Premier League - gap about to become wider

[robf]

The bids for the TV rights for the Premier League 2016-19 are set to be lodged by the end of this week. When the PL started, TV initially paid out £191m. It's speculated that the PL could earn as much as £7bn this time when all the various global rights are handed out.

 

I know football success isn't solely down to money but with such a vast gulf between the PL riches and the other clubs, is it any wonder that clubs like Vale, no matter how well-run we may or may not be, have virtually no chance of getting into the PL.

 

The PL clubs have so much money swilling around that they can cherry-pick the best League players (often for nothing due to the Bosman rule) or just sweep up all the local young talent into a vast academy that's funded by the PL TV money. Not only that, they can buy in the best overseas talent and even if they do drop out of the PL they get handed vast parachute payments as some sort of bizarre reward for failure.

 

With the stupid PL parachute payments distorting things, even the financial gulf between League One and the Championship could be massive by the time this latest TV deal comes into play.

 

In 2014, the vast majority of Championship clubs had wages bills in excess of £10m, several in excess of £30m per year - is it any wonder that when a club like Yeovil went up, they went straight back down. Likewise, Rotherham are battling relegation this season. Only Bournemouth, with their Russian backing and Brentford (with a multi-millionaire owner) seem to be equipped to financially bridge the gap between League One and the Championship.

 

I do wonder what the PL hope to gain by such a massive financial gap. I believe the current solidarity payment that the Premier League pay the Football League is about £360,000 per year for a League One club. If we ever did get up into the Championship we could get £2.3m a year but then we would be competing alongside the likes of Fulham and Wigan who are getting parachute payments alone of £17m a season.

 

How is all that fair - we'd all be Championship clubs but some would be getting nearly eight times as much TV income.

[davidatpreston]

The bids for the TV rights for the Premier League 2016-19 are set to be lodged by the end of this week. When the PL started, TV initially paid out £191m. It's speculated that the PL could earn as much as £7bn this time when all the various global rights are handed out.

 

I know football success isn't solely down to money but with such a vast gulf between the PL riches and the other clubs, is it any wonder that clubs like Vale, no matter how well-run we may or may not be, have virtually no chance of getting into the PL.

 

The PL clubs have so much money swilling around that they can cherry-pick the best League players (often for nothing due to the Bosman rule) or just sweep up all the local young talent into a vast academy that's funded by the PL TV money. Not only that, they can buy in the best overseas talent and even if they do drop out of the PL they get handed vast parachute payments as some sort of bizarre reward for failure.

 

With the stupid PL parachute payments distorting things, even the financial gulf between League One and the Championship could be massive by the time this latest TV deal comes into play.

 

In 2014, the vast majority of Championship clubs had wages bills in excess of £10m, several in excess of £30m per year - is it any wonder that when a club like Yeovil went up, they went straight back down. Likewise, Rotherham are battling relegation this season. Only Bournemouth, with their Russian backing and Brentford (with a multi-millionaire owner) seem to be equipped to financially bridge the gap between League One and the Championship.

 

I do wonder what the PL hope to gain by such a massive financial gap. I believe the current solidarity payment that the Premier League pay the Football League is about £360,000 per year for a League One club. If we ever did get up into the Championship we could get £2.3m a year but then we would be competing alongside the likes of Fulham and Wigan who are getting parachute payments alone of £17m a season.

 

How is all that fair - we'd all be Championship clubs but some would be getting nearly eight times as much TV income.

 

Those proposing this nonsense are the vampires of football, sucking the life-blood out of the game from grass roots level up to all but the top 30 or so clubs. They wont care when there is no Port Vale, no Crewe, no Accrington, no Huddersfield or Preston, even no Leeds United. By that time they and their leech-like shareholders will have pocketed the huge profits and swanned off into the sunset.

All that will be left is a top division with a structure like Scotland had a few years ago, a few clubs with big gates, a few more wannabees and the rest of the leagues lucky to get 1000-3000 gates, if they exist as professional clubs at all.

