https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12873679/sky-sports-agrees-new-five-year-efl-deal-over-1000-matches-per-season?dm_i=7KND,2T46,8G4Y5,C3I1,1

Not really much more info but a reminder it's drawing closer .

Will the first and last games be at weird kick off times ?

I just hope it’ll still concern us

Yes. The TV matches will all kick off outside the window so the latest it can be is 1pm, and the earliest is 5:30pm, assuming they are on Saturdays. That includes the opening weekend. There are 5 matches a week in L1/L2 so I guess it's reasonable that 2 L2 matches every weekend will be moved. I am guessing they might have an early one and a late one maybe, Or it may be that L1/L2 are moved to Sunday and they play the Championship on Saturday. They'll probably be spread over the whole weekend one way or the other. The Championship is going to be terrible if you want to watch games with half the games being moved!

Quoted from GrimRob

Yes. The TV matches will all kick off outside the window so the latest it can be is 1pm, and the earliest is 5:30pm, assuming they are on Saturdays. That includes the opening weekend. There are 5 matches a week in L1/L2 so I guess it's reasonable that 2 L2 matches every weekend will be moved. I am guessing they might have an early one and a late one maybe, Or it may be that L1/L2 are moved to Sunday and they play the Championship on Saturday. They'll probably be spread over the whole weekend one way or the other. The Championship is going to be terrible if you want to watch games with half the games being moved!

There will be 2 games each from L1 and L2 at 12:30 every standard Saturday. An additional game from either division will also be shown at a different time- rumoured to be Sunday lunchtime.

On International weekends it’s fairly safe to assume the games will be spread across Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 and 15:00 before the international matches start later in the day.

Don’t be surprised if up to 30 of our league matches are on Sky Sports next season.

It's all about the money & financial survival of the fittest & the most well run management team of football clubs, this is where Grimsby Town will do well as they have local & very good owners with the football club at their heart, preservation of league status is an absolute must to be part of the future in the EFL. Relegation to oblivion ( National League) is not an option.

The way of the world..everything dictated by money. Decisions based on money. Lower league clubs haven’t a choice in accepting any deal from media - be it a good one or bad. This one has many question marks but the marketing re more opportunities to see your side on the box swayed many. The added finances another bribe, I mean convincing argument - but again no proportion to the top level. Can’t help but be a tad cynical ..it’s a never ending circle..more money via tv deals to the top, more money to spend - rest of the footballing world have to spend merely to compete, putting themselves in jeopardy long term. Some teams will break rules, lose points, pfft..so what. Other, more genuine teams, will actually struggle to survive..long term. Will anyone in governance/power/football top brasses care?? No..they’ll bang on about what a great deal they got, and how much more money they were given etc etc.

The other cynical part for me is this a deal designed in trying to stop the ‘watch on dodgy box’ sections..ever growing I might add. Why? Because they’re being priced out of watching the National game. I’ve no idea how some do it..week in..week out..up and down the country..if you’ve a family it’s ridiculous the costs, never mind going on your own.

Anyway..sigh….

I’d be interested/having a keen eye on season ticket take ups here and elsewhere..of course some clubs have already started selling, but for clubs like us who have to wait..will they announce the different kick off times at same time as release fixture list? Or in advance? I doubt it.. so it’ll be nigh on impossible to plan travelling to away games for fans. Who’ll end up buying tickets, and no doubt rearranging work Rota’s, arranging travel etc and it have to be altered. No thought for the supporters at all.

But as said..money dictates.

This aspect of relegation is the one which worried me the most. Miss out on this (which after 20 years of financial struggle would be the most Town thing in the world to happen) and it effectively consigns us to non league for years and years, if not for good.

I don’t agree with the changes, but it isn’t going away.

These changes do not help supporters, especially away fans with unsocial KO times.

More money for clubs sounds good but every team benefits.  Therefore, no real relative changes.

Clubs do not go bust with a lack of money.  It is down to very poor management, bad decisions, and spending money that they do not have.  How you use the money that you have is key.  Look at Chelsea and Man United.

(ITV Digital money allowed to pay a Chinese international an obscene amount of money in wages).

I don't know if I missed it, but how much are we getting from Sky?, is it on a televised match by match or a lump sum split between all clubs?

