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StevePark

Newcastle Diamonds 2021

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13 hours ago, TotallyHonestJohn said:

Been discussed previously but the streaming set up costs are expensive and then the cost of each meeting after that means the returns aren't great and you can't guarentee the numbers...

However it has been looked into...

Regards 

THJ

This is far too negative a view. I’m not saying it’s easy but it is definitely something which should be worked on by every club. Even with the risk of keeping a few folk at home who might otherwise have attended, Edinburgh  have certainly made a good few thousand pounds profit from Live Streaming this season. 

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12 minutes ago, Al Stewart said:

This is far too negative a view. I’m not saying it’s easy but it is definitely something which should be worked on by every club. Even with the risk of keeping a few folk at home who might otherwise have attended, Edinburgh  have certainly made a good few thousand pounds profit from Live Streaming this season. 

Negative? Ok...

What's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander... the figures were on the other thread that was taken down an I can't be bothered to go through them again...

It's not cost effective at this moment in time for Newcastle to provide such a service however it has been "worked on" and looked at and the conclusion was now is not the best time...

So nothing negative about it...

Regards 

THJ

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Just now, TotallyHonestJohn said:

Negative? Ok...

What's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander... the figures were on the other thread that was taken down an I can't be bothered to go through them again...

It's not cost effective at this moment in time for Newcastle to provide such a service however it has been "worked on" and looked at and the conclusion was now is not the best time...

So nothing negative about it...

Regards 

THJ

For streaming to work there has to be a lot of variables that happily come together.. 

Number one having the spare money to invest in a "gamble" rather than needing every penny (and more) to survive.. 

You also can be very lucky with those who provide the service as they may be fans who will do it for a "labour of love" and then advertise their video services more wider off the back of it, using it as an example of what they do, rather than any financial gain..

And then you have the potential uptake to consider, if there are zero restrictions on crowds, and you are not getting anywhere near filling your stadium, then there isnt much point streaming the event..

If you do have restrictions, or play to full houses every week, and therefore demand to watch outstrips the supply of tickets available, then streaming can become worthwhile to do...

My local football team Stockport County streamed all matches during lockdown for £7 a game..

They did it because the owner has very full pockets that go very deep, so stood all the cost, and they get circa 4000 fans a match so a lot of potential buyers, meaning around 1200 fans who were missing watching their team play logged in every week..

Horses for courses I would suggest..

For those with deep pockets to absorb all the costs then they have zero risk and it could benefit them in the overall aim of growth, however given UK Speedways tiny following and overall brand awareness, I would think for many it would be a fair old gamble..

 

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1 hour ago, George Dodds said:

or encourage those already coming to stay at home, watch it for nowt and save £17 - at least until the speedway stops running and then they wonder why there's no free streaming for them.

 

Why would the streaming be free? 

Edinburgh and Glasgow charge just under £12 a meeting. 

And it is only available outside a specified distance from the track. (At least Edinburgh work it this way - 25 miles?) 

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Streaming will only ever be able to target away fans. That meaning you'd likely only get 100-200 paying customers.

The cheapest broadcasting company is charging £1500 a meeting. Big gamble.

Personally I feel in house is the way forward, and it doesn't cost a great deal. But getting the people to help out with running it is the bigger hurdle!

 

Oh there's also some surprising costs when it comes to streaming services and paywalls.

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First of all let me be clear , I DO NOT WANT NEWCASTLE TO CLOSE.   I think Rob Grant is doing his very best & like our promotion at Redcar he is trying to bring Speedway into the 21st century . 
           One of the things he is up against is the History at Newcastle of having excellent teams who with the assistance of a track that for many years has been a homer track has meant that they battered teams week in week out , We at Middlesbrough/ Redcar have suffered from that . 
       What I am saying is that when Newcastle have a less than strong side the fans used to winning do not turn up . 
I will be there supporting Plymouth & Poole on Sunday but hoping my cash can help Newcastle survive. 
 

