Morning all.
When the first Pay Per View match involving Arsenal comes along, will you pay £14.95 to watch on your big screen? That’s a question I’m struggling to answer and have done since the Premier League announced this new scheme. Of course I want to watch the team but, as well as paying for Sky Sports, Amazon Prime and BT Sport, I’m not sure I can justify an extra £15 for 90 minutes of football. Imagine, having parted with your money for an away fixture Burnley for example, only to see a ten man defence line up against Mikel Arteta’s team. I’d be saying to myself, ‘never again’. Until the next time.
The alternative is a dodgy stream, an app which Apple have in their store or simply wait until Match of The Day or extended highlights which Sky Sports offers later the same day. At least those are the options for us here in the UK.
That’s the key to this, it’s an option. Something we can say no to and I probably will. All profits from this new viewing plan will go to the Premier League Clubs. The EFL have their own PPV in place with iFollow at a cost of just £10 per game.
What about season ticket holders who have already parted with their hard earned money, in hope that fans would be allowed back into stadiums? Have refunds been issued yet? I honestly don’t know the answer as I’m not a season ticket holder. If I was I’d be spitting feathers because I’d expect to get the PPV matches for free. I don’t know, but it just seems that it’s always the fans who end up digging our hands in our pockets. For what? A game so often ruined by the officials.
Other changes are being mooted too. In the Premier League anyway according to a report in today’s newspapers. The Telegraph claim these proposals have been recorded in a so-called working document called ‘Revitalisation’, written by Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group and supported by their counterparts at Old Trafford. (Mail)
Project Big Pitch Proposals.
1) £250m going to the EFL.
2) Special status for the nine longest serving clubs – and the vote of only six of those ‘long-term shareholders’ required to make major changes, Premier League to go to 18 clubs from 20.
3) £100m one-off gift to the FA to maintain its sustainability, including at grassroots level.
4) 8.5 per cent of annual net Premier League revenue to go on operating costs and ‘good causes’ including the FA.
5) From the remainder, 25 per cent of all combined Premier League and Football League revenues to go to the EFL clubs.
6) Six per cent of Premier League gross revenues to pay for stadium improvements across the top four divisions, calculated at £100 per seat.
7) New rules for the distribution of Premier League television income both overseas and domestic.
8) League Cup and the Community Shield abolished.
9) 24 clubs each in the Championship, League One and League Two to reduce 92 professional game clubs to 90.
10) A women’s professional league independent of the Premier League or the FA.
11) Two sides automatically relegated from the Premier League every season and the top two Championship teams promoted.
12) The 16th place Premier League club in a play-off tournament with the Championship’s third, fourth and fifth placed teams.
13) Financial fair play regulations in line with Uefa, and full access for Premier League executive to club accounts.
14) A fan charter including capping of away tickets at £20, and a focus on a return to safe standing.
15) Later Premier League start in August to give greater scope for pre-season friendlies.
16) Huge changes to loan system allowing clubs to have 15 players out on loan domestically at any one time and up to four at a single club in England.
Well, I think the loan system needs changing so restricting the numbers is a good idea in my opinion. As for the rest, let’s discuss our thoughts in the comments.
See you there.
Sixteen changes of that magnitude will take a decade and a half to agree and another ten years to put into effect. Roll on 2040. 😉
…and no, I already pay enough through Sky, Bt Sport, Amazon and the BBC licence fee (they scrapped the free licence for us oldies, b******s).
Afternoon rico, House. Sounds like a bribe by top clubs, for the rescue package for ELF clubs to take place, they get a smaller top division they have always wanted. When non-top 6 clubs recently voted against allowing 5 subs from 9, I read a big6 Chairman said afterwards something like ‘revenge will be soon’.
Normally lower Prem clubs would never allow a smaller division, but if it’s only way Prem can help save lower league clubs, they may be forced into it.
Greedy clubs. Everyone will tighten their belts but not football. I am paying lots already no way am I going to pay more. I will listen to the games and vote by keeping my money. Just proves it’s a business to them and a passion for us.
Nice one, Rico! What amazes me is how we’ve just seen over 1 billion spent in the window… huge wages being dished out left, right and centre, yet we’re expected to cough up again! £14.95 each game!! I certainly won’t be paying that! Pay enough for Sky, BT and Prime (& tickets, when there’s the chance to buy them!) If we’re ever on ppv, I shall just watch on hesgoal 😁
Arsenal are showing our away games on screens at the Emirates, starting against City. Prices from £49.. including food, drink, prize draw….368 people can attend… been told Saturday has sold out…
Not a chance.Housebound and scrimp to pay sky+bt so as not to go stir crazy but that is enough .The cancellation of those could literally pay for a car(i have one but you know what i mean).i will wait for motd as the evening standard does not provide the excellent service we used to get on the way home from a match(how i always wondered but didn’t argue). showing my age there?The money saved will allow for something for us to enjoy to take the withdrawal symptoms away.
the premier league may lose its financial domination as the likes of dortmund could outspend us all with their fanbase if it goes eurowide. granted , AFC may do better than Burnley etc .
put it back to 22 teams and keep the other comps , it was always doable with 16/18 man squads on far less player wages so why not.It will give more players their chance to play more at a high level
also if it is internet based , my rural broadband cant cope with live streams!
This is the acid test that sky has been waiting for . Long term their always been for PPV. Now they have approached the American owners and slowly the special games will switch to PPV and the other viewings will be the sort of West Brom v Brighton type . Already I only watch games that involve Arsenal my interest in other games has waned and this could return me to the days of watching away matches on ceefax .
