Matchday Magazine

[damo100]

Last season saw SW abolish the sales of our matchday magazine at Ewood.

Imo another matchday experience was taken away.

Are they coming back, does anyone have any information regards this.

BTW, if non league outfits can provide these why can't we?

Edited June 21, 2022 by damo100

[JWU-Andy]

given that sales of the monthly magazine which replaced the programme are pitiful and the programme lost money (hence the reason for it getting ditched), I genuinely don't see why the current management would consider bringing it back.

There is still a place for a programme in the modern game, but Rovers want something that is going to turn a profit and (for me) a programme isn't and shouldn't be about generating profit for the club - more a vehicle to communicate with fans who don't live their lives on social media.

While the club produce their 'match day supplement' and monthly magazine, I don't think that would be much, if any, call for an unofficial - fan produced - match day programme.

[DeeCee]

I have no idea but how many other  clubs in the top 2 divisions don't sell programmes?  Lazyitess once more from the marketing/PR tesm👎

[JHRover]

You learn a lot about a club by the effort put into things such as its matchday programme. 

The small things that separate the clubs that try and those that don't.

Of course selling programmes is not, in this day and age, a source of income. That doesn't mean you just do away with it.

Some clubs treat matchday programmes as an opportunity to engage with their support, keep people in the loop, paint a positive picture of the club to dignitaries and visiting supporters, and another route to advertising for sponsors.

Others treat it as just another burden, unwanted hassle and as it doesn't make any money it is far easier just to do away with it.

Of course there is another approach - just as there is another approach to season tickets, merchandise, closing stands at Ewood, closing the club shop in the town, having a woeful offering of matchday food and drink etc - yet sadly no such effort to be found at Ewood and easier just to shrug shoulders and get rid. 

[Mattyblue]

Most things a football club does doesn’t ‘turn a profit’, but they are all part and parcel of a football club, from the Premier League to the Northern Premier.

A club at our level exists on owner largesse and TV money, the pennies you are losing on a bloody fortnightly bit of paper is neither here nor there, but symptomatic of a hierarchy that has no interest in the match day experience as one look around the ground tells you.

Though maybe we should try and ‘turn a profit’ on the likes of Rothwell and Lenihan instead of consistently reducing what is on offer at Ewood for a saving of buttons, though I imagine the later goes down well on Swag’s profit and loss reports, the former, ‘well, what can you do?’

Edited June 21, 2022 by Mattyblue

[R0verb0y]

I'm another who regrets the speed with which the club dropped the idea of us having a matchday programme, once the EFL decided that their provision was optional.

If the provision of coaches for us to get to the pre-season Friendlies is a sign of a more enlightened attitude in the Boardroom, perhaps they might re-visit the issue of matchday programmes as well.

For example, I found an article in the programme for our pre-season game against Rangers a fascinating lesson about the history of this great club of ours; and how many games we had against Scottish teams in the era before the foundation of the Football League.

[Upside Down]

On 21/06/2022 at 08:02, JHRover said:

You learn a lot about a club by the effort put into things such as its matchday programme. 

The small things that separate the clubs that try and those that don't.

Of course selling programmes is not, in this day and age, a source of income. That doesn't mean you just do away with it.

Some clubs treat matchday programmes as an opportunity to engage with their support, keep people in the loop, paint a positive picture of the club to dignitaries and visiting supporters, and another route to advertising for sponsors.

Others treat it as just another burden, unwanted hassle and as it doesn't make any money it is far easier just to do away with it.

Of course there is another approach - just as there is another approach to season tickets, merchandise, closing stands at Ewood, closing the club shop in the town, having a woeful offering of matchday food and drink etc - yet sadly no such effort to be found at Ewood and easier just to shrug shoulders and get rid. 

The easiest option is always the best option when you don't give a fuck. 

[Miller11]

forgot about this thread

[Hullrover]

Why does it have to be glossy? An old fashioned paper version would be far cheaper to produce and could sell for £1-£2  (as with 4000 holes). Would probably shift more too. Most of what is in the expensive booklets can be found online and is trivial. Easier to stuff in a pocket and won't take up as much room if collecting.

[arbitro]

Workington had a programme for yesterday's match.

[chaddyrovers]

would they be much of demand nowadays of people attending for match day programme? what is the cost involve for producing one? 

[Mattyblue]

They were selling hundreds of copies a week, certainly more than Darwen or bloody Clitheroe FC do. They weren’t profitable, but we are talking a loss of peanuts. Maybe we should talk about the millions in missed profits on Lenihan, Rothwell et al.

It’s part and parcel of a football club and the match day experience, but here typical of the penny wise, pound foolish way they run the club.

 

(But you don’t personally buy one, so let’s get rid).

