Bristol City vs Blackburn Rovers, Sunday 1st September, 1.30pm KO

[Mattyblue]

Balancing act though, because he could knock thousands off the travelling support...

[chaddyrovers]

Game on Sky Sports via red button

http://www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11688/11486355/ipswich-v-norwich-to-be-shown-live-on-sky-sports-red-button?__twitter_impression=true

[Ossydave]

Shame, this red button thing really is a armchair fans best friend 

[nathan_rovers1]

9 hours ago, Ossydave said:

Shame, this red button thing really is a armchair fans best friend 

Or of those that are based abroad.... 

[Ossydave]

1 hour ago, nathan_rovers1 said:

Or of those that are based abroad.... 

Behave

The sky red button is contributing to declining attendances for many teams as UK based fans literally can't be arsed to get off their backsides to support their teams. 

[Mattyblue]

I follow/red button is great for overseas or long distances away UK Rovers fans.

However of course Ossydave is right, it does nothing for attendances as locals will now be able to watch getting towards half of our home games on Sky, assuming PNE and Leeds are also red button, along with all night matches, Villa already scheduled, plus others probably as the season goes on.

The ‘EFL’ is not the Premier League, it cannot, in my opinion, withstand saturated TV coverage and maintain crowds. I suppose the proof of that will be in the coming seasons as this beds in.

Edited September 1, 2018 by Mattyblue

[rigger]

But are you going to Bristol?

[Mattyblue]

I’m not, didn’t like the look of the train prices, so I’ll be watching the red button!

Makes me sound like a right hypocrite - I’ll be doing it for Swansea too, the rub being though if this service wasn’t offered then I wouldn’t be asking for it.

But sorry, wrong thread!

 

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

1,300 is a great following for Sunday kick off!

[Stuart]

In principle I would far rather be there than watch on tv. However, due to cost, family and grassroots commitments away games are a no-no for me.

In reality, away games are not a great experience. Unless you get there early you don’t get your own seat (if it’s sold out) and standing is mandatory. Then you add in the scrotes who seem to think using the F word twice in every sentence is a sign of intellect and bonus points for the C word who sign vile songs then you aren’t even with people you particularly want to spend time with - let alone subject your kids to. And if you don’t like it then it’s your fault not theirs.

I expect the further you go then the fewer idiots follow though but that just increases the cost and time issues.

[nathan_rovers1]

1 hour ago, Ossydave said:

Behave

The sky red button is contributing to declining attendances for many teams as UK based fans literally can't be arsed to get off their backsides to support their teams. 

I am not saying it that it isn't. I am just saying for those of us that live abroad it makes it easier. If I were in the UK near Blackburn, I would go home and away! 

[Mattyblue]

9 minutes ago, Stuart said:

In principle I would far rather be there than watch on tv. However, due to cost, family and grassroots commitments away games are a no-no for me.

In reality, away games are not a great experience. Unless you get there early you don’t get your own seat (if it’s sold out) and standing is mandatory. Then you add in the scrotes who seem to think using the F word twice in every sentence is a sign of intellect and bonus points for the C word who sign vile songs then you aren’t even with people you particularly want to spend time with - let alone subject your kids to. And if you don’t like it then it’s your fault not theirs.

I expect the further you go then the fewer idiots follow though but that just increases the cost and time issues.

It’s so many home games being on TV that is the worry.

[blueboy3333]

1 hour ago, Ossydave said:

Behave

The sky red button is contributing to declining attendances for many teams as UK based fans literally can't be arsed to get off their backsides to support their teams. 

I think ticket and travel prices are doing a good job of that. 

[booth]

17 hours ago, mickygray316 said:

This game is on the red button

 

If you're using NowTV to watch Sky, note that it doesn't have a red button and you won't be able to watch the match.

[Stuart]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

It’s so many home games being on TV that is the worry.

True enough. Wouldn’t stop me getting a season ticket. Although it would almost certainly reduce walk-one at current prices. However, if the club were shrewd enough they could get paid for red button viewing AND make ticket prices stupidly low to maximise walk-ons. (Of course this would create problems for some ST holders who are very much against cheap walk on tickets).

Taking it to extremes, if every single game was televised and clubs got a decent revenue from it then they could offer £100 season tickets and £5 walk ons and make it about the experience.

Thats without applying any maths to it to work out what TV revenues would be to make that work.

[Ossydave]

12 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

I think ticket and travel prices are doing a good job of that. 

Hence why I said contributing..... 

[Ossydave]

The harsh reality of the sky generation 

[Mattyblue]

Made me laugh when Sky briefly had that 3D channel:

‘For the first time you can watch your team in 3D!’.

[Stuart]

Just now, Ossydave said:

The harsh reality of the sky generation 

That’s very nice but it needs to be aimed at clubs. It’s they who price people out of football and they who agree to have their games televised in order to collect the tv revenue.

The anomaly of course is Leeds. Always on tv, rarely 3pm Saturday ko, highest ticket prices, yet 30k+ every at Elland Road every week. Yes, they have a higher catchment but they could all still watch on tv or in the pub. That has to be down to demographics and peer groups.

Rovers following the tv grab strategy will not hold up to that dynamic.

[tomphil]

Not long ago Leeds were down to late teens, early 20k crowds but they too have a bit of belief back in the place now so they are back behind it in numbers as usually happens at big city clubs.

[Mattyblue]

Leeds have a vast floating support from Hull to Skipton, North Yorkshire to Barnsley, and they are one club from a massive city, so a bit of success on the pitch and they flock to Elland Road.

But as tomphil says they soon disappear.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

3 minutes ago, renrag said:

Leeds gates are not that great for a one club city with a population one and a half the size of Liverpool or Manchester. The only competition for miles around is Huddersfield and Bradford.

Rugby League is still popular in the Greater Leeds area.

[Mattyblue]

It is, but pretty much every town and village in Yorkshire is full of Leeds fans.

[Ossydave]

Pretty much every postcode in the UK is populated by a fair share of Leeds fans, read some daft stat about it a while back

Edited September 1, 2018 by Ossydave

[bluebruce]

1 hour ago, Stuart said:

That’s very nice but it needs to be aimed at clubs. It’s they who price people out of football and they who agree to have their games televised in order to collect the tv revenue.

If we do a root cause analysis though...a big part of why clubs have priced tickets so high and have to grab at any television money is that vast swathes of income are drained by player wages, which itself is driven partly by player greed but mostly by agent greed.

Clubs are in a peculiar position, where fan pressure to succeed and the financial structure and reality of the game means they have to take financial gambles, which means they have to recoup that money from fans and tv.

It's all a bit of a loop, with fans (armchair and hardcore alike) getting milked for their cash in a huge exploitation of their passion, and the ultimate beneficiaries being players and agents. As it worsens, the risks and debts become greater and something has to give somewhere.