davieG Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 Guardian Blackburn to cut prices amid fears Premiership is losing its appeal Huge TV deals could fund concessions for fans Football League in talks to take bigger share of spoils David Conn Wednesday January 24, 2007 Blackburn Rovers are to use the income from their share of the Premiership's new increased TV deal to cut ticket prices, amid fears that supporters are being priced out of many top-tier clubs. "Our view is that some of this new money must be returned to our supporters in admission prices," the club's chief executive, John Williams, said. "We have not worked the detail out yet, whether to reduce prices across the board, or offer more concessions for children and families, but most clubs apart from the biggest have a problem with crowds, and it is crucial that the game remains a live spectacle." Williams told the Guardian he had recognised for some time that high prices keep fans away, but it was difficult to cut ticket charges because the club need to make as much money as they can to compete with the Premiership's richer clubs. However, now that all clubs will make so much from TV next season, he believes it is right to ease the financial strain on fans.Last week the Premier League concluded a £625m overseas rights deal, which brings to £2.7bn the total TV money heading to the 20 Premiership clubs in the 2007-10 seasons. But while Manchester United's expanded, 76,000-capacity Old Trafford and Arsenal's new 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium continue to sell out even at record ticket prices, middle-ranking clubs like Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan and Fulham, and Middlesbrough and Aston Villa for some matches, have seen empty spaces in their grounds this season. Williams has responded to the vast new deal, which will bring the average Premiership club around £40m from television alone next season, with a commitment to reduce ticket prices. Rovers charge between £15 and £39 for adult tickets, around £30 on average. This is not excessive for the Premiership - the top price at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium is £94 - but Rovers, 10th in the table, have struggled to fill their ground to even two-thirds of its 31,367 capacity. The factors cited by fans for staying away from matches in growing numbers include the increased number of changed kick-off times to cater for more matches shown live by Sky, and the meaninglessness of some matches in a league perceived to be increasingly predictable - all of which makes people reluctant to pay £25-£40 a ticket even if they can afford it. Williams is advocating a change to the way TV money within the Premier League is distributed to make it more competitive - the current system rewards the rich top clubs. At the same time, members of the Football League board are in discussions with Richard Scudamore, the Premiership's chief executive, about securing a more substantial share of the Premier League's TV money for the 72 League clubs. Championship clubs are concerned that the £6m per season "parachute payments" paid to the three clubs relegated from the Premiership - which will rise to £10m-£12m from next season - give them a huge advantage in promotion battles. "The Premier League is becoming increasingly predictable," Williams said. "While it is good we still have a title race, most people can name at the beginning of the season who the top four clubs will be. Although we have to remain as competitive as we can, we are committing to returning some of the increase in TV money to our supporters from next season." This is a major public recognition that the Premier League needs to address disillusionment among fans at home, even as its matches wow burgeoning new television audiences around the world. Rovers use TV money to bring back the fans The promise by John Williams, Blackburn Rovers' chief executive, that next season's TV windfall will fund reduced ticket prices at Ewood Park represents the first such commitment by any Premier League club. Ticket prices have increased by an estimated 700% since the formation of the Premiership 15 years ago, yet pressure to reduce prices has not been successful because the top clubs' grounds still consistently sell out. At Blackburn as elsewhere, particularly in the North-west and at Aston Villa and Middlesbrough for some matches, empty spaces have yawned at grounds this season and Williams believes that, with Premier League clubs sharing £2.7bn TV money from next season, prices should be reduced. "We know price is one of the reasons that people are not coming to matches," he said. "Although as a club we have to remain as competitive as we can, we are committing now to returning some of this increase to our paying supporters from next season."
Leonisco Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 Problem is this won't affect us as TV money in the championship isn't enough for clubs to be able to drop prices. Good on Blackburn for trying though, they're attendances have been pretty dismal.
lildave3 Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 Good to see someone actually cares about the fans. Well done Blackburn
Floating Fox Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 Wigan also dropped theirs lets hope more clubs do
Geo V Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 The extra money that the prem clubs are getting is almost obscene so the least they can do is try and get their stadiums more lively. I wonder what the home records are of these clubs by the way? I bet they are pants. If there home record was good and there average attendance meant a half empty stadium they probably wouldnt have done a thing.
Guest Gist Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 I didn't realise just how much it cost to get in some grounds. £61 yesterday the Spurs game!
