As a concept, sport is pretty simple: a competition to determine who (or which group of people) are best at a certain task, usually associated with keeping fit (well my definition anyway). When it becomes complicated, is when people are willing to pay to watch other play sport, because then sport is no longer just a competition, but it is also entertainment. Big name sports draw money to the game, because there are a lot of people who want to watch those games, because the games are a social event, entertainment event etc.
In the past few months, there has been a quite storm developing in Cricket - players are starting to complain that they are playing too much - that they will not be able to perform on their best of their abilities all the time, because it will be mentally and physically challenging. Off course administrators see it differently, as they see whinging millionaires who want to work less for more and them missing out on the goldmine that is presented by the cricket watching billion plus viewers.
What neither side is looking at however is the spectators themselves - the very people that pay to watch the game. Right now there are two international series - West Indies vs India and England vs Sri Lanka, and because of the time differences, it is possible to watch televised cricket for about 18 hours a day! During the official cricket season, it is possible to watch televised cricket for the full 24 hours. The question becomes - who is watching?
It's not cricket only after all. There is football from the World Cup, there is motor racing, there is rugby, and a few other major televised sports. But people have to work, go to school, go socialise outside watching sports. Viewer number will drop, not because people are not interested, but because there is too much for too little time. Very soon, it will be the highlights shows that will draw the crowds and not the events themselves.
So, is there too much cricket right now? Personally yes - because it is coming to the point that, at most times, I don't bother other than just looking at the overall results and reading the match (or day) reports. I do not need to be entertained for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year ... then it will no longer be entertainment.
3 comments:
Watching highlights are cool, but there is still something magical about seeing a wicket fall and the thrill of the chase. Cricket is about watching the last thrilling over, and the 20 before that that got you to that point.
There is probably too much cricket being played, but there are also too many whinging millionares!
There's another point that the event organisers are missing too: that by satiating us with so much that it no longer becomes entertainment, we are less and less willing to a) pay a high price for the privilege of watching a game and b) pay any attention to the advertising etc. that they are throwing at us during the game thereby devaluing advertisement time.
In short, why pay a R300 ticket for rugby match in PE (which failed to reach capacity and as a result left the Eastern Cape rugby board in debt) when you can sit at home and watch the rugby, the soccer AND the cricket for the fee of your TV licence and, if you're feeling _particularly_ flush, DSTV?
Sporting events are no longer special. The following business acumen still applies: if you drop your "product's price" too low, you just have to sell even more of it to break even. In a highly competitive market, specialisation is key to revenue flow.
I say reduce the volume and turn sport into a special event; one that people are willing to pay a premium for. The bottom line at the end of the day doesn't look all that different. The event holds it's magic for us, the viewers and the millionaires don't have to winge.
And it is not only just stadium attendance - with football, cricket, rugby and million other sports on at the same time, it is now impossible to watch all the matches, even if you want to.
TV revenues are already falling for some sports, and that will soon mean less millionaires any way :p
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