Quoted from 140381

This aspect of relegation is the one which worried me the most. Miss out on this (which after 20 years of financial struggle would be the most Town thing in the world to happen) and it effectively consigns us to non league for years and years, if not for good.

I don’t agree with the changes, but it isn’t going away.

Originally I sort of agreed but seeing it's only 300k a season the main question for me is how much will it affect matchday revenue ?

We don't know , but say if we lose 15k fans  over the season it would almost wipe out the financial benefit or if it's a lesser number it will at least wipe out part of the gain ; I suppose the other thing is I'm not sure what the current deal provides in terms of revenue with the ifollow on top?

Is it only £300000 a season? I didn’t know that. FFS.

Quoted from 140381

Is it only £300000 a season? I didn’t know that. FFS.

No mate I think it's 300k 'extra' on top of whatever we got before but I'm not even sure what that is ?

I just don't think it's this great deal they are making out .

I suppose it's gauranteed income but the variable of impact on attendances is yet to be established - say if we go from averaging 6300 to 5500 because of less fans turning up both  home and from away (i know teams don't bring many ) then that money won't even be a revenue increase will it . We will see next season , at least I can 100% say that now .

Quoted from Mappers

No mate I think it's 300k 'extra' on top of whatever we got before but I'm not even sure what that is ?

I just don't think it's this great deal they are making out .

I suppose it's gauranteed income but the variable of impact on attendances is yet to be established - say if we go from averaging 6300 to 5500 because of less fans turning up both  home and from away (i know teams don't bring many ) then that money won't even be a revenue increase will it . We will see next season , at least I can 100% say that now .

300K extra is just over £13,000 per home game.  At say £20 a ticket if we lose less than 650 off gates we gain.
(Confused)

Reading this thread and realising the amount of games we might have on tv , the extra revenue and the potential for smaller home  crowds on televised games makes me think we need the modern digital advertising boards to maximise sponsorship revenue?

Extra revenue = bigger player salaries, agents will have been tapping into their calculators the minute it was announced.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Extra revenue = bigger player salaries, agents will have been tapping into their calculators the minute it was announced.

Yeah they could give each club a billion and it would go straight in players and agents pockets .
That’s the problem with the game at our level , none of the money stays in the game or at the clubs .
The league needs to agree to a salary cap

The TV deal itself and the value is irrelevant. Everyone's getting it so there's no absolutely no advantage in it.

However, the impact on gates could be either an impact or a concern.

If we manage to hold onto our gates as others drop off, especially those with the larger gates, we could be at a competitive advantage for once. The lack of interest we usually get could well be in our favour here.

I presume there's no match day fees for games televised now? It used to be something like £30k for each home game that was televised.

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

Reading this thread and realising the amount of games we might have on tv , the extra revenue and the potential for smaller home  crowds on televised games makes me think we need the modern digital advertising boards to maximise sponsorship revenue?

Let's be honest though, every game is available this season in the UK one way or another. Either by stealing it (dodgy stick) or using a VPN and paying for it.

The one real change is that we'll probably have around 6 Saturday lunchtime kick-offs over the season. But season tickets will be sold before the fixtures are released.

If the new deal does have an effect I think it will be felt more in 2025/26 season.

So no "Mariners TV" next season for domestic viewers.

So you will have to watch through NOW TV if you are not a Sky Sports Subscriber already.

It could work out cheaper for some....

24hrs costs £11.99 - £1.99p more than "Mariners TV"

But at the moment it is only £26 for a month, so if you are going to watch 3 games or more in a month it works out cheaper.

That applies for every game that does not kick of on Saturdays at 15.00 (International Breakes excluded).

If you are out of the country on Saturdays I presume that you will still be able to streem 3pm games on "Mariners TV"

Quoted from Grantham_Mariner

So no "Mariners TV" next season for domestic viewers.

So you will have to watch through NOW TV if you are not a Sky Sports Subscriber already.

It could work out cheaper for some....

24hrs costs £11.99 - £1.99p more than "Mariners TV"

But at the moment it is only £26 for a month, so if you are going to watch 3 games or more in a month it works out cheaper.

That applies for every game that does not kick of on Saturdays at 15.00 (International Breakes excluded).

If you are out of the country on Saturdays I presume that you will still be able to streem 3pm games on "Mariners TV"

As an exile, I'm hoping I can get to see the games still.  If we only have access to Televised games that will be crap.  I don't have the choice of going to a live game. If I could, I would. Back to reading results online. Even Ceefax was more exciting as you waited for the page to change.

