Quite a bit of that is linked to scheduling I expect. I used to love going to watch county cricket in the school holidays. Now there is no top level cricket played at half of the county grounds during the holidays because of the sodding hundred.Same as the County game. Red Ball cricket is near enough dead and buried at that level, so Test level cricket is disintegrating fast. Crying shame.
Somerset still have loads of members and the crowds were never that high for first class cricket. We are a bit of an oddity as a country because we sell out test cricket (granted smaller grounds) and the revenue generated from tests is huge for England. I wonder if test cricket failing will not only kill the counties but England will struggle. No counties would mean only the hundred so where on earth will the English players come from?