|
||||||||
2016/2017 Football League TV Fixtures Thrread? |
![]() |
| Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|
#476 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 1,226
|
The Difference - that's very interesting, I'm not sure what to make of the clubs' being upset with the TV deal. It does seem odd that the National League gets better coverage than Leagues One and Two.
On the EFL Trophy, I've always wondered if it might be a good idea to give the winner promotion to the Championship (i.e. with four going down, so still three up from League One)? That would instantly increase the interest and value of that competition. The only issue, I suppose, is that if the winner could then metaphorically go on holiday for the last few games of the season, but I definitely think it would be worth considering. |
|
|
|
|
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
|
|
|
#477 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Wigan
Posts: 249
|
Quote:
The Difference - that's very interesting, I'm not sure what to make of the clubs' being upset with the TV deal. It does seem odd that the National League gets better coverage than Leagues One and Two.
On the EFL Trophy, I've always wondered if it might be a good idea to give the winner promotion to the Championship (i.e. with four going down, so still three up from League One)? That would instantly increase the interest and value of that competition. The only issue, I suppose, is that if the winner could then metaphorically go on holiday for the last few games of the season, but I definitely think it would be worth considering. |
|
|
|
|
|
#478 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 281
|
Quote:
The Difference - that's very interesting, I'm not sure what to make of the clubs' being upset with the TV deal. It does seem odd that the National League gets better coverage than Leagues One and Two.
On the EFL Trophy, I've always wondered if it might be a good idea to give the winner promotion to the Championship (i.e. with four going down, so still three up from League One)? That would instantly increase the interest and value of that competition. The only issue, I suppose, is that if the winner could then metaphorically go on holiday for the last few games of the season, but I definitely think it would be worth considering. Ultimately there has to be wide spread interest in an event to have a national broadcaster thinking it is worthwhile showing, which sadly for the lower leagues is very rarely the case for most of their fixtures and unlike some other nations which have strong regional coverage that can use any local interest in an event as a worthwhile reason to show it. The truth is for most clubs in the lower leagues the paying match going spectators are far more valuable than a TV audience for at least 90% of their matches so I reckon selling highlights is far more worthwhile to them than worrying about live coverage which is usually far more disruptive to their fans in terms of kick off times. \ |
|
|
|
|
|
#479 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Brighton now on loan to London
Posts: 2,261
|
The only way I can see Leagues 1 and 2 ever getting more live TV coverage is by splitting the rights away from the Championship and going with a different broadcaster.
The weekend's live matches from the PL and Championship already fill every available slot, even creating additional Thursday ones some weekends. It isn't in Sky's interests to schedule additional lower league matches against their own higher profile games, so there isn't really anywhere for Sky to fit in these games. And if it's a choice between increasing the number of live L1 & 2 games by reducing Championship ones, no broadcaster would ever voluntarily choose that I'm afraid. They really have to look elsewhere. |
|
|
|
|
|
#480 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Gtr Manchester UK
Posts: 7,914
|
Quote:
The problem with the EFL Trophy
\ Couldn't the No-one's Bothered Cup Trophy benefit from a similar thing, the third and fourth tiers playing north/south knockout games with one tie (second half) being shown on FTA TV on a Tues, and one from the other region on the Weds, until the final itself which would be weekend at Wembley? Trouble is, with so much other sport being on live at the same time, such as Euro Cups etc, or even live Premier games, it would be difficult to find an audience I suppose. Apart from that, one way to spice it up would be to award an extra league bonus point to the winners of each tie - if they go to the final that could be extra 5 or 6, which could well give them guaranteed promotion or a play-off spot...or keep them up! That way I bet managers wouldn't play 11-yr-olds
|
|
|
|
|
|
#481 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Huddersfield
Posts: 5,797
|
Quote:
The Difference - that's very interesting, I'm not sure what to make of the clubs' being upset with the TV deal. It does seem odd that the National League gets better coverage than Leagues One and Two.
On the EFL Trophy, I've always wondered if it might be a good idea to give the winner promotion to the Championship (i.e. with four going down, so still three up from League One)? That would instantly increase the interest and value of that competition. The only issue, I suppose, is that if the winner could then metaphorically go on holiday for the last few games of the season, but I definitely think it would be worth considering. |
|
|
|
|
|
#482 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 14,208
|
Quote:
The only way I can see Leagues 1 and 2 ever getting more live TV coverage is by splitting the rights away from the Championship and going with a different broadcaster.
