Cricket South Africa has appointed sports marketing specialist IFM to look into the low turnout at the early games of the England tour.
CSA fears the falling crowd numbers are part of a wider problem after the much-hyped Test series against Australia was also played out in front of half-empty stands.
The first Twenty20 match against England attracted less than 17,000 fans to a 34,000-seat stadium, while fewer than 8,000 watched the second Twenty20 game at Centurion.
Cricinfo reports that there are concerns in South Africa that the mass of international sporting events taking place in the country, including the Lions rugby tour, the IPL and Champions Trophy cricket and the Confederations Cup football in 2009, as well as the World Cup next year, means sports fans are having to choose where they spend their money carefully.
CSA chief executive Gerald Majola is urging fans to get in touch to help organisers understand why supporters are staying at home.
He said: “We like hearing from the fans. The last fan survey we ran provided some interesting insights, some of which we have already followed up on. People asked for more information so we launched our Facebook and Twitter platforms which have been extremely popular and have dramatically improved our interactions with fans.”
IFM has been commissioned to conduct research into the trend and Marc Jury, the company’s managing director, believes the problem could lie with the quality of the TV coverage.
“Through our research across different sporting codes, we have always encountered the response that the ‘energy and atmosphere’ of live sporting events is a critical element in drawing supporters to the ground,” he explained.
“Something that is evident is that the live experience has not kept pace with the ease and comfort of the TV product and thus people often choose to watch from their living rooms instead of Row F. Too often rights holders make decisions based on gut-feel and not by listening to what their fans want.”