Edited July 3, 2022 by Mattyblue

[chaddyrovers]

44 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

They were selling hundreds of copies a week, certainly more than Darwen or bloody Clitheroe FC do. They weren’t profitable, but we are talking a loss of peanuts. Maybe we should talk about the millions in missed profits on Lenihan, Rothwell et al.

It’s part and parcel of a football club and the match day experience, but here typical of the penny wise, pound foolish way they run the club.

 

(But you don’t personally buy one, so let’s get rid).

I was simple asking a couple of questions so its time you stop with the attacks Matty. 

I used to collect them when I was younger days and I would have read the programme before the game kick off. Would I buy one now? no I wouldn't now cos I just talk to people and discuss different things. Plus I want watch the lunch time kick off game

[Mattyblue]

‘Attacks’? Lighten up! We are talking about a football programme on a message board, it isn’t PMQs.

Like I said, I knew you would start talking about how you didn’t buy one… neither did I, by the way - though I knew folk that did, and generally plenty still did.

It wasn’t losing the club much cash. So why stop?

[chaddyrovers]

7 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

‘Attacks’? Lighten up! We are talking about a football programme on a message board, it isn’t PMQs.

Like I said, I knew you would start talking about how you didn’t buy one… neither did I, by the way - though I knew folk that did, and generally plenty still did.

It wasn’t losing the club much cash. So why stop?

I am trying to discuss football programme without attacking people point of view Matty. 

Of Course I am going post my opinion on it and my past experience of buying and collecting football programmes. I used to buy one every home game but wouldn't nowadays due to my habits pre match has change what I want to do. 

how many is plenty still did? what numbers are we talking? what the cost involve in producing one? is the demand still there? or given that people habits have move on from reading and buying match programme do the club move with the times of the modern technology era?  

[frosty]

If they hadn’t stopped producing them, not one person would have suggested getting rid of them as a way of saving a few quid. 

The earlier posts in the thread are bang on re. the laziness, cba attitude and wanting an operation that’s as small time as possible.

[damo100]

To be honest it's embarrassing when you see away supporters asking where they can buy a programme, all part of the matchday experience especially for visiting fans and our younger audience.

Poor yet again from Swaggot and the club.

Edited July 3, 2022 by damo100

[Hasta]

If it is financial, can they not get some back-street meth dealer from Mill Hill to sponsor the programme? At least they will be local.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Hasta

[DeeCee]

5 hours ago, Hasta said:

If it is financial, can they not get some back-street meth dealer from Mill Hill to sponsor the program? At least they will be local.

Swag will look into it.

[Mattyblue]

Produced for a crowd of just a 1,000 people… don’t they know that ‘there’s no profit’ in programmes?

Imagine just wanting to provide a full match day experience for your fans.

[damo100]

50 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Produced for a crowd of just a 1,000 people… don’t they know that ‘there’s no profit’ in programmes?

Imagine just wanting to provide a full match day experience for your fans.

over to you Swag..

[Parsonblue]

I believe there are at least ten clubs in the EFL who are not producing programmes.  I understand that Bradford City, who have fantastic gates for a League Two club, have called a halt to them.  A number of clubs are also moving to a digital programme - the Rovers have the matchday supplement which is basically photos and adverts.

As a traditionalist I find it hugely disappointing that another of the matchday experiences is disappearing.  Returning from Swansea on Saturday without a programme to read just didn't seem right somehow.  I've no interest in twitter or facebook or the social media side so the only Rovers info I get is on the website.

On the plus side, apart from the season ticket, I'm not spending any money at Ewood Park on matchdays.  

I believe the club have stopped the monthly magazine which is not surprising.

Sadly, it's a sign of the times but I suspect it won't be long before programmes are phased out at every club.  Just like the Saturday night sports papers, programmes seemed destined to become nothing more than a piece of history - although an expensive one as serious collectors will pay hundreds, sometimes thousands, for a certain programme.

 

[Mattyblue]

£6/7 the monthly magazine, wasn’t it? What another daft initiative that was.

I imagine most copies were given away in the lounges.

[GHR]

Did anyone really expect the magazine to last more than the bare minimum they could feasibly print it for? (As in, it was never going to work, not that the club set out deliberately.) I got the first edition as a one off, needless to say I was never tempted again!

Speaking of programmes, I was at Bradford (Park Avenue) on Saturday, where it turns out they have a massive shed full of old programmes of all types for sale. I picked out about a dozen Rovers ones at random (50p each!) from the 60s through to the 00s. It was only when I got home that I realised one of them was from the 1987 Full Members' Cup Final!

[jumpin']

There’s a lad from Accy (John Holden) producing the digital ones. The issue is that you don’t get them at the game, usually a fortnight behind