But there is such a gulf between the Championship and League One when it comes to coverage and the TV money that comes with it - the most recent figure I've seen bandied around valuing promotion to the second tier is £8 million, which has meant that going up to or staying up in the Championship feels make-or-break to smaller clubs in a way that it simply didn't a decade ago. Due to Sky's demand to cover the biggest clubs outside the Premier League, most of which are in the Championship, and the bigger clubs' demand for as much money as possible in order to best compete with the parachute-payment bolstered relegated clubs, we now have a Football League TV deal where the vast majority of the money in concentrated on the second tier in a way it simply wasn't during Sky's first contract and when ITV held live rights. There is a not undeserved perception that Shaun Harvey has little concern for the health of clubs in the lower divisions and this has only been crystallised by the disastrous reforms to the Trophy. The fact that the league has fined lower league clubs who've played young players in the Trophy who have not been in their league matchday squads, but has not punished the youth teams of the higher division clubs who've broken rules on the number of over-aged players they can field, just about says it all as far as I'm concerned. I think ultimately the Championship clubs will want to break away from the lower divisions in order to sell rights to their league's games alone for the highest offer in order to better compete with the Premier League, while the executives of League One and Two clubs will want to break away to seek a deal that provides better coverage and more money than the current 20 regular season, 10 Play-Off and (less than) 5 Trophy games that Sky Sports are currently contracted to show - if BT Sport can justify demand for 30 National League matches per season (indeed has that number risen? BT seem to be showing a game most weeks from the fifth tier), then I'm sure they or another broadcaster would be willing to at least match that level of commitment were they to go it alone. Having the lower divisions' deal tacked onto that of the Championship doesn't seem to be working that well for anyone other than Sky Sports, who are happy to keep exclusive live rights to the league games involving 72 clubs under their umbrella and away from BT Sport and the terrestrial channels. As for the Football League Trophy, I didn't see much wrong with the old format. The crowds early on were fairly meagre, but the ticket prices were always cheap across the board which helped families and people with less disposable income to get to watch their teams at a more affordable cost. Excitement in the competition built the further you got - as a Walsall fan, one of the few times we have sold out our ground was for the home leg of the 2015 Area Final, and getting to Wembley for the first time meant an awful lot to the club. Indeed the attendance for the Bristol City v Walsall final the season before last broke 72,000 - that doesn't look too shabby for a competition that supposedly few care about. However, if the format had to change, rather than bring in the youth teams of fashionable clubs or look for a different incentive (I wouldn't want to see promotion decided through it, nor do I think it would be workable), what I would do is replace the current 16 youth teams with 16 willing teams from the National League, then regionalise the group stage/early knockout rounds to the nth degree based on geography - do away with the blind draw and go further than the Northern and Southern section split (which does very little for clubs in the Midlands, East Anglia, Wales etc), and bring together groups that would match Exeter, Plymouth, Torquay and Yeovil for example. So right from the off you'd have competitive local derbies between teams that might not play each other often due to being in different divisions, shorter travelling times for visiting fans and more interest in the stage of the competition that commands the least support. The broader north/south regional divides can come into effect the longer the tournament goes on, concluding with the Northern and Southern Area Finals and Wembley final we have at present. And if teams want to use the competition as a platform to bring through young players who are registered members of their squads, let them! Fans like to see young, home-grown players get their chance - this season's Trophy top scorer thus far, Amadou Bakayoko, is a good example of a young player who has used the opportunities he's been given in the competition to earn a regular place in Walsall's league side. It's ridiculous for Shaun Harvey and co to incentivise lower league clubs to play young home-grown players in the league, but penalise them from doing so in their Trophy. I think if the Trophy does go ahead into next season, minus the poorly-received youth teams, a few positive tweaks to the format like the ones I've suggested combined with good marketing and possibly a new TV deal away from Sky Sports could be the boost the competition needs after this term's PR disaster. |
|
|
|
|
|
#483 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 6,879
|
I think the only realistic option for the EFL Trophy is for it to be scrapped, as regretable as it might be to say that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#484 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 1,226
|
Quote:
I can't ever see that happening personally. Can you imagine if for example, as unlikely as it is, the team finishing bottom of L2 won it? They'd win promotion up 2 leagues (or 1, whichever) despite actually being rubbish in the league and finishing in a relegation place, which is just....silly. Unlikely I admit, but it could theoretically happen.
