Match v Reading at home moved to Friday 24th Feb for TV

[Stat Brother]

Because the majority of our support is season ticket holders thus the cash is already banked whether those fans turn up or not.

I'm not sure it's that clear cut.

The club was hemorrhaging considerably more money than usual during the last weeks of Sami, due to the lack of bums on seats.
I don't imagine, esp with the clusterf**k that is transport, our attendance is taken for granted.

 

[Skaville]

So last week I spent £120 on five tickets to see Stewart Lee at The Dome on Friday the 24th...

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

So last week I spent £120 on five tickets to see Stewart Lee at The Dome on Friday the 24th...

I hope no one loses a similar gamble for the games in March, April or May.

Albion v Derby will surely be moved so keep that Friday night free.

 

[Dr. Notthenineo'clocknews]

So last week I spent £120 on five tickets to see Stewart Lee at The Dome on Friday the 24th...

That's the thing innit,,some time ago 6 of us booked tickets for this Friday for The Human League. Following on from the last Friday night travel debacle we're sticking with plan A

 

[SUA Seagull]

With this latest fixture change, Albion now has only 5 home games left this season in a Saturday 3pm slot, including Newcastle (same day as FAC R4) and Derby, both of which must surely be bankers to be shifted. Whilst I accept that some fans may prefer Friday games as it frees up their weekend, there is no doubt that it results in a massive inconvenience to a significant number of fans, particularly those who travel from afar, have to navigate the M25 on a Friday night, and who, like me, have to take half a day off work to attend. (Yes, I know I don’t have to, and it’s my choice, but as a committed STH I want to see the Albion play whenever I can!)

Add to that the now perennial SASTA travel problems (and the cost and inconvenience to fans of making alternative travel arrangements) means that this season especially we have endured serious disruption which has affected a significant number of fans on numerous occasions, both STHs and match-day attendees. Switching games to a Friday night simply exacerbates those problems, particularly for away fans.

I acknowledge that the FL and the club are bound under contract to Sky, but surely a bit more “sharing around” of the Saturday lunchtime and later afternoon slots is possible? I find it hard to believe that the club has to accept a Friday night slot nearly every time (my mate’s son used to work for Sky until recently and he said that Sky loves Fridays at the Amex in terms of facilities, set up and post-match exit, which is a far more pleasant experience for the broadcast crew than they encounter at most other grounds.) Surely there’s an element of slot flexibility that the club can negotiate?

Perhaps the club is taking the view that most fans will renew their STs regardless, given the lure of Premiership football next season, and so it isn’t that bothered about gripes from a few fans now (especially as it already has money in the bank from prepaid STHs who can’t attend Friday night games)? I sincerely hope that’s not the case and would urge the club to make more of an effort in future to push for some early or late pm Saturday slots as an alternative to Friday nights.

Rant over. Up the Albion!

 

[Giraffe]

So last week I spent £120 on five tickets to see Stewart Lee at The Dome on Friday the 24th...

Frankly that is a schoolboy error. It wouldn't take a big guess to see that the Reading match was going to be chosen.

ps) who is Stewart Lee?

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

With this latest fixture change, Albion now has only 5 home games left this season in a Saturday 3pm slot, including Newcastle (same day as FAC R4) and Derby, both of which must surely be bankers to be shifted.

...

Rant over. Up the Albion!

Newcastle - Bound to be moved because of FACup4.

Burton - Safe unless Arctic Blizzards.

Derby - Severe risk of moving for Sky. Also FACup6 if either side get there.

Blackburn - Safe, presumably.

Bristol City - Medium risk of moving for Sky.

 

[Gwylan]

Burton - Safe unless Arctic Blizzards.

We surely have under-pitch heating and there's no longer an issue of icy terraces to worry about. I can't see many Albion games are going to be postponed because of bad weather

 

[Prince Monolulu]

Burton - Safe unless Arctic Blizzards.

