[Albion] £14.95 to watch Albion

[andy1980]

You're totally missing the point.

The only reason it is not 'legal' to watch the game by other means is because of a global pandemic that's cost thousands of lives and jobs in the UK.

The same supporters who want to watch these games are, primarily, the ones that paid for a ticket expecting to go the game.
They would go week in, week out. They are the loyal supporters.

They are now being asked to pay a further £15, because, apparently, the clubs need the revenue stream in the absence of supporters, despite blowing £1.2 billion in the latest transfer window.

Justifying this latest money grab as being acceptable because there's no obligation to supporters is presumably the same sort of out-of-touch decision making that resulted in clubs voting in favour and the resulting PR shit storm.

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Brighton and Hove Albion so far has spent the same amount of money as they bought in, in the transfer market (how much money has the Premier League bought in). From what I can see it looks like our wages will be lower as well. We are Brighton fans, so why judge Brighton by what the rest of the Premier League do?

It seems to me that football is in a lot of trouble financially (including Brighton) They need to find ways to bring money into the club and as already been said this is optional. I know I won't be doing it (I like Johnny Canter and Warren Aspinall), but maybe, just maybe one or two people will do it and it will bring in a couple of extra quid to help the Albion.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

Let's just go down the pub and f*** the football off from now on

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Until BJ closes them on Monday [emoji15]

 

[um bongo molongo]

The honourable thing would have been for the clubs and BT/Sky/Amazon to have come to an agreement to continue to show all games on those channels, as has been the case for the last few months, in recognition that people can’t go to games, are increasingly stuck indoors, and would like to watch them. This would mean the Prem clubs effectively ‘selling’ the extra games to those channels for a much lower fee than they get from PPV though. And so they chose the money instead. Together my **se.

 

[blockhseagull]

You say they can't do that, but the broadcasters made every game free to the nation last year- presumably they couldn't do that either?

This is only for those games not in the 'usual' round of TV picks, which it is begrudgingly accepted are available at a premium price.

Would i expect my money back on a ST if it was 'free' to me as a benefit? Well, I'd still expect some money back as it's a very different (inferior) product. But it's not unreasonable to think clubs couldn't give the option to supporters of using some of their credit towards this rather than expecting them to shell out again.

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The clubs had to pay out a rebate to the broadcasters because they showed every game. Barber himself said this couldn’t continue during the zoom call about fans returning to the stadiums.

I do think the clubs are in a difficult situation, they can’t come up with a long term plan because of the governments back track on fans returning to stadiums and they are lobbying hard to get them to change that decision. In the meantime they have found a way with the current restrictions on what they can and can’t do in regards to the broadcasting deal to make the games that haven’t been chosen for made available (yes they’ve made a huge error in the price point) but fans who really want to watch the games now can.

From my understanding of what I’ve been reading recently the broadcasters were not going to allow the clubs to show all the games every week any further so the choice was PPV or just not show them at all. The clubs aren’t allowed to show them via their own websites or give ‘free’ access to games because of the TV deals.

What need to actually happen is the government and the footballing authorities need to make a firm decision on what to do with fans returning to games. This will allow the clubs and the broadcasters to make a proper decision on how to approach it rather than the piecemeal month by month reactions they are currently doing.

If fans aren’t going to be allowed back in the short to medium term they need to refund all season ticket monies held so that fans can use a better priced PPV option to see the games they choose.

Being held in this holding pattern by the government and the broadcasters is not helping the clubs and more importantly the fans

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

No thanks I will go and watch Horsham play for £12.

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And YM for £7! You’d be very welcome ...

 

[Murray 17]

At the pub that £14.95 gets me four pints, and the game's on the tele. Where's my free four pints with this?

Or 10 pints plus, if Wetherspoons screen it!

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[blockhseagull]

The honourable thing would have been for the clubs and BT/Sky/Amazon to have come to an agreement to continue to show all games on those channels, as has been the case for the last few months, in recognition that people can’t go to games, are increasingly stuck indoors, and would like to watch them. This would mean the Prem clubs effectively ‘selling’ the extra games to those channels for a much lower fee than they get from PPV though. And so they chose the money instead. Together my **se.

Would have been the best solution.

