with the game now on the red button,will you still travel?

[infoman]

Its a long way come and no decent trains to get you all here in time for kick off is not helping.

[JPTSwindon]

I would have if tickets could have still been bought

[philipl]

As someone living abroad, nothing, I mean NOTHING equals being at the game.

It is not even a debate.

[rigger]

1 hour ago, infoman said:

Its a long way come and no decent trains to get you all here in time for kick off is not helping.

To go by train you have to set off on Saturday, I am driving, just hoping for a decent run on the motorways.

[philipl]

Just now, rigger said:

To go by train you have to set off on Saturday, I am driving, just hoping for a decent run on the motorways.

Underlines how third world the UK is now.

[Uddersfelt Blue]

The televising of midweek games makes sense for those living far away as travel can be a nightmare in the UK. It will mean lower attendances but probably little difference to the clubs in terms of revenue with most regular fans having bought season tickets. 

I agree with philipl that nothing beats being at the game but QPR away on a Wednesday night means a full day off work and most likely an expensive nightmare journey.

 

 

[Colt Seavers]

To answer the original question, the red button is a game changer for me personally and I can't honestly see a situation in which I would favour a long midweek trek over a lazy night in front of the telly with a fridge full of lager.

[Uddersfelt Blue]

It is without doubt a game changer but there have been televised games in the past where Ewood has been full. Personally I would never contemplate missing a home game even if it was on TV. 

There will still be away games when you want to be there rather than watching at home. The Wigan away game will probably be one of those. 

Tomorrow is a bonus for those of us who would have been scouring the Internet for an illegal stream.

[Mattyblue]

Difference is now, EVERY non 3pm game will be on TV, that’s much different than an odd game, as it will now give people a decision to make on ‘is it worth a season ticket?’ And people will just not bother travelling midweek.

[chaddyrovers]

I will be watching on the red button. Its ideal for me with my work commitments. 

If I wanted to do Swansea I would have to take off 2 shifts to allow me to go. 

So any midweek game that away the red button is ideal for me. 

Ideally I would like to do every away game but not possible at this stage. 

[Stuart]

I agree it’s a game changer but the response from clubs (who are getting extra tv revenue they wouldn’t have before) HAS to be lower walk on prices.

If it isn’t then you have to point the finger at clubs.

I don’t see Rovers reducing ticket prices though. Waggott’s M.O. seems to be high-margin-low-volume. We can’t even optimise concourse food/drink sales! Begrudgingly high prices and poor/slow service.

He may say that he is trying raise the value of the product (players in the first team) but I don’t think he understands the local mentality. Heck, the penny didn’t even drop after the blatant clue that was the Oxford game. Rovers fans will turn out if the price is right and the game is of interest. Otherwise they will take the tv/pub option every time.

Lower prices, higher footfall. Lower margin, higher volumes. Make the money out of first team success - cheered on by 25k in the stands - not from ticket and pie sales from 500 walk-ons. John Williams got it and the fans responded.

[AAK]

5 hours ago, infoman said:

Its a long way come and no decent trains to get you all here in time for kick off is not helping.

There are no sales on the day, so the 1050 or so who have bought tickets will still go no doubt.

[Mattyblue]

Oxford was a one off for many reasons.

In the EFL we will always have a ceiling, a lot of folk just aren’t interested on a regular basis at this level. If you made it £10 every week you would soon see numbers buying tickets dwindle as the novelty wore off, as Waggott presumably knows, plus we’ve generally not been a club that sells a lot of walk on tickets - very season ticket holder heavy attendances.

Now if we ever did get to the PL, make it £200 for a season ticket - like Huddersfield and they would sell like hot cakes.

[Oldgregg86]

I would always go to home and away matches over watching it on tv. However work and finances doesn't always allow, hence the reason I am not a season ticket holder. The red button has been a dream for me allowing me to pick a game that isn't on TV to go to and watch on the red button a different game so I don't miss watching my team, something I would have to previously do. Whilst I think it's brilliant for fans I also appreciate not all fans are like me and would, even with a season ticket, choose to stay at home on a cold wet Wednesday night. It's a difficult one because whilst I am over the moon to be able to watch games I would have had to miss it will no doubt affect ticket sales and attendences. The game has changed and is constantly evolving. Hopefully for the better, so fans who live all over, fans who have young families and limited income and work commitments can still follow and be apart of the rovers with out being noticably detrimental to season ticket sales and atmosphere. I suppose time will tell how much football has improved for the overall fanbase or how damaging to the game it has become

Edited September 1, 2018 by Oldgregg86

[OJRovers]

I had considered going, but the 3 hour drive put me off. So it is a bonus.

If the game had been a bit nearer, it would have been a tricky decision.

[roversfan99]

Personally try to get to about half of the away games as I did last year, but regarding the midweek ones, they tend to be ones that I struggle to do unless local anyway, so this is beneficial to me to be able to watch it. Similar to what @chaddyrovers said in regards to working during the week. Out of interest chaddy, how many away games do you get to in general?

Sadly, I do believe that season ticket holders will not attend as religiously, midweek home games, even though they have a ticket already bought, if theyve had a long day at work, if the weather is miserable, and its cold and wet, whatever the minor reason is, if its on TV some people will stay at home and watch it sadly. I personally would always prefer to go and will attend home midweek games regardless.