When you think of some of the No1 riders Newcastle hav had over the years from Mauger days  they need to be saved. ,I really enjoyed the days when Teesside were div 2 & Newcastle in the British league , we used to attend both , 

Good luck Rob …

 

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Anyone thinking/wanting to come Sunday onwards don’t forget YOU CAN NOW PAY AT THE TURNSTILES. Get along and support your team forget who owns/runs it. Just go and watch speedway at your local track

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Can you still purchase tickets online and is there a link, I’m not going to be able to attend due to the time of the meetings but I will buy a ticket to help out as don’t want it to close and if the start time moves back to 6.30 hopefully I should be able to go 

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Is there an option to come for the second match only for the normal admission cost. As said before some people work till 4/5pm and could maybe do match 2, but it’s not being talked about as an option. Apologies if it is advertised somewhere already  

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40 minutes ago, Biffa said:

Is there an option to come for the second match only for the normal admission cost. As said before some people work till 4/5pm and could maybe do match 2, but it’s not being talked about as an option. Apologies if it is advertised somewhere already  

It's £2 difference!

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43 minutes ago, robbieblackadder fan club said:

Can you still purchase tickets online and is there a link, I’m not going to be able to attend due to the time of the meetings but I will buy a ticket to help out as don’t want it to close and if the start time moves back to 6.30 hopefully I should be able to go 

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing?eid=20692&

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2 minutes ago, Marshall07 said:

It's £2 difference!

Ok. Can you come for the second match only and pay £20. All I can see is a double header advertised. No option of second match only. Not money driven, purely time driven

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12 minutes ago, Biffa said:

Ok. Can you come for the second match only and pay £20. All I can see is a double header advertised. No option of second match only. Not money driven, purely time driven

Am sure if you turn up late or halfway through and wanting to pay, someone will let you in.

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21 hours ago, Gaz said:

The trouble is if 500 tickets were available free and no one turned up, how can we get 300 more through the door if they have to pay? 
Keep retweeting etc and forwarding Facebook posts and hopefully some will decide to go or return if they have stopped going.

Hopefully the next 2 weekends bring in decentish away crowds which will help break even at least.  
Also anyone having a go at Granty after everything he has done is an idiot!! 

I’m not totally sure if the 500 quoted has been amassed through different routes or this was simply as a result of the presence at the quayside market, but I’m assuming that given I haven’t seen or heard anything around this that it was solely from the activity at the Quayside market.

I am certainly not knocking Rob and his team for looking to spread the word but I’m not convinced that this really gives a true reflection of the ability of Newcastle Speedway to grow its fan base or increase the attendances in the short and medium term.

The driver behind giving out free tickets is simply to get new fans into the stadium but must have a clear link to the target market you are looking to tempt into the sport. You wouldn’t look to give out free tickets to a nightclub at a local bingo as you wouldn’t get the take up you were looking to achieve (apart from a few exceptions).

The quayside market is not a place where I would look to achieve this but rather through local link ups with sports clubs, I see Newcastle Benfield has been mentioned, to look at fans with a similar interest in sports. 

Newcastle Eagles, Newcastle Thunder and some of our other local football sides could be a billboard to offering advertisement and free or discounted tickets provided through the team to interested part of their fan base. We also have Whitley Warriors ice hockey club who play in front of crowds around 1000 on a Sunday night (out of speedway season) and their fans have had no hockey for 18 months. Fans who have a void in their Sunday’s that sport has always filled. These are the type of target market we could get traction from, if we did it through the individual clubs as part of a partnership agreement.

Also, the timing of the tickets being given out makes it less likely to gain any interest. Being a family man with young children my own day is planned well in advance and tickets being given on the morning of a match, which starts as early as 4pm means people are likely to already have plans in place. The more time we give people to think about going the better.

Again I’m not knocking Rob and his team as they are dealing with a great deal already but with the right marketing strategy then I really do feel there is a demand for speedway in Newcastle.

Edited by Viper
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1 hour ago, Biffa said:

Ok. Can you come for the second match only and pay £20. All I can see is a double header advertised. No option of second match only. Not money driven, purely time driven

Good Lad Biffa; Pay the 17 quid to watch the second match if that's all you want to see its the usual entrance cost for a meeting but the 3 pound donation would be very grateful I 'm guessing if you did want to pay the 20 as you can pay on the gate on the day...

