I have just looked at the SKY TV games and noticed 6 out of the 7 first Home games are on SKY T.V. what is the point of buying expensive season tickets when they are on TV nearly every week

Obviously none whatsoever, and people who attend rugby matches in person are deluded fools...

and those who dont are not allowed an opinion

It's always an interesting debate - if the home game is on TV does that mean fans won't go?

Personally, and going right back to my earliest games, if a home game was on TV that was never a reason not to attend. I'm not sure why, but for me at least the question simply didn't arise. You went to cheer the team on, delight in the atmosphere and now that we have Friday night fixtures, enjoy a few beers as well.

I appreciate that it's more expensive these days and that maybe a different generation of supporters would simply rather watch in the pub. But it's not like it's a new thing either. Back when Wigan ruled the roost, season after season passed when we seemed to be on telly all the time. If you're going to buy a season ticket at the beginning of the year you must surely be aware that a good proportion of Wigan's matches are are likely to be on television?

The way i see it, Wigan being on TV means more people are likely to watch, like what they see and then attend further down the line. I can't remember ever missing a game because it was televised, but it has been a bonus when i couldn't attend anyway

That's right, Ask hatty.

As was i

I'll leave y'all to figure that out...


Srsly, as a long-distance fan, I can't feasibly get to every home game, so of course I'm glad if I can see it down the pub (although it's not so easy down here finding a pub TV that isn't allocated to football or RU), or, at a push, on my lap-top.

Only pointless friendlies

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.

On average, about 8% of STH don't turn up on any given game (less for the Derby, obviously). Televised games that figure goes up significantly.

Looking at Thursday games is a bit simplistic, but I can't make the Widnes or Huddersfield games because they're on Thursday, but they're only on Thursday because of TV. I'd bet a lot of money the number of STH who don't turn up on Thursdays is higher than Fridays regardless of whether or not it's on TV, but that's not exactly rocket science.