Martin Wickham makes the case for the away supporters facing a world where the TV audience for football takes precedence…
It’s been 14 years since Chelsea last played a league game on a Friday night, and it should not surprise anyone that, then as now, television coverage played a part. Our home match vs Manchester United in August 2002 was a natural choice for Sky Sports’ 4pm ‘Super Sunday’ broadcast, only for the Met Police to intervene upon the realisation that the Notting Hill Carnival taking place the same weekend would stretch their resources to breaking point.
What was a one off occasion is now going to be regular occurrence with the new Premier League television deal offering Friday night games. As ever travelling fans are the ones who will be inconvenienced the most, and the only ‘consolation’ to be offered up or considered is that at least it isn’t on a Monday night and you have the rest of the weekend to yourself. Either way, barring a local derby, it’s still at least a half day of annual leave taken up, and either an overnight stay at extra cost or getting home at a godforsaken hour.
The increasing number of television slots being sold to Sky and BT is happening at the expense and convenience of match going fans, and the reason for this harks back to an antiquated rule that predates the Premier League itself. The FA and Football League do not permit matches to be broadcast in the United Kingdom between 2:45pm and 5:15pm on Saturday afternoons (the FA Cup Final was an exception). This was done at the behest of club chairmen in the 1960’s who were concerned of the impact televised Football League games would have on their gate receipts. Over 50 years on, it is sur
ely time for a rethink?
The first thing to note is that this embargo is easily circumvented. Pubs in the UK now broadcast 3pm games freely. An internet stream, with or without foreign commentary, can be sourced by a simple Google search. Kodi allows you to discover channels showing all the matches you could possibly want to watch within a few clicks. Even legitimate Sky boxes will air a Saturday 3pm game, provided it was purchased and registered in the Republic of Ireland! If a ban can be got around so easily, what is the point of its existence?
It can be argued that the ban on televising games on a Saturday afternoon has little to no effect on match attendance elsewhere, and to me it is a very odd, and somewhat patronising idea, that someone will be less likely to go to their teams games just because Sky or BT are broadcasting another, unrelated game at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. Match going supporters, regardless of team and division, will still go, and illness, work or family commitments are far more likely to interrupt that ingrained habit than the airing of any other televised game. Finally, in the top division at least, ticket revenue now represents a small fraction of a clubs income, so the concerns of Bob Lord et al in the 1960’s are less valid, and increasingly so for as long as the televised football bubble continues to inflate.
My belief is that the embargo should be lifted, and the Friday and Monday night television packages provided in the UK should be moved to a Saturday 3pm offering. It can take the form of one game being broadcast per channel, or instead use the already established ‘red button’ technology to allow a viewer to pick from any of the games being played at that time. I’m sure Sky would love the chance to create (and charge for) a football equivalent of Netflix for mobile devices as well! The television demand is therefore provided for, and possibly even more so than before, but without causing travelling fans the inconveniences such as those experienced by Southampton fans having to get to Old Trafford last month, or Liverpool fans to Stamford Bridge this coming Friday, on a night of the week when road and rail travel is at its most busy. Premier League clubs would also benefit financially from the likely bidding war that will ensue for the rights to show the 3pm games, allowing them to spend increasing sums of money buying average English midfielders…
A couple of years ago British television viewers endured the ludicrous spectacle of having to watch Guilleme Balague (shudder) narrate the opening exchanges of a game between Barcelona and Real Madrid because the 5pm kick off time meant Sky Sports couldn’t show pictures until 15 minutes had passed. Proof if it was further needed that the Saturday afternoon embargo on televised football coverage in Britain is no longer fit for purpose, if indeed it ever was. It is an analogue rule in a digital age, and should be lifted at the earliest opportunity.
By Martin Wickham
