Football is all about the money nowadays, with billions being spent each season for top European sides. One major factor of this increase in revenue is TV companies. Let’s be honest, if you are a die-hard supporter then Sky Sports just take the mickey out of you. Unsurprisingly, lower league owners are getting frustrated at how much Premier League teams are making for just staying up.
Why TV Companies are Ruining Football
Changing Tradition.
Sky Sports and BT Sport are the major forces in broadcasting, with Sky holding most of the Premier League games and BT with the Champions League. Don’t get me wrong, spending evenings or weekends watching football is ideal. But for any supporter going to games, it is a nightmare. Sky Sports paid a staggering £3.579 billion for just three seasons along with BT pay an outstanding £885 million. It is not the fact of how much you have to pay to watch football nowadays but it how the TV companies treat supporters. Changing tradition is the problem. For example, BT sport pressured organisers to change the FA Cup final kick-off time. Last season, the cup final was moved to a later time because families, apparently, were more likely to watch it. However, fans were not consulted in any change of plan and were completely ignored.
Goodbye National Team
After a fantastic World Cup campaign, the Three Lions can finally be described as a dominant force again. ITV would usually have all access to England for the whole nation to watch. Yet, Sky Sports had the cheek to take it off Freeview TV on to subscription. This was because Sky had coverage of Nations League but they have a free channel for everyone to watch. Yet, they failed to even broadcast it on the Freeview channel, instead putting it on the subscription channel. What a way to make the nation fall out of love again. The fact the younger generation cannot watch their home nation shows even clearer that TV companies are destroying football for them.
Lower League Sides Benefiting
Surviving in the Premier League is a must for any side outside the top six, with 8th place being first in a mini-league style. All teams in the Premier League last season earned a whopping £39,000,000 million after being broadcasted on domestic TV. Even Burnley, who finished seventh, were broadcasted seven times throughout the campaign and still earned the same as Manchester City. Why is this important? Back in the good old days, money was not as much of a problem as now. If you played in the top division, then you had to play to win every match. However, teams in the 21st century only care about surviving so they can enjoy a massive payday in May.
West Brom Paying the Price
For example, West Brom were one of the main teams to avoid relegation to get a paycheck without really competing in style for any silverware. The Baggies achieved an average position of 11th place in their seven years in the top division. Despite surviving relegation, the style of football played at the Hawthorns had no attacking intent. Eventually, one side broke the anomaly, with a side that were favourites for relegation achieving the impossible by winning the league. Leicester City ended the cycle of one of the top six teams becoming champions by winning the league in 2015/16 season. Every team’s supporters want to see enjoyable football but the money coming in nowadays for any top division side is more important for the owners of the club.
Main Photo