Are they performing at The Amex? Think it might be in the summer.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

We surely have under-pitch heating and there's no longer an issue of icy terraces to worry about. I can't see many Albion games are going to be postponed because of bad weather

Ice outside the ground would be the issue and could lead to a postponement in arctic conditions.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

We surely have under-pitch heating and there's no longer an issue of icy terraces to worry about. I can't see many Albion games are going to be postponed because of bad weather

It wouldn't be the Amex that is the problem. It's more the transport.

 

[Gwylan]

It wouldn't be the Amex that is the problem. It's more the transport.

I don't see how. Games have gone on during the rail chaos, including at least one total strike day - lack of trains really won't stop a match

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

How many reasons do you want?

It's not me who needs the reasons, Notters. I understand them all too well and have plenty of reasons not to go myself - so many games are being moved that I'm one of the people having to reconsider owning a season ticket, and have to book a half day off work every midweek home game just to give myself a chance of getting there on time, thanks to SASTA. The fact is, though, that the figures disagree with your assertion that people are baling in huge numbers. Even if they are, they're being replaced by others - the attendances are holding up absolutely fine. Only when there's a financial imperative to change things do things get changed - whether it's enough people telling Sky to sod off (as I have) for constant fixture changes, enough people not making the games for example. (Edit: should we get promoted, the club will have even less reason to care about season ticket sales dropping, because the shortfall will be covered dozens of times over by the ludicrous cash cow that is Premier League TV money.)

At the moment, the club's taking the TV money and the gate money, and people are putting up with the shambles on the railway. All the time it's OK, nothing's going to change.

 

[Notters]

It's not me who needs the reasons, Notters. I understand them all too well and have plenty of reasons not to go myself - so many games are being moved that I'm one of the people having to reconsider owning a season ticket, and have to book a half day off work every midweek home game just to give myself a chance of getting there on time, thanks to SASTA. The fact is, though, that the figures disagree with your assertion that people are baling in huge numbers. Even if they are, they're being replaced by others - the attendances are holding up absolutely fine. Only when there's a financial imperative to change things do things get changed - whether it's enough people telling Sky to sod off (as I have) for constant fixture changes, enough people not making the games for example. (Edit: should we get promoted, the club will have even less reason to care about season ticket sales dropping, because the shortfall will be covered dozens of times over by the ludicrous cash cow that is Premier League TV money.)

At the moment, the club's taking the TV money and the gate money, and people are putting up with the shambles on the railway. All the time it's OK, nothing's going to change.

But they're not. Not by a long shot. The number of people at evening matches (i.e. the attendance) is going down every time. If they announced the attendance rather than tickets sold you wouldn't even say this.

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

Yes they are - last few:

Fulham 29,445
Villa 30,107
Norwich 29,469
Wolves 25.231
PNE 27,606
Barnsley 26,018

Even as announced sales rather than attendances, there's nothing in there remotely worrying enough for the club to start caring, especially given their announcements that they're on for six consecutive sell-outs. I'd argue that only the Wolves game has a lower figure than was to have been expected. If the club felt it was suffering rather than benefitting from the Sky deal, they'd be making some kind of PR effort - however gently, however carefully they were treating the sensitivities of one of their biggest income providers, we'd know they weren't happy. So far we've heard nothing, except Barber basically making it Sky's fault - the usual stuff about contractual obligation, no choice, fans' needs are considered etc. That's not the message we'd be hearing if the club were worried about the numbers. Sky works for the club better than it works for us, and until that balance is upset, nothing's going to change.

 

[Nixonator]

If we want success on the pitch then we need to deal with these things and suffer the added expense/inconvenience. The best thing you can do is not be subscribed to Sky/BT.

Plenty of folk on here love to wax lyrical about TB's resolve in not selling our key players. This is possible only because of squeezing every last bit of revenue from everywhere and anywhere, and if that means being Sky's lapdog for an interim period, then so be it.

You can harp on all you like about PB being a broken record with his 'affects the playing budget' monologues, but to be honest it's difficult to argue against. How on earth do you expect us to compete with clubs rolling in parachute money if you are not prepared to be inconvenienced by fixture changes?