Daggers Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 Good to see someone actually cares about the fans. Well done Blackburn If you can serve success on a plate then you'll always pack a ground with tourists...like Man U & Chelsea. Clubs are starting to discover that there are many of us that are prepared to say 'Fudge it! There's other stuff I can do on a Saturday and cheaper too.' Football has forgotten that it is a game of the people, as I have said in many posts. It has disappeared up its own arse but it is nothing without fans. If people aren't watching at the ground they sure as shit aren't watching the stupidly timed broadcasts. The answer is so simple it's stupid: * Put terraced areas back into grounds * Drop prices * Forget foreign players * Cap salaries to sensible contracts * Treat fans as intelligent people The longer they continue to ignore us the further they are going to fall. It's a bubble of wealth - one of them popped once but football seems to have forgotten about it. They are sucked in by the lure of big finance...but I have no understanding why. All the money disappears in huge transfers, inflated salaries and agent fees while at the same time the quality of football goes down. Football is one sick puppy.
Webbo Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 The answer is so simple it's stupid: * Put terraced areas back into grounds. wil never happen, the healt & safety nazis will see to that. * Drop prices. that's dependent on T.V. money. * Forget foreign players. they're one of the reasons the premier league's so popular, would affect T.V. money. * Cap salaries to sensible contracts. illegal (and quite rightly so) under EU regulations. * Treat fans as intelligent people. erm..
filbertway Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 Why is salaray capping illegal, why cant they cap salaries to 20-30k a week maximum, instead of silly prices like 70-100k.
potter3 Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 Why is salaray capping illegal, why cant they cap salaries to 20-30k a week maximum, instead of silly prices like 70-100k. or have a teams salray cap of £500K p/week, should make the league a lot closer, but they'd have to enforce it across Europe or all the top players would leave for more money. <_<
lookwhaticando Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 One way it could be construed as illegal is the fact that salary caps could be considered 'restriction of trade'. Gotta love the EU bureaucracy.
lcfc_jme Posted 25 January 2007 Posted 25 January 2007 Good idea from Blackburn methinks I'll be interested to see how it works out, and, if it's successful, whether other clubs will do something similar.
Daggers Posted 26 January 2007 Posted 26 January 2007 The answer is so simple it's stupid: * Put terraced areas back into grounds. wil never happen, the healt & safety nazis will see to that. * Drop prices. that's dependent on T.V. money. * Forget foreign players. they're one of the reasons the premier league's so popular, would affect T.V. money. * Cap salaries to sensible contracts. illegal (and quite rightly so) under EU regulations. * Treat fans as intelligent people. erm.. Maybe - but that doesn't detract from the fact that this is one of the reasons the soul has been sucked from the game Dropping prices is the prerogative of the club and wholly independant from TV revenue The point is that average foreign imports have contributed to the dilution of the game. They add less than they contribute and therefore capping the number of foreign players in the game would benefit the national team. Restricting teams to two or three quality players would place an emphasis on them to raise local talent, cheaper talent. Sky subscribers do not pay to see this foreign legion - they pay to see their team. Capping salaries is not illegal, under EU or any other legislation. If a club chooses to introduce a salary cap then that is entirely up to them. One only needs to read the accounts of those responsible for abolishing the original national cap to understand that they too wish they had considered their actions more carefully. Clubs treat fans as morons and a revenue sources - no more, no ****ing less
Webbo Posted 26 January 2007 Posted 26 January 2007 Maybe - but that doesn't detract from the fact that this is one of the reasons the soul has been sucked from the game Dropping prices is the prerogative of the club and wholly independant from TV revenue The point is that average foreign imports have contributed to the dilution of the game. They add less than they contribute and therefore capping the number of foreign players in the game would benefit the national team. Restricting teams to two or three quality players would place an emphasis on them to raise local talent, cheaper talent. Sky subscribers do not pay to see this foreign legion - they pay to see their team. Capping salaries is not illegal, under EU or any other legislation. If a club chooses to introduce a salary cap then that is entirely up to them. One only needs to read the accounts of those responsible for abolishing the original national cap to understand that they too wish they had considered their actions more carefully. Clubs treat fans as morons and a revenue sources - no more, no ****ing less point 3. i meant popular worldwide, foreigners like to see their country men perform. point 4. a club can impose it's own wage structure. the league cannot legally enforce a wage cap due to restraint of trade rules. i'm not saying i disagree with your ideas, just that they can never happen.
davieG Posted 26 January 2007 Author Posted 26 January 2007 point 3. i meant popular worldwide, foreigners like to see their country men perform. point 4. a club can impose it's own wage structure. the league cannot legally enforce a wage cap due to restraint of trade rules. i'm not saying i disagree with your ideas, just that they can never happen. I would have thought they can insist on certain financial rulings, e.g based on earned income, turnover, gate receipts or whatever in order to ensure judicial management. They could limit the size of loans, overdrafts allowable as most clubs, even the big ones seem to be running on massive debts. Or some other more imaginative method, the problem to me seems to get the big clubs to agree.
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