I also agree with @Stuart and his points on walk on pricing. Part of Waggotts remit had to be taking advantage of a natural increase of demand with the team doing well, he failed to do that, primarily with the sharp increase in ST prices, and also things like moving the DE fans didnt help.

As you said though, walk on pricing needs to be reduced or there will be no uptake, the increase in price in the hours before kick off is a joke to be honest, and I cant see the penny dropping, and as a result, midweek home attendances will be low.

[Stuart]

17 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Oxford was a one off for many reasons.

In the EFL we will always have a ceiling, a lot of folk just aren’t interested on a regular basis at this level. If you made it £10 every week you would soon see numbers buying tickets dwindle as the novelty wore off, as Waggott presumably knows, plus we’ve generally not been a club that sells a lot of walk on tickets - very season ticket holder heavy attendances.

Now if we ever did get to the PL, make it £200 for a season ticket - like Huddersfield and they would sell like hot cakes.

Oxford. The price was right and the game was of interest - which was the point. The weather and day/time obviously helped.

Why wait until the PL for £200 season tickets though? All that says is that local football fans would be along to watch the other PL teams.

Take a step back, ignore the Sky “brand-washing” and three-quarters of the PL sides are no more exciting than Championship clubs. The only difference is the top 6 teams (City, United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs, the latter being a recent entry). The rest you could rotate around the Championship. Aside from their history, Everton aren’t much more than a blue Aston Villa, and we are playing Villa this season.

Don’t wait, start selling £200 season tickets in the Championship. 10,000 at £400 or 20,000 at £200? It’s an obvious one surely - even allowing for concessions the revenue would be comparable. We would be opening the DE again before you know it!

[Mattyblue]

I’d love you to be right but I honestly can’t see us ever selling shed loads of STs in this league, even if cheap.

We know the Premier League is generally a load of boring shite, I personally think the Championship is a superb competition - key being ‘competition’, however there are a hell of a lot of ‘brandwashed’ folk out there that just aren’t interested in the lower leagues.

[chaddyrovers]

23 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Personally try to get to about half of the away games as I did last year, but regarding the midweek ones, they tend to be ones that I struggle to do unless local anyway, so this is beneficial to me to be able to watch it. Similar to what @chaddyrovers said in regards to working during the week. Out of interest chaddy, how many away games do you get to in general?

 

all depends on work and family commitments. cant set a figure either. Looking to do Stoke away game but depends on whether my friends want to with their circumstances have changed recently. Lots of different factors  

 

[K-Hod]

I still think it’s down to the individual, fundamentally. Some are keener than others, some work nights/live further away, therefore can’t get to midweek matches as easily. 

I’d sooner go to a game over watching it on TV, any day of the week,  but not everyone else is like me. 

[Stuart]

For me, football has moved on again. The number of ex-PL teams (including in terms of gravitas and not just one season wonders like Bradford or Barnsley) is now greater than current ones.

We have Champions League and Europa League teams - barring the odd seasonal exception - as the same 6 sides.

There are then 38 other teams (plus about 2 L1 sides) that could make up the other 14. People need to get their heads around this. Anyone buying a Rovers season ticket “to watch PL football” is a fool and deserves to pay top whack, while loyal fans should get a huge discount by way of compensation for the ‘privilege’ of losing to the top 6 sides. The very idea of it being somehow special is a facade peddled by the PL itself.

Changing this can only be done by clubs offering low low prices and filling grounds. They can manage it in the Bundesliga.

[Stuart]

2 minutes ago, OnePhilT said:

@Stuart has the right idea, but not a chance we would sell anywhere near 20,000 season tickets in this league. Regular supporters might enjoy the lower leagues more than the top flight, but the ones who stay away generally balance price against the quality of football. Still, for what it's worth, if we can shell out a bit for players now, I'd love to see Ewood with a few thousand more seats filled at the expense of season ticket income. It'd help the team no end, and you need to speculate to accumulate 

It’s finding the price point. £199 for adults; £99 for under 25s; £49 for under 17s: free for under 8s.

You don’t think we’d shift 20k at those prices - even competing with the red button?

Its win-win for clubs. Red button cash - relative to viewers and full grounds.

[Mattyblue]

Just now, Stuart said:

Anyone buying a Rovers season ticket “to watch PL football” is a fool 

No arguments there, but that’s the reality. 

The Premier League is an absolute monster, I bet we all come across people constantly that don’t have the foggiest idea about football outside the PL and don’t want to either.

As an example of said people - Cardiff’s crowds have just doubled.

[Mattyblue]

7 minutes ago, Stuart said:

It’s finding the price point. £199 for adults; £99 for under 25s; £49 for under 17s: free for under 8s.

You don’t think we’d shift 20k at those prices - even competing with the red button?

Its win-win for clubs. Red button cash - relative to viewers and full grounds.

In this league? No, not even close.

We only just about sold that many when it was £199 in the Premier League with the ‘Taking Back Ewood’ campaign . And we’ve lost a lot of support since then.

Edited September 1, 2018 by Mattyblue

[USABlue]

6 hours ago, infoman said:

Its a long way come and no decent trains to get you all here in time for kick off is not helping.

Wish I had the option of using a red button, oh wait I do but it's St Louis Cardinals not Blackburn Rovers.