The train situation is just a cluster**** for all involved, no less so than for the club itself. You cannot expect the club, having already lost up to half a mil because of this situation, to then cause a fuss and cut off our revenue from Sky as well because it may or may not mean we get an extra couple thousand people turning up who a) legitimately couldn't make it due to the fixture change and/or strikes or b) those that just can't be assed being inconvenienced (probably the leave on 80' crew).

 

[Durlston]

It's not great but I was half expecting this fixture to be stamped on. I just wish we'd have the golden Saturday 5.30pm match at HOME if we're on the box, for a change.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Yes they are - last few:

Fulham 29,445
Villa 30,107
Norwich 29,469
Wolves 25.231
PNE 27,606
Barnsley 26,018

Even as announced sales rather than attendances, there's nothing in there remotely worrying enough for the club to start caring, especially given their announcements that they're on for six consecutive sell-outs. I'd argue that only the Wolves game has a lower figure than was to have been expected. If the club felt it was suffering rather than benefitting from the Sky deal, they'd be making some kind of PR effort - however gently, however carefully they were treating the sensitivities of one of their biggest income providers, we'd know they weren't happy. So far we've heard nothing, except Barber basically making it Sky's fault - the usual stuff about contractual obligation, no choice, fans' needs are considered etc. That's not the message we'd be hearing if the club were worried about the numbers. Sky works for the club better than it works for us, and until that balance is upset, nothing's going to change.

I believe there will be many current season ticket holders who will consider more carefully whether to renew. Those figures are over emphasised by the high proportion of season ticket holders we have. The family stand is decimated on an evening game particularly if we are on TV. Look at the highlights and see how sparse the east lower is. It was not like that a few years ago. I am pretty committed to going but with the extra expense of parking as my family and I cannot afford to rely on the trains, I have been tempted to cancel one of my kids tickets and even become a little disenchanted myself. I love the Albion, they are my wife's only competitor, my mistress if you like, but sometimes, the hassle of it all is making it seem less worthwhile.

 

[Notters]

If we want success on the pitch then we need to deal with these things and suffer the added expense/inconvenience. The best thing you can do is not be subscribed to Sky/BT.

This isn't about sky or the football club. I don't have sky and I enjoy Friday night games. If I can get to them.

 

[Bozza]

I dropped Paul Barber a quick note earlier to see what the score was with regards to how much say, if any, we have when it comes to when a game is going to be televised when selected by Sky.

He was happy for me to share his response, below:

I fully appreciate the frustration. As I've explained previously, we don’t get a choice of TV slots. They are allocated to us. We are part of a collective agreement against which we are contractually obliged to deliver the games requested by the EFL and Sky. There will be a whole host of reasons why we are allocated certain TV slots over others at any give time – some of them will be police-related (both for our club and for other home clubs in a given week-end), some may be fixture issues for the clubs selected for a particular game either side of the televised game, or there may be other operational reasons for other slots not being offered to us to which we may not be privy.

Unfortunately, with regards to our own operational planning, a Saturday live TV slot doesn’t necessarily help us to help fans in a rail dispute period. Typically, we want - and we need - access to additional park and rides sites that are likely to be available to us on a Friday evening but not on a Saturday (for example, we couldn’t utilise Sainsbury’s West Hove on a Saturday afternoon/evening). Similarly, we need access to more buses. These are harder to come by in this city on a Saturday afternoon than on a Friday evening. We also benefit from generally quieter roads (post match) on a Friday evening (meaning busses can make faster loops) than we would on a Saturday afternoon.

We’ve done a lot of research in to season ticket holder “no shows” and, rail dispute aside, there is only a marginal difference between a Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. Our live TV games also tend to boost match day ticket sales which, along with good away support, is why our live TV games have attracted some of our highest home attendances this season. For this Friday’s game, we met Southern for 2 hours this morning and, subject to finalisation of their plans tomorrow, we will be able to confirm Friday evening’s transport arrangements during tomorrow to give all fans the best possible chance of getting to and from the game.