What is that meant to show? That the population of Gateshead and Newcastle is less than that of Hull and East Riding? If not then why stop at East Riding?
Within a 15 mile radius of St James' Park the population would be greater than it would within a 15 mile radius of the KC. If that is what some people are trying to say I won't disagree. That isn't the same as saying Newcastle get bigger crowds because they have a bigger population. It isn't the same as catchment area either. It comes down to the popularity of the sport in the region, historical links and then the number of people for who any given club is the nearest and convenient to get to.
All true, but the point Oregon was making is that Newcastle/Gateshead is 475,100, while Hull is only 262,000 and if you expand that to the surrounding counties, Tyneside goes to 824,700 while Hull and the East Riding combined only goes to 599,000(and that doesn't include any of the Sunderland/Washington/Chester-le-Street areas). Regardless of history and popularity, we're never likely to catch Newcastle, it's a significantly more heavily populated place.