Very depressing.

[cheshirevaliant]

Unfortunately, given Sky have most mainstream sports (not just football), boycotting them is not really an option. If I had Sky, I would get it for the cricket rather than the football. The money all goes into the same pot though.

[davidatpreston]

Unfortunately, given Sky have most mainstream sports (not just football), boycotting them is not really an option. If I had Sky, I would get it for the cricket rather than the football. The money all goes into the same pot though.

 

I'm prepared to miss things I would probably like to watch to avoid putting my cash into Sky's pockets. The only time I am a hypocrite is if Vale are on TV and I watch it in a pub but that just doesn't happen anymore anyway, even more reason to avoid the parasites as they seem to have abandoned the lower leagues entirely.

[Bald Eagle]

Wish I could just pay for the darts!

[robf]

Unfortunately, given Sky have most mainstream sports (not just football), boycotting them is not really an option. If I had Sky, I would get it for the cricket rather than the football. The money all goes into the same pot though.

 

I also miss the lack of cricket on free-to-air TV. I wonder what damage it is doing the county game?

 

I must admit I don't mind not seeing Premier League and Champions League games on TV at all. I have only watched the odd one in recent months and I've been bored and uninvolved. I've often switched off. I am much more interested in lower league and/or non-league games and the FA Cup. It's just a personal thing but I feel no affiliation with the big-spending clubs (or for that matter the England national team - well, the players who play for it I certainly don't - I'd still support the country if that's not a contradiction). Also, I just have no interest whether Chelsea/Man Utd/Liverpool/Arsenal/Man City have spent their tens of millions the most wisely this season. After all, that's what it boils down to.

 

I do wonder whether there will come a time when the Football League breaks from the Premier League. I think the FL is clearly trying to set sensible financial regulations with the fair play rule but the PL just run roughshod over it with the parachute payments. I guess the gamble is whether the FL can survive without the PL solidarity cash and whether either any TV money or something else (more sustainable spending without the PL cash inflating things) could be made to replace it.

[Howjy04]

I also miss the lack of cricket on free-to-air TV. I wonder what damage it is doing the county game?

 

I must admit I don't mind not seeing Premier League and Champions League games on TV at all. I have only watched the odd one in recent months and I've been bored and uninvolved. I've often switched off. I am much more interested in lower league and/or non-league games and the FA Cup. It's just a personal thing but I feel no affiliation with the big-spending clubs (or for that matter the England national team - well, the players who play for it I certainly don't - I'd still support the country if that's not a contradiction). Also, I just have no interest whether Chelsea/Man Utd/Liverpool/Arsenal/Man City have spent their tens of millions the most wisely this season. After all, that's what it boils down to.

 

I do wonder whether there will come a time when the Football League breaks from the Premier League. I think the FL is clearly trying to set sensible financial regulations with the fair play rule but the PL just run roughshod over it with the parachute payments. I guess the gamble is whether the FL can survive without the PL solidarity cash and whether either any TV money or something else (more sustainable spending without the PL cash inflating things) could be made to replace it.

 

I think the breakaway will eventually happen Rob.There are 72 league clubs who could try and do a TV deal.Non Premiership/ First Division matches were a regular feature on TV not so long ago.

[Phil]

I also miss the lack of cricket on free-to-air TV. I wonder what damage it is doing the county game?

 

I must admit I don't mind not seeing Premier League and Champions League games on TV at all. I have only watched the odd one in recent months and I've been bored and uninvolved. I've often switched off. I am much more interested in lower league and/or non-league games and the FA Cup. It's just a personal thing but I feel no affiliation with the big-spending clubs (or for that matter the England national team - well, the players who play for it I certainly don't - I'd still support the country if that's not a contradiction). Also, I just have no interest whether Chelsea/Man Utd/Liverpool/Arsenal/Man City have spent their tens of millions the most wisely this season. After all, that's what it boils down to.