As you suggest there will be streams but I am sure the blocking will be intensified .Football has long been likely to eat itself and now it’s looking in danger of doing just that.
To the question will I pay , the answer is probably no as likewith everyone else I pay too much for football already . Just ask my missus.
Yes I will pay. I LOVE to watch Arsenal. I have sky & BT & I am happy to pay £15 for the Leicester game. Most of it goes to the club anyway, & it is cheaper than my ST. Also I don’t have to risk my health on the trains I take into the ground . I can SEE everything, I often cannot see what’s going on up the other end , you get replays . So I am happy to pay rather than miss the game live. I just hope all the protests don’t mean they stop showing all the games
The powers that be in the PL can’t sort the hand ball rule out, these kind of vast changes won’t get off the ground in my opinion.
My guess is that reducing the number of clubs in the league would allow for a winter break. Scrapping the two cups is daft too I think.
Afternoon Andrew, something seems wrong when and and Liverpool join forces…
That’s how I feel Cicero, television companies are already getting enough of my money.
Ditto Mark. Have ‘they’ lost sight of the fact that many companies have made cut backs, people are losing jobs or can’t work right now?
The television cameras are at all the games anyway, just broadcast the games for free or for a much reduced price.
Thanks Sue. Good for Arsenal, that makes more sense. Great for locals anyway if that’s ‘their thing’.
Sheila, did you pay for your ST during the summer or have ST sales been paused? If you did pay up front, did you receive a refund? I’ve no idea what clubs are doing which is why I ask.
isn’t being a football fan about knowing your team is the best as you have seen the rest as comparison?i want to watch other teams , city v pool , leeds v anyone at the moment , see how the irons are performing for a giggle , weigh up that other team in N London(not enfield)/
without watching other clubs and their tactical set ups , even Burnley+co , how do we know how good we are ourselves , where we are strong or in need of strengthening?
what about a 8 or nine game month, , £120?
i cant get to games anyway for health and wealth reasons , living in Scotland(used to go a lot when i lived in Essex)
Nookies will love it though as punters will only have stats and hearsay on which to base their bets instead of knowledge based on following the GAME instead of one team once a month or 2 , or 8 mins on motd.
Tv companies will have no issues carrying on as they are surely, show the game take the money and distribute as required and football will just have to cut its cloth accordingly like everyone else
Bookies not Nookies 😮
Afc, are you suggesting £120 to view 8/9 fixtures? If so, that’s not far off £14.95 a match.
$30.00 a game (roughly, in Aussie dollars).
No chance at all.
I pay $90.00 a month for Foxtel (pay tv), which until the 19/20 season included all PL games.
Once that deal ended, we were suddenly forced to subscribe to Optus to watch games.
Nah not for me.
Enough is just enough sometimes.
I’ve started live streaming games and usually get a stream that’s pretty damn good quality.
Every time we give a little, someone wantS a bit more and it just never ends.
Bookies not Nookies… love a typo 😄👍
Rico I was offered 2 options , one to have a seasons ‘Holiday’ where my ticket was held until next season ( or when games for all started again) OR I could pay an amount to go into the Ballot which meant that my name would be in the ballot for all the games that were held at home where a number of ST holders got tickets to seats at spaced intervals to comply with State regulations . I chose the holiday option. So never went into the Ballot, but I do know of one supporter who did take up the ballot option & had won 2 tickets for the Sheffield United game (which was due to be the 1st game with some fans in)but that got cancelled by the Government and he has no idea what will happen next. He did not pay for the SU tickets BUT he still has not had his original fee £600 for going into the ballot back. I think if he gets to no games all year they will just take it off his next ST but not sure about that.
What’s that in £’s Scott?
Ha ha Sue, some more than others..
Thanks for that Sheila. Seems you took the best option.
Some of these changes seem OK(18 clubs makes sense) but to me the worst is point 7: New rules for distribution of TV money, I’m assuming that means more money for the top clubs,and less for the others.The moment you go down that road,the competiveness of the league is finished.You could argue the. big clubs already earn more,but at least that’ based on league position – there’s to be an equal distribution of TV money in my opinion, otherwise greed will kill the very thing that makes the league popular worldwide.
Unless they mean more for the lower positional clubs Limey, plus the EFL.
Aye Rico ,thats what i meant , £120 for just 8 games 1 club , ,stark staring bonkers!
I hope so.The whole thing seems like a bribe, for example if the Premier League can afford to give £100m to the FA to support grass roots, that’s great but they shouldn’t need an extra reason of agreeing to changes.
Rico, at a rough guide it’s $2.00 to the pound.
New post up now
Morning campers, morning Rico, lots and lots of new ways to manage football it seems?
Those clubs with special voting rights, I wonder how that will work?
No mention of a salary cap or the money passed onto the PFA so that Gordon Taylor can continue with his millionaire lifestyle?
I did read something about B teams in the EFL, that’s a good idea if you’re an Arsenal fan, I’d be ok with that, but I’m not so sure how I’d feel if I supported Wimbledon or Leyton Orient?
Reducing the EPL to 18 I do not agree with, it’s the league games that we love not the fecking pre season tournaments or more Champions League/Europa games – and don’t worry, UEFA and FIFA would just put on more pointless internationals in that extra space that nobody watches, I’d love to know the viewing figures on England matches, excluding World Cup finals and Euros, over the last 10 years because I can’t remember the last time any football fan I know ever avidly discussed an international with me, nobody cares.