If a club did finish in the relegation zone of League 2, I don't think it would be that silly. Ultimately they'd have won a competition. I think the potential downside is that the team promoted to the Championship might struggle in the Championship. But I'd have thought if this did come in, teams would take it a lot more seriously so it would be more likely to be won by a League 1 club anyway. |
|
|
|
|
|
#485 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 4,289
|
I just hope that the "ex" big boys in the Championship dont try and form a Premier League 2
|
|
|
|
|
|
#486 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Gtr Manchester UK
Posts: 7,914
|
Quote:
I just hope that the "ex" big boys in the Championship dont try and form a Premier League 2
|
|
|
|
|
|
#487 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 6,879
|
It will be interesting to know how much Mel Morris thinks the Football League clubs could get from a new TV deal. The rumoured £90m a year, isn't too bad, considering the ITV Digital Deal was £105m per year (£315m over 3 years) and of course ITV didn't actually end up paying for the deal!
I do think that the last set of rights should have been tendered though. And I think its obvious to say but the Foootball League needs exposure as well. Sticking it on ITV Digital (which hardly anyone could receive at the time) was the worst thing possible that the league could have done. Sticking it on some obscure internet subscription model, with constant buffering, is not exactly going to have fans flocking to their laptops, tablets, or mobiles. As for league 1 and league 2 clubs, they do get bigger payouts simply be being in the Football League, would they really get that much money from their own separate TV deal. |
|
|
|
|
|
#488 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: England, E.Midlands & London
Posts: 7,692
|
Quote:
It will be interesting to know how much Mel Morris thinks the Football League clubs could get from a new TV deal. The rumoured £90m a year, isn't too bad, considering the ITV Digital Deal was £105m per year (£315m over 3 years) and of course ITV didn't actually end up paying for the deal!
I do think that the last set of rights should have been tendered though. And I think its obvious to say but the Foootball League needs exposure as well. Sticking it on ITV Digital (which hardly anyone could receive at the time) was the worst thing possible that the league could have done. Sticking it on some obscure internet subscription model, with constant buffering, is not exactly going to have fans flocking to their laptops, tablets, or mobiles. As for league 1 and league 2 clubs, they do get bigger payouts simply be being in the Football League, would they really get that much money from their own separate TV deal. |
|
|
|
|
|
#489 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 6,879
|
I thought the 72 Football League clubs were having a meeting at Pride Park (home of Derby County) on Thursday 5th January? Has anyone heard anything from the meeting?
|
|
|
|
|
|
#490 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 14,208
|
Charles Sale has reported on the meeting of Football League club executives at Pride Park in this morning's Sports Agenda, while yesterday he lead his column by documenting Leeds United's new 50% stakeholder Andrea Radrizzani's sports media background. Here are the relevant bits of those articles, in chronological order: Quote:
Italian businessman Andrea Radrizzani has bought a 50 per cent stake in Leeds, adding a whole new dynamic to the major TV rights conflict raging at the Football League. Radrizzani has purchased his stake at Elland Road through his investment company Aser Group Holding. But he made his fortune after co-founding sports media agency MP & Silva in 2004 and selling a majority stake to Chinese investors for £685million last May. The 42-year-old, who has an option to buy out his unpredictable compatriot and joint owner Massimo Cellino next summer, is expected to keep a relatively low profile while he gets to know the Leeds set-up. Radrizzani will be effectively in control of the club, however, from February when Cellino is due to start an 18-month ban — if his appeal is unsuccessful — from football-related activities for breaching agent regulations. And Radrizzani’s media rights knowledge will immediately be useful to Leeds, who are the biggest allies of Derby owner Mel Morris in his campaign for a better TV deal than the present £90m-a-year Sky agreement. The 72 Football League clubs have been invited to a meeting at Derby on Thursday for a presentation by Morris. And Radrizzani, a popular figure, will surely have to take a view on the merits of Leeds playing Derby in a friendly at Pride Park during the March international break, when Morris intends to showcase how best to make the most of broadcast opportunities other from Sky. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/art...TV-rumpus.html Quote:
Derby chairman Mel Morris claimed he could bring in £300million a year for Football League TV rights compared to the £90m-a-year Sky deal he complains is not nearly good enough.