 

I do wonder whether there will come a time when the Football League breaks from the Premier League. I think the FL is clearly trying to set sensible financial regulations with the fair play rule but the PL just run roughshod over it with the parachute payments. I guess the gamble is whether the FL can survive without the PL solidarity cash and whether either any TV money or something else (more sustainable spending without the PL cash inflating things) could be made to replace it.

 

Re the cricket, it is having a big effect at grass roots level with numbers falling. The powers that be are considering going back to terrestrial TV if things get much worse, even though the money will be less. Think the start will be highlights of 20/20 games on terrestrial TV this summer.

[Tone]

I refuse to pay extra for PL games on TV over here. Apart from my lack of interest in teams full of prima donnas, I hate the way in which the PL is doing everything it can to kill lower league football. The pitiful scraps that are handed out to the Football League, even the benefits that clubs like Cambridge occasionally get in cup draws against big name teams, pale into insignificance compared with Cardiff earning £62m for coming bottom of the Premier League (essentially for failing). And as Rob points out, the parachute payments virtually guarantee that any club that somehow sneaks into a seat at the top table, for even just one season, will continue to be served a decent portion from the main menu, as opposed to the scraps the rest of the FL battle for on the floor below.

 

The latest move by Virgin Media to screen live games at 3pm on Saturdays is another step in the wrong direction.

 

But it makes no difference to me. I shall be Vale until I die and continue to dream of the possibility of promotion.

 

What do teams in the bottom half of the PL aspire to? Avoiding relegation? That's no fun.

[robf]

I think the breakaway will eventually happen Rob.There are 72 league clubs who could try and do a TV deal.Non Premiership/ First Division matches were a regular feature on TV not so long ago.

 

I think it might happen too. If the PL is disconnected from the FL and the FL is run on a proper, financially sustainable way then there's no reason that the FL could not go on to more success (leaving the PL clubs to suffer the consequences when the inevitable financial bubble breaks).

 

There's a chance for the FL to both seize the initiative and also be financially prudent: if wage costs etc go down because no-one is trying to match the PL splurge then if the FL/clubs pass this down to fans with cheaper tickets it could see a rise in attendances. On a similar note, if the FL is run sensibly and within financial fair play guidelines then (unlike the PL) it should be able to cope if the TV bubble bursts (and it will eventually).

 

I also wonder what would happen if say, the FL did break away and secured a TV deal with a terrestrial station. It would be less-lucrative financially but with loads of other benefits notably exposure. It would not only beam FL into almost every house for free but it would have a marked effect on the subscriptions for paid football channels (and in the process may just halt this ridiculous ever-increasing TV bidding war).

[robf]

Re the cricket, it is having a big effect at grass roots level with numbers falling. The powers that be are considering going back to terrestrial TV if things get much worse, even though the money will be less. Think the start will be highlights of 20/20 games on terrestrial TV this summer.

 

I hope so. I for one, cannot understand why the home Test matches (at the very least) are not protected as a "crown jewel" and put on free-to-air TV.

[vallyunt]

What do teams in the bottom half of the PL aspire to? Avoiding relegation? That's no fun.

 

Here lies the rub for me. Sky have created a system that clubs are happy to stay above the relegation zone for the money. It's the be all and end all. Supporters are now falling for it, how they can allow their teams field weakened teams in the cup competitions is beyond me. First and foremost teams should field thier strongest teams in order to win silverware. Isn't that what its all about? Instead they also weaken the competition and spoil it for everyone.

 

Fortunately there are like minded souls on this thread and like them I rarely watch and have no interest in the Champions League and no more about the lower leagues than the Premier. Thank God I'm not alone.

[TeenValiant]

Or, you could just watch sky sports on illegal streams, taking money out of their pockets

[For Us All]

The gap just got a lot wider.

Sky and BT to pay £5.1billion for TV rights,each match would be worth an average £10.2m.

Game over?:(

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31357409

[For Us All]

These kind of photo's don't help.

 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sunderlands-steven-fletcher-slated-fans-5379549