Regards
THJ

11 minutes ago, Viper said:

I’m not totally sure if the 500 quoted has been amassed through different routes or this was simply as a result of the presence at the quayside market, but I’m assuming that given I haven’t seen or heard anything around this that it was solely from the activity at the Quayside market.

I am certainly not knocking Rob and his team for looking to spread the word but I’m not convinced that this really gives a true reflection of the ability of Newcastle Speedway to grow its fan base or increase the attendances in the short and medium term.

The driver behind giving out free tickets is simply to get new fans into the stadium but must have a clear link to the target market you are looking to tempt into the sport. You wouldn’t look to give out free tickets to a nightclub at a local bingo as you wouldn’t get the take up you were looking to achieve (apart from a few exceptions).

The quayside market is not a place where I would look to achieve this but rather through local link ups with sports clubs, I see Newcastle Benfield has been mentioned, to look at fans with a similar interest in sports. 

Newcastle Eagles, Newcastle Thunder and some of our other local football sides could be a billboard to offering advertisement and free or discounted tickets provided through the team to interested part of their fan base. We also have Whitley Warriors ice hockey club who play in front of crowds around 1000 on a Sunday night (out of speedway season) and their fans have had no hockey for 18 months. Fans who have a void in their Sunday’s that sport has always filled. These are the type of target market we could get traction from, if we did it through the individual clubs as part of a partnership agreement.

Also, the timing of the tickets being given out makes it less likely to gain any interest. Being a family man with young children my own day is planned well in advance and tickets being given on the morning of a match, which starts as early as 4pm means people are likely to already have plans in place. The more time we give people to think about going the better.

Again I’m not knocking Rob and his team as they are dealing with a great deal already but with the right marketing strategy then I really do feel there is a demand for speedway in Newcastle.

Honestly

I despair at times but never mind; can I ask why should you assume anything; it wasn't just the quayside market where the tickets were handed out and the free tickets were targeted and why you haven’t seen or heard anything around this is probably that you do not move in the same circles as Rob Grant... if you want free tickets go and ask him for some or PM me on here and I will get you some.... The driver behind giving out free tickets was not  simply to get new fans into the stadium it was more to get old lapsed fans back into the stadium as many of the people who got/took the tickets knew about the Speedway and had been before in former times. Where you state You wouldn’t look to give out free tickets to a nightclub at a local bingo I can assure you that I have had more free tickets offered; free membership offers; trial membership offers and one off passes for Nightclubs; Sports Clubs; Bingos; Casinos and even the David Lloyd Centre in Gosforth so there is nothing new in this marketing method of giving out free tickets that's for sure...

Also what better way to increase the attendances in the short and medium term is there than handing out some free tickets; if 10% of those tickets had been used and those 50 people all bought a programme; a sandwich and a drink and spent a tenner that's 500 quid back into the coffers that the club would have never had and they may have returned the following week and paid the entrance fee to get in. We all know of a club who spent nearly quarter of a million quid on advertising and done some fantastic work marketing the club and it brought an extra 88 people on usual attendances to the first meeting and by the end of the season the average crowd levels had increased by 8 so all that graft; all that effort and all that expenditure to bring in 8 new fans... its not as easy as it seems believe me. 

Furthermore  the timing of the tickets being given out only has relevance in your situation and the tickets being given out were over a period of a week and not just given on the morning of a match, and the Promotion are not only adopting a broad marketing strategy they are also using a targeted strategy as well; however if you are in marketing as when you state with the right marketing strategy then I really do feel there is a demand for speedway in Newcastle. I am sure the club would like to hear from you and take some of your points or tips on board as you do make a salient point with regard to the potential of local link ups with other sporting clubs but lets not forget that this approach has been tried in the past as Daryl Illingworth was also a promoter of Ice Hockey and Basketball while still a promoter with the Diamonds and he put some fantastic offers on which did not work... Finally you need the contacts and leads to get you into these local clubs and with the best will in the world these relationships can not be built up in a few weeks or months; it needs years to build the long term trust and stable relationships with other sporting franchises and even then they sometimes fall flat as any Workington fan will be able to tell you as the relationship between the Speedway and the Rugby at their shared venue was often very strained...

Regards
THJ

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