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Workington Comets v Scunthorpe Scorpions 19/07/25 6pm.
Woke23 replied to topaz325's topic in SGB Championship League Speedway
Forecast looks bleak but in reality it's been a dry day with very short periods of light rain. It'll do the track some good and come 6pm it'll be a beautiful racing surface. UTC! -
Ipswich Witches 2025
cowboy cookie returns? replied to Aries's topic in SGB Premiership Speedway League
That’s a good signing -
Is It Finally Time For One League?
IainB replied to TheSmiler's topic in SGB Premiership Speedway League
If everybody had the sponsors the model works, unfortunately not every club does, all PL clubs do have the TV money though (at the moment) but not all of them have the crowds, so some of that money would have to offset the lack of crowd numbers. If we say Sheffield, Ippo, BV & Leicester (I think) have decent sponsors, Lynn & Oxford also have sponsors but they're not synonymous with the club and Brum are sponsored by their owner! Brum are gone, we know that and we expect Spires to end... which other clubs in the UK have a sponsorship deal that allows them to fund these "best people"... there will always be "best people" at clubs even if they're NDL level. The only way to keep the "stars" and entice more, would be for Mr Morris & Co to approach one of the TV broadcasters with a proposal that blows the Poles out of the water, a £10m-£15m per season deal, you'd hope that with the end of the current deal fast approaching that this has already been done and the league structure for the span of the next deal, if there is one, is already being planned... now stop laughing! Taken from Google: Gathering precise and regularly updated viewing figures for sports like speedway in the UK can be challenging, as broadcasters and governing bodies don't always release granular data, especially for niche sports. However, we can glean some insights from historical data and current commentary: General Trends & Historical Context: * Modest but Passionate Audience: Speedway has a dedicated and passionate fanbase in the UK, but its overall viewership is significantly smaller than mainstream sports like football or rugby. * Decline from Peak: Historical BARB (Broadcasters' Audience Research Board) figures, particularly from the 2000s and early 2010s, indicate a decline in average live British speedway viewing figures from a peak around 2007-2009. For instance, the average audience on Sky Sports for Elite League speedway in 2011 was around 80,611, which was down significantly from 145,550 in 2008. By 2013, it had fallen to an all-time low of 62,615. * Lowest Figures: Before BT Sport (now TNT Sports) took over, the least popular live British speedway meetings on Sky Sports would sometimes hover around 40,000 viewers. Current Situation with TNT Sports / Discovery+ / DMAX: * Shift to Pay-TV/Streaming: The move of British Premiership Speedway and the FIM Speedway Grand Prix to TNT Sports (formerly Eurosport/BT Sport) and its streaming counterpart Discovery+ means that viewing figures are primarily within a subscription model. These platforms do not typically release specific per-event viewership numbers for individual sports in the same way free-to-air channels might. * "Millions of Viewers" (Platform Reach): When Discovery+ and Eurosport promote their speedway coverage, they often talk about making the action available to "millions of viewers" through their platforms. This refers to the potential reach of their subscriber base, not necessarily the number of people actively watching speedway. For example, TNT Sports 1 had monthly viewing figures of 5,864,000 in December, while Eurosport 1 had 2,035,000. Speedway is just one of many sports on these channels. * Free-to-Air Highlights: The inclusion of highlights on DMAX is crucial for broader exposure. While these figures are also not often broken down by sport, free-to-air channels generally have a much wider reach than subscription services. * Focus on Fan Engagement: The broadcasters emphasize attracting new viewers and delivering an engaging experience for passionate fans, using features like live data (rider heartbeat, reaction time) and additional editorial content. International Comparison (Poland): It's worth noting that speedway has a much larger following in some other countries, particularly Poland. For example, in May 2022, the Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland in Warsaw reached 6.6 million viewers over the weekend across TVN Group's channels and platforms in Poland, with an average live audience of 442,000 on the free-to-air channel TTV. This highlights the significant difference in popularity and viewing habits for speedway across different territories. In summary, while precise, recent UK viewing figures for speedway are hard to come by, it's understood to be a niche sport with a dedicated, but relatively small, linear TV audience on pay-TV channels. The focus for broadcasters like TNT Sports and Discovery+ is on serving that passionate fanbase within their subscription offerings, while using free-to-air highlights (DMAX) to attract a wider audience. -
Is It Finally Time For One League?
