Sky 's dominant position in the Championship has upset a lot of us for very good reasons . Paul Barber has little choice but to defend the current situation as he sees the curretn £100k per home game as beneficial to the clubs short term revenue streams . Maintaining that it makes a dent in the transfer budget is a bit farcical when we appear to have spent 10 million plus this year .
[So the pros and cons as objectively as they can be laid out
Pros
5 x home games = £500k
Brighton fans the world over get to watch games
Brighton the city gets global exposure ( like the Rugby)
People who were thinking of going to the game no longer have to make the effort and can relax at home or in the pub.
People who were busy on the Saturday can go to the week night game
Cons
A number of season ticket holders cannot attend the re-arranged fixtures
Pre -arranged events on re-arranged football nights need to be cancelled
It appears that around 3000 less season ticket holders come to these games - Leeds will be worse . Thus the revenue from match day sales must be around £10 x 3000 - so at a good guess £30k less than usual
The match evening atmosphere is not so good ( except Brentford)
Going to a football match is a social event - not much fun on a Monday night on your own as your mates cant go .
A disaster for away fans who have booked travel and accomodation
Dad taking children on a school night
A fair number of season tickets will not be renewed because of this specific reason . Just say its 1000 x £500 = £500k . I think this could be a conservative estimate if we stay in the Championship .
Conclusion
The Sky contract has a negative effect on the clubs financial situation - it does not bring money in after the facts are considered . There is compelling evidence that it makes a loss for us financially.
It has the effect of alienating and upsetting loyal fans as one of the purposes of going to football is to see and spend time with friends - have a pie and a pint on Saturday lunchtime . There is also too much focus on clubs with big support which will generate bigger viewing figures for advertisers and hence we and Leeds get too much coverage . There is no time limit on Sky changing a game - they try to operate with a 28 day period but reserve the right to change a game anytime .
What to do
Sky need to be regulated by the Championship to stop this
Suggestions
Each team can only be on Sky a maximum of 5 times a season
The revenue paid to each club is paltry - home teams should be paid £250k not £100k and away teams £50k and not £30 ( or 10 i read somewhere)
Games must changed at least two months before the original date . Burnley was only 5 weeks and many Burnley fans will already have rain tickets to arrive in Brighton later than the start time .
Televise games at their original start time - whats the big deal with the current rules . It would affect attendances far less than sticking the games on a Monday night .
Maybe we should all watch the Burnley game in the pub and turn up with 15 minutes to go !! Haha
Somethings gotta change ....
I feel better now - thanks for reading if you got this far .
Going for a 3 - 1 Brighton tonight with a sending off and an own goal in there
[So the pros and cons as objectively as they can be laid out
Pros
5 x home games = £500k
Brighton fans the world over get to watch games
Brighton the city gets global exposure ( like the Rugby)
People who were thinking of going to the game no longer have to make the effort and can relax at home or in the pub.
People who were busy on the Saturday can go to the week night game
Cons
A number of season ticket holders cannot attend the re-arranged fixtures
Pre -arranged events on re-arranged football nights need to be cancelled
It appears that around 3000 less season ticket holders come to these games - Leeds will be worse . Thus the revenue from match day sales must be around £10 x 3000 - so at a good guess £30k less than usual
The match evening atmosphere is not so good ( except Brentford)
Going to a football match is a social event - not much fun on a Monday night on your own as your mates cant go .
A disaster for away fans who have booked travel and accomodation
Dad taking children on a school night
A fair number of season tickets will not be renewed because of this specific reason . Just say its 1000 x £500 = £500k . I think this could be a conservative estimate if we stay in the Championship .
Conclusion
The Sky contract has a negative effect on the clubs financial situation - it does not bring money in after the facts are considered . There is compelling evidence that it makes a loss for us financially.
It has the effect of alienating and upsetting loyal fans as one of the purposes of going to football is to see and spend time with friends - have a pie and a pint on Saturday lunchtime . There is also too much focus on clubs with big support which will generate bigger viewing figures for advertisers and hence we and Leeds get too much coverage . There is no time limit on Sky changing a game - they try to operate with a 28 day period but reserve the right to change a game anytime .
What to do
Sky need to be regulated by the Championship to stop this
Suggestions
Each team can only be on Sky a maximum of 5 times a season
The revenue paid to each club is paltry - home teams should be paid £250k not £100k and away teams £50k and not £30 ( or 10 i read somewhere)
Games must changed at least two months before the original date . Burnley was only 5 weeks and many Burnley fans will already have rain tickets to arrive in Brighton later than the start time .
Televise games at their original start time - whats the big deal with the current rules . It would affect attendances far less than sticking the games on a Monday night .
Maybe we should all watch the Burnley game in the pub and turn up with 15 minutes to go !! Haha
Somethings gotta change ....
I feel better now - thanks for reading if you got this far .
Going for a 3 - 1 Brighton tonight with a sending off and an own goal in there
