Quote: Guerrier "For the more casual fans, it absolutely does affect it. Some fans know they'll go regardless and so go, but it hurts the attendance where it's people who want to go and have difficulty justifying the cost/travel/time off etc when they know they can watch it on the couch.'"
But do casual fans buy season tickets?
And that was the OP's original point.
I do agree that the walk-up could be affected, but those who were only half intending to go haven't really got as much to complain about.
Loss of attendance is always something to regret, but even from the club's perspective it's a two-sided argument. They can trade off that loss against the TV receipts and the exposure they get on the screen.