But the broadcasters aren’t prepared to pay for more football and I think they don’t actually want any more games as they think the saturation is devaluing the product. They just want the 5 games per match day and not 10

 

[herecomesaregular]

No option to refund your money for 20/21 and sit the season out was available unless you were deemed vulnerable and unable to attend games. If you put your 19/20 refund towards it or not doesn't make any difference to this.

Wha? That’s not true. My mate sent a copy of his Gov shielding letter into the club. Only option given was a deferral of the money to next season. No refund offered.
Result? Albion lose a fan and season ticket holder due to resentment.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Isn't there a big danger that the club will run out of fresh ST revenue next season unless they find ways of letting us run down our ST credit this season? Maybe the £14.95 is one way of doing that? Assuming the £14.95 can be offset against ST credit, which AFAIK is not currently the case. 'What If' we've all still got a full season's worth of credit come ST renewal time in March? Paging [MENTION=31]El Presidente[/MENTION]

 

[mikeyjh]

It's like having your holiday cancelled, not getting a refund but being told for an extra £14.95 you can enjoy the holiday experience by watching "Wish you were here?" with Judith Chalmers.

Surely the answer to all this is players taking a frigging pay cut, that's where all the bloody money goes. Blanket cut across the PL (and beyond?), job done.

 

[andy1980]

It's like having your holiday cancelled, not getting a refund but being told for an extra £14.95 you can enjoy the holiday experience by watching "Wish you were here?" with Judith Chalmers.

Surely the answer to all this is players taking a frigging pay cut, that's where all the bloody money goes. Blanket cut across the PL (and beyond?), job done.

We tried that when Glenn and Lewis were negotiating with the players and Paul Barber. Nothing came of it, and since then most of the top earners have been shipped out of the club.

 

[jfs]

I might pay it for a particularly important game. As everyone knows, there are free streaming options for those who can't or won't pay £15, even if they're unreliable.

It probably has to be priced on the high side, else for some people PPV could work out cheaper than the Sky or BT subscription they currently pay.

And anyway, as others have said, it's an extra option, nothing is being taken away from existing subscribers.

I can't be angry at the club over this, it's a bad situation for fans, clubs, TV companies and everyone else involved.

 

[drew]

Firstly, it's very unlikely we're going to be allowed back into the ground.

Even if we are, it's going to be a very different experience to the one we signed up for.

Yesterday the Chancellor announced further measures to protect jobs. The economy is crumbling. People are being made redundant left, right and centre. Many of these people would like the money back that is currently sat in the club rather than going towards a game that might not be until next year (or later!)

The club have just about avoided a meltdown over that, but to then expect fans to pay an extra £15 to watch West Brom at home is a disgrace.

You can't justify it by reassuring supporters that they might be able to go to a game in 6 months time at no extra cost and sit 4 seats away from their mates in a different stand to where they usually sit.

As has been said several times, we've just paid £10 million for a couple of kids to be loaned out to Poland. We turned down nearly £30 million for Ben White. Bloom doesn't need the money and nor do the club.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion but personally, mine is that anyone thinking this is reasonable has either been brainwashed by Barber or is totally insane.

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Fine. Don't pay the £15, your choice. Whilst I agree in principle to your comments about people being able to opt out without necessarily being in the government identified shielding group why on earth do you think you are entitled to watch every game free or that every game should come within the exisiting Sky/BT package? It's nonsensical. Your comments about the transfer fees and wages are again bizarre. Are you suggesting that just because the club are competing in an expensive marketplace you should be allowed to watch for free. Maybe you believe that because we spent tens of millions when the pandemic is over they should just open the gates and let you go in and watch for free as well!!

 

[southstandandy]

Having paid for my ST up front I agree with many that it does seem a bit tough to be asked for additional fees to see the odd extra game that would have been covered by our Season tickets (even though I've effectively paid in advance for next season).

But baring those supporters who are shielding, most of us know other fans we could join in small numbers to watch the odd new fee charged matches and split the cost to a tiny fraction (which is what I do for the occasional boxing match that I wish to see on PPV). We all know friends we could join up in small groups to experience the game together paying little more than £3 or £4 each which I'm sure many would be willing to do (for the occasional match that this is done for).

I know some feel 'it's the principle' that's at stake, but I have already arranged a small group of 5 for the West Brom game to watch together (£3 each) and have a few beers whilst enjoying the match. I accept some won't want to do this, but for such a tiny outlay it's a social way of watching the game with like minded fans (whilst following the rule of 6).

