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The past week has seen a total of eight players drop out of the All-Stars game next weekend. Sam Burgess, Johnathan Thurston, Blake Ferguson and Robbie Farah are just some of the players who have withdrawn from the match.
While it is unlikely to impact on ratings and attendance, it does de-value the product in the sense that it is not really an ‘all-stars’ game after all.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that NRL fans love the novelty factor. That is, they are flocking to the Nines, State of Origin and All-Stars Games for the fun, excitement and atmosphere that they provide. Similarly these games grab ratings and underpin part of the current TV deal.
The same love for these kinds of games from NRL fans is seemingly non-transferable to cold Monday night games against out-of-town teams.
So could the NRL get more for less? Could the NRL expand these events and reduce the number of club games? Fans will always love traditional rivalries and Sunday afternoon footy, but it is apparent that the regular season is probably just too much for most.
Monday nights will go soon, but 6pm Friday will be no better.
The NRL could focus on building a big event feel around their existing major events, as well as building specific rounds into something similar. This could include having the rounds that fall on public holidays, long weekends and the start of school holidays as double headers, putting more into entertainment and family friendly activities to attract spectators.
Looking at the BBL over the summer, they have good success in having only four home games each which they get good crowds for. They are family friendly events and occur at times that reflect that too.
They having been growing year on year as a result and experienced average crowds of nearly 30,000 – close to double that of the NRL.
If the NRL can grow games, grow attendance, TV viewership and interest they will open themselves to more revenue from TV and sponsors. While it represents a bold gamble to cut games away, if they can make a concerted effort to grow more match-ups and games into big events, less could be more for the NRL.
This would also tackle the issue of player burn out, and ensure the big stars are all there for the big matches.
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