How many viewing figures would lakeside get if it ends up on freesports? Looking at the abysmal viewing figures for the WDT do people think lakeside would get much higher if it ends up on freesports?

25k peak session at a guess

I couldn’t see it getting more than 20k if I’m honest. If they lose channel 4 it’ll change BDO forever unless they got channel 5. Think when the channel 4 contract finishes this year or next that will be the end of BDO tv darts.

Losing Lakeside is the heart of the problem. Lose that and they will lose decent TV. For all its faults they simply have to keep Lakeside. If Des moves it to Preston it's game over.

MancheStar wrote:I couldn’t see it getting more than 20k if I’m honest. If they lose channel 4 it’ll change BDO forever unless they got channel 5. Think when the channel 4 contract finishes this year or next that will be the end of BDO tv darts.

C4 contract is over was since lakeside 2018 , will it be renewed ........who knows ?
Is Barry’s offer of a ladies qualifier based on any insider information ? after all he has many broadcaster contacts .

Skewball wrote:Losing Lakeside is the heart of the problem. Lose that and they will lose decent TV. For all its faults they simply have to keep Lakeside. If Des moves it to Preston it's game over.

Imagine the figures if the title was "If the bdo wc moved to Preston and ended up on freesports"? They would plummet.

If still at lakeside you would think there would still be an audience for that. was it 1 Million on C4? Down to 100,000?

I voted 20-40 but reckon it would be more (don't know how to change vote on the poll).

Freesports isnt even getting 50k for football matches at a prime time hour from a decent league (Portugal) and they seem to get its best rating for short pre-recorded magazine programmes about rugby union, why do people think it would get any more for what most people deem the "second division" of darts?

Ginge wrote:Freesports isnt even getting 50k for football matches at a prime time hour from a decent league (Portugal) and they seem to get its best rating for short pre-recorded magazine programmes about rugby union, why do people think it would get any more for what most people deem the "second division" of darts?

Im guessing that because people arnt staying switched on to the channel, they are just flicking through for 5-10 minutes at a time (30 minute program is always going to get a better average figure than a 2/3 hour program)

Its why BDO always looks terrible on here, they might get the odd good peak but a 5/6 hour program is just going to have a terrible average figure.

To answer the question - 20k absolute max. The channel just doesnt have a big enough reach.

I think the better question would be "if the BDO worlds went online only on Youtube (or twitch) how many viewers would it get? and would it be enough to make money off it?"

WCDPA wrote:

MancheStar wrote:I couldn’t see it getting more than 20k if I’m honest. If they lose channel 4 it’ll change BDO forever unless they got channel 5. Think when the channel 4 contract finishes this year or next that will be the end of BDO tv darts.

C4 contract is over was since lakeside 2018 , will it be renewed ........who knows ?
Is Barry’s offer of a ladies qualifier based on any insider information ? after all he has many broadcaster contacts .

I dont think Bazza is thinking about the lakeside contract, although at minute he can obviously spin it to the ladies as currently their only chance of a match on TV this year.

As for the C4 Deal, the fact it wasnt renewed while active tells you everything you need to know. Only way C4 are coming back will be on heavily reduced terms otherwise they would have just signed it there and then.

Like I said on another thread, they will probably be waiting for the 2018/19 European rugby fixture dates to be confirmed.

Ginge wrote:Freesports isnt even getting 50k for football matches at a prime time hour from a decent league (Portugal) and they seem to get its best rating for short pre-recorded magazine programmes about rugby union, why do people think it would get any more for what most people deem the "second division" of darts?

A fair comparison would be if The Portuguese Football was getting £1 million on C4 and then moved to freesports. As a stand alone argument you are correct imo re fewer folks would watch 2nd division darts. But there is a context here of lakeside being a long standing, free to air sporting event that got 1 million viewers last year. Surely that would count for something and help the viewing figures were it to switch channels?

devosteve wrote:

Ginge wrote:Freesports isnt even getting 50k for football matches at a prime time hour from a decent league (Portugal) and they seem to get its best rating for short pre-recorded magazine programmes about rugby union, why do people think it would get any more for what most people deem the "second division" of darts?