The highly optimistic Morris told a meeting of FL clubs at Pride Park that televising and streaming far more FL matches than the Sky contract allows would narrow the gap to the Premier League. Bristol City owner Steve Lansdown led the support for Morris, describing the Sky agreement as a ‘bag of nails’ and calls for the Derby chief to lead the FL’s negotiation process for the next TV contract were not opposed, although few owners were present. The FL say they are recruiting an independent broadcast rights adviser but are happy for Morris to play a part in future TV rights talks. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...aces-2026.html |
|
|
|
|
|
#491 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 594
|
I would have to concur with Morris that the existing FL deal from Sky is very poor in terms of the number of games that are allowed to be broadcast internationally each week.
Only one championship game is allowed to be shown at 3pm on a Saturday ( only other games that can be broadcast are the ones sky show in UK ) and when you have teams of the size of Leeds United, Newcastle,. Aston Villa, Derby, Sheff Wed, Wolves etc etc this cannot be seen as maximizing your potential. I am sure the demand would be there to see these kind of teams week in week out from abroad but at the moment, each saturday they are left with no other games other than sometimes the like of Fulham v Barnsley which with no disrespect to supporters of those teams is hardly going to attract many broadcasters/advertisers. The championship is the 4th best supported league in Europe, only behind EPL, La Liga and the Bundesliga, therefore it really isnt getting its just rewards right now in terms of TV money. Thus, having the opportunity to choose from two of the teams I mention above at 3pm each week ( by showing say an additional 2 or 3 games on Saturdays ) would be a huge shot in the arm for foreign broadcasters in my opinion therefore I can definitely see merit in Morris's thinking here. |
|
|
|
|
|
#492 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 227
|
It is high time BT Sport should throw their hat into the ring by outbidding Sky for the next Football League TV rights and offer more coverage to League 1 & 2 teams as well as the Championship.
The biggest problem will be the scheduling as no one would want to be on at the same time as a PL live game. With the international scene being seen as rather unexciting nowadays, the subsequent international breaks are a magnet for the lower EFL clubs. Many would rather watch say, Mansfield play Accrington than a needless friendly or qualifier. BT Sport would gain a lot of credibility by putting a live EFL game every Monday night giving these clubs valuable income and exposure. Now there's a thought, which one is more attractive, an EFL match or a Bundesliga II match on a Monday Night? The current £90 million EFL deal is peanuts compared to Sky's £350 million deal for the PL rights back in 1992. I say get in there BT Sport. |
|
|
|
|
|
#493 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,648
|
EFL should get a terrestrial live TV partner alongside the major Pay TV partner
BBCtv years ago had 10 live championship games each season along with live semi final games of the league cup semi final and the live final. EFL should bring back that deal. They could also expand by 10 live games in league one and also 10 live games from league two live terrestrial coverage would compliment the EFL highlights and more promotion for the major pay tv partner |
|
|
|
|
|
#494 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 4,321
|
Quote:
EFL should get a terrestrial live TV partner alongside the major Pay TV partner
BBCtv years ago had 10 live championship games each season along with live semi final games of the league cup semi final and the live final. EFL should bring back that deal. They could also expand by 10 live games in league one and also 10 live games from league two live terrestrial coverage would compliment the EFL highlights and more promotion for the major pay tv partner |
|
|
|
|
|
#495 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 227
|
At first, the BBC deal looked good, but as time went, their coverage was pretty shambolic. they seemed to have lost interest when they stopped showing live matches while keeping the late Saturday highlight show until the contract expired. Also the play-off coverage was non-existent. I think the same applies to Channel 5.
Over the years since satellite and cable came to existence both the BBC & ITV have shown themselves to be very amatuerish in the way they cover sport in comparison to the more dedicated sports channels. |
|
|
|
![]() |
| Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
All times are GMT. The time now is 10:13.


