confirm what I suspected all along.

When a RFL press release smells like , that's because it is .

FFS.....
The claim was that the CC and RFL were getting grief for LOW ATTENDANCES and then the poster immediately used City v Chelsea as an example.....unfortunately for them, regardless of if the entire crowd were there on freebies, bussed in from the West Bank or turned up by mistake thinking they were going to an Elton John concert, the Stadium for City v Chelsea was 98.35% full......given the Hard-on on here regarding the RLWC Final that saw Old Trafford 98.33% full, I'd suggest that the CC compares terribly........

Arsenal at 99.11%....there's another poor turn out that proves it's not just the Challenge Cup

Yes, Sunderland 33%, Cardiff 63%, Sheffield United 76% and Everton 79% had empty seats......but this is the round of 8 games......let's compare the last 16 in the 2013 Challenge Cup shall we?
Hull FC 30%, London 8%, Sheffield 8%, Huddersfield 46% (let's talk cheap tickets shall we?), Catalan 24%, HKR 43%, Wire 36% and Workington 17%

I'd think the best course of action here would be for you to step away and put down the shovel.

Let's!


Firstly, let's cover the context issue. Whether anyone gives a toss about the FA cup games is neither here nor there in the context of the quotes used above.
Starbug observed the banks of empty seats and The Printer followed up with an opinion regarding peoples attitudes to the FA cup. These observations are connected as one leads into the other and given the first one was in regards to actual attendances, then the attendance at the City v Chelsea game is valid. Because it doesn't suit your agenda doesn't make it any less so. Hope that clears the context issue up for you.
Now you've introduced "ticket offers" to the mix. Are you saying that cheap tickets offer no long term benefits to those who offer them? Are you saying that to offer them indicates a struggling sport?
I'd suggest you forward your concerns to Red Hall and mark them for the attention of Miss S. Bolton

The FACT is that 47,013 people did give a toss....another 60k in London cared and even 30k in Everton could be d....the comparison is flawed because the RL clubs also made offers, but less people gave a toss, cared or could be d.....by a massive amount!

And they said Richard Lewis wasn't operated on at Roswell.

Liars.

Could it simply be that the figures the RFL have provided have come directly from Sky, which are much more likely to be more accurate than BARB, hence the figure about peak viewers?

Isn't BARB based on a select panel of household calculated up to make a figure for what people watch?

As BT Sport is available on the Sky platform, they will be able to provide statistics for their share of how many people watched BT?

I said when using Man City vs Chelsea is that no one is really fussed by the result. Not that they would get a low attendance.
You've already highlighted something, games at the likes of Arsenal, Man City, also Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd will still get near a sell-out just based on their massive fan bases.
Funnily enough before becoming a big player at the top of the table Man City were struggling to hit the 30,000 mark for some home FA Cup games.
You'd only have to read the paper and sports pages online to see the talk was mainly about how the game would effect the Premiership, not the actual competition in question.
In your almost constant need to be on the other side of the fence regarding RL issues I don't think trying to side with the FA Cup is a great idea. Even the Aston Villa manager said this year "many Premier League clubs could do without the distraction of the FA Cup if they were being honest".....they consequently ended up getting knocked on at home by a team 2 divisions below them. Most Premiership teams put out lines-up that they would never put out in the league, goalkeepers are often 'rested' and 2nd choices are picked.

OOOOHHHH...an insult that is neither cutting nor warranted. Aren't you all grown up.