Some further thoughts on a few of your assumptions...
Originally Posted by Iworkinradio:
“The rest of the presenters clearly don't care for or about the RWC so why are they doing it?”
If they are, they are doing a good job of hiding it. As a regular listener to the station, I've got the impression that the vast majority of their presenters are at least fairly engaged with the tournament and all of them seem happy to ask their guests questions about the sport and the Rugby World Cup.
Yes, I know you would expect a lot of cross-promotion but to me the bulk of the presenters don't sound disinterested in the subject.
Originally Posted by Iworkinradio:
“Any ABC1 advertisers they bring in will desert them when its over.”
We'll see, but I highly doubt it. They already have a number of ABC1 advertisers on their football coverage and have managed to attract sponsorships from the likes of Ford and The Times since their TWG ownership days, when their product was far less well known and respected than it is today.
Nivea for Men, one of their two main Rugby World Cup sponsors widely viewed as an ABC1 brand, also sponsored their football World Cup coverage in 2010, so it wouldn't be unusual for them to return to the fold for their coverage of Euro 2012, if not before then.
Originally Posted by Iworkinradio:
“The TS audience don't want Rugby at any time, they are white van man football supporters (nothing wrong with that, just a statement) so why give them something they don't want?”
A sweeping generalisation that has long been proven to be untrue. If the talkSPORT audience don't want rugby union "at any time", why has the station persevered with a rugby union programme for over a year, why did they buy the rights to the Rugby World Cup in the first place and why are sponsors and advertisers willing to commit to their coverage? I suspect that statement isn't true either.
Originally Posted by Iworkinradio:
“The likely argentina v all blacks QF is also Sunday late breakfast. Will that be off tube on the website too?”
Given that they were on-site for commentary on New Zealand v Tonga on the opening Friday of the tournament and they were on-site for New Zealand v Japan this Friday, with commentary on both games being broadcast on AM and DAB in timeslots that would normally accommodate the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast and Keys & Gray show, why
wouldn't a possible New Zealand v Argentina/Scotland quarter-final be given the same treatment? (Thanks to 4-4-2 for confirming that all knockout games will be on all platforms).
Originally Posted by Iworkinradio:
“The problem is that TS want to appeal to an affluent audience they don't have, but don't have the skills or shows to reach that audience”
According to
an article from last month, 47% of the existing talkSPORT audience are ABC1 men. That's a large chunk of their current listenership wouldn't you say?
As for not having the skills or shows to reach that audience - well that's your opinion, one I strongly disagree with, but the proof is in the pudding and their RAJAR data shows that they are reaching their largest ever audience which is highly skewed towards the kind of consumers that appeal to ABC1 advertisers, so they must be doing something right in this respect.
So many of your assumptions about talkSPORT and its audience are clearly untrue. I found it amusing that you immediately chose to jokingly suggest that SouthCity is Moz Dee after he decided to challenge a few of your views in a fair and reasonable manner. If anyone's impartiality should come into question...