OnlyBucs

Rob Biertempfel reporting via twitter that the Pirates ratings on AT&T were down 27 per cent compaared to last year. 5th largest drop in MLB.

That is really concerning. I think attendance was down something like eighteen percent. Off hand, I would expect NH's budget next year to be even tighter than this year.

55574D4B5D380 wrote: That is really concerning. I think attendance was down something like eighteen percent. Off hand, I would expect NH's budget next year to be even tighter than this year.


The irony is that if the purse strings were loosened a bit to go out and get some real talent, a competitive team would drive up both ratings and attendance.



I can't think of one business model that has succeeded by offering a substandard and inferior product.

757D7E495F7A5D523C0 wrote: That is really concerning. I think attendance was down something like eighteen percent. Off hand, I would expect NH's budget next year to be even tighter than this year.


The irony is that if the purse strings were loosened a bit to go out and get some real talent, a competitive team would drive up both ratings and attendance.



I can't think of one business model that has succeeded by offering a substandard and inferior product.


how about any light beer?

755352455343300 wrote: That is really concerning. I think attendance was down something like eighteen percent. Off hand, I would expect NH's budget next year to be even tighter than this year.


The irony is that if the purse strings were loosened a bit to go out and get some real talent, a competitive team would drive up both ratings and attendance.



I can't think of one business model that has succeeded by offering a substandard and inferior product.


how about any light beer?




Touché, but that’s only cause college kids can’t afford anything else.

If they don't know enough to spend a little more leading up the the signing of a new TV contract in order to boost excitement, competitiveness and ratings, then they deserve the bad contract they're going to get - and we deserve to find another team to follow.



I might just give up following baseball altogether. It's hard enough to follow the team when you're out-of-area.

4F4D575147220 wrote: That is really concerning. I think attendance was down something like eighteen percent. Off hand, I would expect NH's budget next year to be even tighter than this year.


I actually find the numbers to be encouraging. If Nutting is a savvy business owner he may realize that it's in his own best interest to put more capital into the team to reverse the trend of fan disinterest reflected in attendance and tv ratings. I would be rather discouraged if the on-field product failures of the last two seasons weren't accompanied by a decline as there would be no impetus for Nutting to change anything about how he's running the franchise. At least now there's a chance (albeit a small one) that he'll realize his business model is broken and requires fixing.

684C585055390 wrote: That is really concerning. I think attendance was down something like eighteen percent. Off hand, I would expect NH's budget next year to be even tighter than this year.


I actually find the numbers to be encouraging. If Nutting is a savvy business owner he may realize that it's in his own best interest to put more capital into the team to reverse the trend of fan disinterest reflected in attendance and tv ratings. I would be rather discouraged if the on-field product failures of the last two seasons weren't accompanied by a decline as there would be no impetus for Nutting to change anything about how he's running the franchise. At least now there's a chance (albeit a small one) that he'll realize his business model is broken and requires fixing.
That seems logical. But I can't believe Nutting is not business savvy enough to anticipate fallen ratings and attendance in response to letting the team deteriorate while saving money on payroll. So my fear is that he has already factored all of this and determined he profits more (or at least as much with less risk) with a cheap roster and losing team as compared to a more expensive, winning team and better ratings and attendance. He could increase spending for a better team and anticipate better attendance and a better TV deal. But there's a risk involved that the team might not be as successful as hoped and that the increased spending won't turn into profit. If nothing else, Nutting is a smart businessman. If the average, casual fan knew attendance and ratings would drop due to poor performance caused by lack of spending, surely Nutting expected this result. I just can't see this coming as a surprise and causing him to change his strategy.

4E65696065643E330A0 wrote: If they don't know enough to spend a little more leading up the the signing of a new TV contract in order to boost excitement, competitiveness and ratings, then they deserve the bad contract they're going to get - and we deserve to find another team to follow. 



I might just give up following baseball altogether.  It's hard enough to follow the team when you're out-of-area.


I quit following the NFL and my life hasn't devolved, I suspect I could quit following the Pirates and my life wouldn't spiral out of control. Now if I had to quit the Pens......... that might be more than I could bare! Kinda weird.... I used to feel that way about the Pirates.

My dream? That it would cause them to do something dramatic like exit the cable TV relationship to start up a streaming subscription service. Yeah I know, way too many things in the way to do that.