ABSTRACT
Bums on seats have always been a vital indicator of the public’s appetite for One-Day International (ODI) cricket. To blame all weakened ODI crowds on live TV coverage would be wrong, especially based on the most recent matches in blackout zones Perth and Adelaide. Strategically, cricket has been struggling to find the right fit for its newest product offering. Major changes have occurred to the competitive positions of a variety of sports as a consequence of the media’s ability to show sporting competitions played in all parts of the world. Marketing, as defined by Kotler et al., is ‘a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others’. In 1980, Mullin identified, for the first time, a series of characteristics of the sport product that affect the marketing process. Perhaps the most readily identifiable characteristic is the ‘expertise’ demonstrated by the sport consumer.