I'm already looking forward to a lads afternoon whilst the wife is out meeting a friend for a coffee. Win win and only £3. And our first home win of the season!

 

[BN9 BHA]

I’m not against the idea but 15 quid is off putting.

£15 is 2 pints of the fancy beer you drink.

 

[drew]

No option to refund your money for 20/21 and sit the season out was available unless you were deemed vulnerable and unable to attend games. If you put your 19/20 refund towards it or not doesn't make any difference to this.

I thought it was clear I was talking about the games from 2019/20 season that we didn't get to go to. Think there were three options, refund, donate to AITC or offset against this years season.

 

[Beach Hut]

Isn't there a big danger that the club will run out of fresh ST revenue next season unless they find ways of letting us run down our ST credit this season? Maybe the £14.95 is one way of doing that? Assuming the £14.95 can be offset against ST credit, which AFAIK is not currently the case. 'What If' we've all still got a full season's worth of credit come ST renewal time in March? Paging [MENTION=31]El Presidente[/MENTION]

As far as I am aware the ST waiting least has disappeared due to this issue of not being allowed to go to games and it now looks likely current STH may abandon ship as well, further serious financial implications if this is the case.

 

[drew]

But they aren't free by any stretch of the imagination and the pay TV platforms have increased their subscriber base.

You also really need to look at the situation of other fans, we are quite lucky to be able to pay monthly. They've paid up for the entire season, have subscribed to Sky/BT/NowTV and have now been told they will have to pay £15 quid a pop for their next three games.

West Brom on Sky Box Office

Mon Oct 19: West Brom vs Burnley - Kick-Off 5.30pm
Mon Oct 26: Brighton vs West Brom - Kick-Off 5.30pm
Mon Nov 2: Fulham vs West Brom - Kick-Off 5.30pm

And why do WBA fans believe they are entitled to watch all those games for free?

I don't know what arrangements WBA are doing with regard to season ticket sales but I assume they will take the same approach as BHA. It's immaterial whether you pay in full or by direct debit as the principle is the same, ie the club are holding the money on deposit. If you were a WBA STH, they would normally see the Burnley game and would only see the other two if they got away tickets (which, I'm sure you know cost money and aren't free).

 

[Cozzy]

As a non STH living up north and unable to get to games seeing them on TV is a bonus for me , with all games shown live it has been a footy festival and kept me occupied. As you would expect I would prefer this to continue as is even with fans returning but I know thats not going to happen so yes I have an IPTV sub as a personal choice.

Now IMHO if this was truly about helping the clubs and not about profiteering then the times and days these 'non broadcast games' would not be change and most of the 5 PPV games would actually be played @3pm on a Saturday but the fact they are 'separating' the games kick off times means they are aiming to generate as much income as possible. The addition that they dont guarantee to 'even' out the choice of tv games so every club gets an equal amount of tv picks & PPV clearly is going to hit the pockets of fans smaller unfashionable clubs harder meaning Albion fans.

I'm sure the EPL would go PPV streams all the time if they could but I suspect that at the moment Sky , BT & Amazon generates higher revenue than selling legal streams would directly to fans in the UK. While I understand the need for rebates to TV companies this , as far as I understand it, is for overseas broadcasters because of the inconvenience of the change in game times & days so in theory if the PPV remained as originally timed (eg 3pm Saturdays) then that would mean no more rebate and the clubs would be better off instantly but no they will shift kick off times to exploit the income from UK fans which is at odds with the concept of generating more income for the EPL clubs as its common sense they wont get as much from PPV as they will have to pay in rebates.

Its a slippery slope of greed before community and alienating the fans which rebuilt & held together the club in its darkest days and in my opinion is a big mistake at this time and if they truly wanted to do it for fans & to support the clubs the PPV games would be taken away from the TV companies and put as a streaming service at a reasonable price (under £10 per game free for STH home team) and show more support back to the fans who are in more financial trouble than the clubs are based of transfer , agent fees & wage spends.

All just IMHO of course whether you agree or not lets keep it civil.

 

[Is it PotG?]

Whilst I will not be taking up the offer of £14.95 for upcoming viewings, I am of the understanding that any unused credit will offset the 2021/2022 ST cost.

Given the likelihood that I will be unlucky to be drawn out for the reducing number of matches AND I would try to sell on the exchange (which would seem popular in demand), I would expect a healthy fund ready in place.