A fair comparison would be if The Portuguese Football was getting £1 million on C4 and then moved to freesports. As a stand alone argument you are correct imo re fewer folks would watch 2nd division darts. But there is a context here of lakeside being a long standing, free to air sporting event that got 1 million viewers last year. Surely that would count for something and help the viewing figures were it to switch channels?

it counts for dick shit. If it moved from one of the 5 main channels it would plummit. Their best chance may be on BTSport alone as a fairly niche offering of theirs.

Skewball wrote:

devosteve wrote:

Ginge wrote:Freesports isnt even getting 50k for football matches at a prime time hour from a decent league (Portugal) and they seem to get its best rating for short pre-recorded magazine programmes about rugby union, why do people think it would get any more for what most people deem the "second division" of darts?

A fair comparison would be if The Portuguese Football was getting £1 million on C4 and then moved to freesports. As a stand alone argument you are correct imo re fewer folks would watch 2nd division darts. But there is a context here of lakeside being a long standing, free to air sporting event that got 1 million viewers last year. Surely that would count for something and help the viewing figures were it to switch channels?

it counts for dick shit. If it moved from one of the 5 main channels it would plummit. Their best chance may be on BTSport alone as a fairly niche offering of theirs.

Theres no way BT sports will pick it up on its own without dropping the number of sessions, their calendar is way too busy that time of year.

Skewball wrote:

devosteve wrote:

Ginge wrote:Freesports isnt even getting 50k for football matches at a prime time hour from a decent league (Portugal) and they seem to get its best rating for short pre-recorded magazine programmes about rugby union, why do people think it would get any more for what most people deem the "second division" of darts?

A fair comparison would be if The Portuguese Football was getting £1 million on C4 and then moved to freesports. As a stand alone argument you are correct imo re fewer folks would watch 2nd division darts. But there is a context here of lakeside being a long standing, free to air sporting event that got 1 million viewers last year. Surely that would count for something and help the viewing figures were it to switch channels?

it counts for dick shit. If it moved from one of the 5 main channels it would plummit. Their best chance may be on BTSport alone as a fairly niche offering of theirs.

I agree it could just be that people have C4 on in the background instead of people tuning.

WCDPA wrote:

MancheStar wrote:I couldn’t see it getting more than 20k if I’m honest. If they lose channel 4 it’ll change BDO forever unless they got channel 5. Think when the channel 4 contract finishes this year or next that will be the end of BDO tv darts.

C4 contract is over was since lakeside 2018 , will it be renewed ........who knows ?
Is Barry’s offer of a ladies qualifier based on any insider information ? after all he has many broadcaster contacts .

Can’t see them renewing it if they tuned in to the WDT supposively a BDO major.

How can a TV programme get more than one viewing figure?

MancheStar wrote:

WCDPA wrote:

MancheStar wrote:I couldn’t see it getting more than 20k if I’m honest. If they lose channel 4 it’ll change BDO forever unless they got channel 5. Think when the channel 4 contract finishes this year or next that will be the end of BDO tv darts.

C4 contract is over was since lakeside 2018 , will it be renewed ........who knows ?
Is Barry’s offer of a ladies qualifier based on any insider information ? after all he has many broadcaster contacts .

Can’t see them renewing it if they tuned in to the WDT supposively a BDO major.

Exactly , to put that shower of shit on when in the middle of negotiating a Prime Time TV contract is quite staggering.

WCDPA wrote:

MancheStar wrote:I couldn’t see it getting more than 20k if I’m honest. If they lose channel 4 it’ll change BDO forever unless they got channel 5. Think when the channel 4 contract finishes this year or next that will be the end of BDO tv darts.

C4 contract is over was since lakeside 2018 , will it be renewed ........who knows ?
Is Barry’s offer of a ladies qualifier based on any insider information ? after all he has many broadcaster contacts .

To be fair the ladies darts have been some of the major pluses of the last few lakesides especially the semi finals and finals.

As others have said move off channels 1 to 5 and the viewing figures will plummet. Many never move their TV off those channels. When my mum was alive I had to phone her up when a programme was starting on another channel outside those, telling her to press whatever the channel number was on her remote.

The problem with the BDO is the lack of advertising and brand awareness. Freesports promote on Facebook and BDO on Facebook and their YouTube channel. Those are communication channels focused on younger people will completely pass by the elderly couch potatoes like my dad who would watch Lakeside on BBC2 or C4 whilst having a post lunch nap in the lounge.

They won’t know it’s on or how to find Freesports on their TV whilst the young know BDO is non league to the PDC’s Premier League.