Roar Rookie
Joined June 2011
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The decision to cut the Australian Super Rugby sides from five to four floored me. Based on all previous rhetoric about maintaining a national…
I am a passionate Waratahs supporter, but I have a confession to make. I have never woken up at 3am to watch a Waratahs…
It's back in the media again, Australian rugby's third tier. Most Australian rugby supporters agree that we need it, but no one can agree…
The decision by the NRL to block Benji Marshall's Japanese rugby sabbatical is at odds with the very premise upon which rugby league was…
History has been unkind to sporting teams on the Gold Coast. Three rugby league teams, an A-League club and an NBL team have all…
What started as a fundraising event in Melrose, Scotland in 1883 is now fast becoming a global phenomenon. Sevens rugby, the abbreviated form of…
When New Zealand Prime Minister John Key sits in ANZ Stadium on Sunday as the Warriors do battle with the Sea Eagles, I hope…
There is an incorrect perception that rugby union in New South Wales is restricted to Sydney's North Shore and the eastern suburbs. These areas…
Does that mean we’d need to split into two conferences? SA/Argentina in one and Australia/Japan/NZ in the other?
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
If the SARU want to muck up the conference system by adding the 6th team, the least we could do would be to put some heat on them during negotiations to bring better scheduling for Australian and NZ 🙂
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
Hi Michael, is there a time that would work better for all parties?
Interesting to note that Argentina, Japan, South Africa and WA (Force) and Queensland (Reds) in Australia do not observe Daylight Savings Time (DST). Only NZ, NSW (Waratahs), ACT ( Brumbies) and Victoria (Rebels) do. DST ends about round 8 in April.
During DST (Oct – April ) 7:30pm in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne is 10:30am in SA
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
The Springboks had a quota for black players recently , but Australia and NZ played them.
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
True, SA viewership is much larger than that of OZ currently but with prime time coverage and free to air option (not covered in this article), Australia could give SA a run for its money ( so to speak).
In Australia soccer (A-League) was only available on Foxtel. Now it is available on both Foxtel and free to air TV. A-League ratings have doubled.
In addition Australian broadcasters appear to pay much more for sport that their SA counterparts.
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
I could be wrong, but I don’t think they do. They have 3pm Sunday kick offs every round, but only have a Sunday night game if the following day is a public holiday (e.g. ANZAC day weekend).
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
Haha. I thought someone would say that.
You’ll just have to trust me when I say I’m a passionate fan. I usually don’t get my voice back until Monday after watching a live game. I spend thousands of dollars a year supporting them and travel all over the place to watch them.
3am wake ups doesn’t sound much to some, but it’s a big deal in my life and it’s just not feasible to watch those games. Judging by the Foxtel ratings of the 3am games I’d say most Australian fans feel the same.
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
I agree IQ is great, but I don’t get the opportunity to watch the recorded game first thing in the morning and I inevitably find out the score during the day.
I also enjoy watching the game live because I watch it friends. I blog, tweet etc with other fans and I have text conversation with mates overseas who are watching the games. I enjoy the social aspect of the games just as much as the game itself.
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
True Skip, but the NZ and Australian broadcasters don’t care what the SA broadcasters want. For SANZAR it’ll come down to which side of the Indian Ocean will pay SANZAR more.
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
I though the Rebels requested Friday night games?
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
Eddard, fair point but SANZAR will/should look at this as a whole. Rugby is a religion in South Africa. They will watch it if still interests them regardless of when it’s on.
In Australia broadcasters have paid over A$2.5 billion for the AFL and NRL. Rugby in Australia isn’t in that league but it highlights the appetite for live sports in Australia. SANZAR needs to calculate whether the loss in SA viewing will be offset by an increase in viewing in NZ and Australia and will these broadcasters pay substantially more for having access to more content in peak viewing times. That 40-50k viewers in Foxsports May be worth more.
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
Good point BB about Friday night games, but in my opinion having a game on during work hours is preferable than a 3am kick off.
Cricket is often played during work hours and I quite like that. You can follow it on the internet or listen on the radio. It engages people around the office who talk about the match. You can catch a bit of the game during your lunch break in a pub on a Friday afternoon. Great introduction to the weekend.
I know cricket commentary is well suited to radio coverage but I still like listening to the rugby on the radio.
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby
I realise its on Supersports, but my understanding was that pay TV has greater penetration in SA than Australia. It’s about 22% here.
Aren’t most sports on Supersports in SA?
Better scheduling can save Super Rugby