The return will not be televised. Cristiano Ronaldo‘s second Manchester United debut against Newcastle will be seen only by the 76,000 paying fans inside Old Trafford on 11 September. Millions around the world will also be tuning in live, but not from the UK.
The 3pm blackout, which has been in place since the 1960s, prohibits matches being shown between 2:45pm and 5:15pm in order to protect attendances throughout the football pyramid.
In Uefa territories, “Article 48” dictates that on a Saturday or Sunday, there must be a period when no live football can be shown on TV.
That is largely to encourage attendances at clubs who rely on gate receipts, rather than TV rights, for the majority of their income – and such clubs receive most of those ticket sales on a Saturday, rather than in their midweek games.
The argument traditionally put forward, as it was when the blackout was introduced, is that clubs in the Football League (EFL) would see a dip in attendances if their matches clashed with a high-profile top-flight game.
What is relatively unique to English football is that many Premier League games start at the same time as games elsewhere, making it a direct competition between that division and the rest.
That is not to say that matchgoing fans and armchair supporters are necessarily the same people. Wigan and Bolton fanatics are unlikely to skip their own clubs’ matches to watch Ronaldo on Sky Sports or BT Sport, but there are fears over more casual fans who might be tempted away from the turnstiles.
On the other hand, there are clubs throughout the football pyramid who are being restricted in the matches they are able to broadcast to fans on ifollow, the streaming service used by the EFL.
Leyton Orient chairman Nigel Travers told i that there needs to be a “detailed review” of whether the blackout is still relevant after a year of matches being played largely behind closed doors.
“Last year, fan behaviour changed and fans got used to being able to see every game,” Travers said. “Most of our fans don’t live close to Leyton.
“Fans expect to be able to see games and we personally do not believe it impacts attendance. Last week, because it was an international break and there was no 3pm blackout, we showed the Orient vs Newport County game on our streaming services.
“The money we got from ticket sales which is 5 per cent of the tickets you sold, we made 30x that amount on streaming.”
The danger of a “big six” club clashing with lower-league football is mitigated to some extent by the number of other TV slots available. Matches featuring Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are regularly moved to the 12.30pm and 5.30pm kick-offs on a Saturday or 2pm and 4.30pm on Sundays, or to the Monday night fixture.
There would be significant opposition to lifting the 3pm ban on coverage, though it would take time to measure the true effect – if any – on attendances and fan’s customs. Travers, nonetheless, believes many within football are “living in the past”.
“The world has changed – the world has become digital,” he added. “And our attendances have continued to go up over time, despite our streaming services. I think this year we will end up selling more season tickets than we’ve ever sold in our history.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/38QHFzh
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