LisaColette replied to TheSmiler's topic in SGB Premiership Speedway League
Poole get better attendances than when last in the Prem and no GP stars. They are not the be all and end all imo. They are great to have but you cannot hold other clubs to ransom for sake for 4-6 riders. - Today
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Scunthorpe vs Poole 18.07.2025
poole keith replied to ScunnyDan's topic in SGB Championship League Speedway
Don't think you can argue against ss point that the public want to see the best riders in ht15,irrespective of score,its what the fans want so give it to them -
Scunthorpe vs Poole 18.07.2025
Gavan replied to ScunnyDan's topic in SGB Championship League Speedway
Another stupid comment why risk your best riders in a meaningless race? -
Workington Comets v Scunthorpe Scorpions 19/07/25 6pm.
M.D replied to topaz325's topic in SGB Championship League Speedway
Will this still be on weather wise? -
Is It Finally Time For One League?
SaddlebowRoad replied to TheSmiler's topic in SGB Premiership Speedway League
the only way i can see the prem surviving is if at least one current champ team move up or if the spires carry on not sure either are likely i also wonder if the 'big three' clubs would be prepared to sacrifice one of their big names to other clubs for the good of the league if need be -
Is It Finally Time For One League?
mikebv replied to TheSmiler's topic in SGB Premiership Speedway League
And we keep getting told that "sponsors" pay for them.. So, what's the issue in keeping them? The reality is that there are various ways the top riders get money... Not all get 100% fully paid up for home and away meetings... Some part sponsor, part club payments... I presume the concern is that if "some stay" riding for just a few clubs, then the others won't have top riders as they cannot afford them., One thing is for sure though, if your business is struggling and you need to lower head count... Getting rid of your best people first is a hugely risky strategy.... -
No idea, but you often see riders “cutting the nose off” the rider behind. It turns out Thompson has been suffering with an ear infection - he pulled out of Glasgow’s match on Friday - I wonder if that had any effect on his perception, thoughts, balance? Oh well - as said by many, the Witches should never have been in that position.
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Scunthorpe vs Poole 18.07.2025
SaddlebowRoad replied to ScunnyDan's topic in SGB Championship League Speedway
clearly to give two riders extra racing laps who needed it -
Jason signed as 28 day replacement for Jordan,
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Scunthorpe vs Poole 18.07.2025
Hilly replied to ScunnyDan's topic in SGB Championship League Speedway
The Poole team when Andersen and Ciegelski came over were excellent, they did very well to finish runners up that season 😀 -
Berwick ‘buy a brick’ Bandits 2025
Normski replied to emilali's topic in SGB Championship League Speedway
just started raining again so club made the right call -
Berwick ‘buy a brick’ Bandits 2025
Normski replied to emilali's topic in SGB Championship League Speedway
Rained heavily early this morning since then nothing but forecast for more -
Is It Finally Time For One League?
ruckerroo replied to TheSmiler's topic in SGB Premiership Speedway League
The time for any club to race a home race meeting must be when it suits them most in the current climate , irrespective of league . i feel pooles main reasoning for dropping down was 2 fold, one of those would have certainly been race night , the other was monetary i would think as they are business people and try to run at a profit, which they do well. To my eyes oxford spires are wasting their time in the top league, ransacked the team midway thru last season and miles understrength this. Yet the cheetahs get fair crowds and the junior side seem to do reasonably well . Take a real act of faith for someone to move up.