Quoted from Mayaman

As an exile, I'm hoping I can get to see the games still.  If we only have access to Televised games that will be crap.  I don't have the choice of going to a live game. If I could, I would. Back to reading results online. Even Ceefax was more exciting as you waited for the page to change.

Pretty sure they won't scrap the overseas package. The Sky deal is domestic; it's of no benefit to anyone to sack off the overseas deal and all the revenue that comes with it.

Quoted from Sky:
"From the 2024/25 season onward, this agreement makes more matches available to stream and will effectively replace the current Sky Sports EFL red button coverage and the EFL's domestic streaming option provided via iFollow and club streaming services. Domestic streaming audio services will remain alongside existing audio-visual arrangements for international audiences via iFollow and club streaming services."

Still the issue of VPNs for domestic viewing. Why pay Now TV more? I wonder if there'll be a crackdown on that?

Quoted from Townforlife

Quoted from Sky:
"From the 2024/25 season onward, this agreement makes more matches available to stream and will effectively replace the current Sky Sports EFL red button coverage and the EFL's domestic streaming option provided via iFollow and club streaming services. Domestic streaming audio services will remain alongside existing audio-visual arrangements for international audiences via iFollow and club streaming services."

Still the issue of VPNs for domestic viewing. Why pay Now TV more? I wonder if there'll be a crackdown on that?

That's on the assumption that it will be cheaper for exiles. I'd fully expect a big price increase for overseas streaming. Or have they already listed the price?

Quoted from Poojah

Pretty sure they won't scrap the overseas package. The Sky deal is domestic; it's of no benefit to anyone to sack off the overseas deal and all the revenue that comes with it.

As soon as they find an overseas partner iFollow will be ended. Next season will probably be the final season.

Quoted from Poojah

Pretty sure they won't scrap the overseas package. The Sky deal is domestic; it's of no benefit to anyone to sack off the overseas deal and all the revenue that comes with it.

Made my day Poojah.  As you often do, but usually with your well crafted anecdotes.

I wonder if Sky will show a game moved to 12.30 on a Saturday by the Police, or if the Police will have any infuence over Sky changing kick off times?

Sky Sports+ to launch in August. Not much we didn’t already know here, but anyways…

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13131189/sky-sports-launches-in-august-to-give-more-choice-to-fans-via-live-streams-app-and-new-channel

New Sky Sports + for next season  - fantastic coverage of EFL with guaranteed minimum of 20 Town’s games to be televised live, at no additional cost for existing Sky Sports customers. 😀😀

Hopefully getting to watch Town more next season is a good thing and not something to threaten kids with.

Quoted from GollyGTFC

As soon as they find an overseas partner iFollow will be ended. Next season will probably be the final season.

Is there such a thing as "an overseas partner"? You need lots of them in different regions. It makes more sense to do it yourself and sell it to overseas subscribers.

Maybe there should be a stipulation with regards to the distance between clubs when games are moved. We all know that chesterfield, notts county and bradfud will be moved to 12:30 if they are on a Saturday/bank holiday, so does it make much difference.

What Gauls me is when it’s something like a  barrow or Carlisle game, that’s hard enough for supporters to get to already, and it’s moved just to fill a gap in the TV schedule. Maybe that’s what should’ve been discussed when the clubs weren’t allowed to be involved. The money makes no difference as has been quite rightly pointed out, all clubs will receive the same and the players (agents) will see it as a chance to grind out a few quid extra

Quoted from WOZOFGRIMSBY

Maybe there should be a stipulation with regards to the distance between clubs when games are moved. We all know that chesterfield, notts county and bradfud will be moved to 12:30 if they are on a Saturday/bank holiday, so does it make much difference.

What Gauls me is when it’s something like a  barrow or Carlisle game, that’s hard enough for supporters to get to already, and it’s moved just to fill a gap in the TV schedule. Maybe that’s what should’ve been discussed when the clubs weren’t allowed to be involved. The money makes no difference as has been quite rightly pointed out, all clubs will receive the same and the players (agents) will see it as a chance to grind out a few quid extra

Which no fucker's watching anyway!

The paying legacy supporter who attends games has very little bearing on when it is played. Sky will announce their fixture times and that will be that. Police might have a say still but the likely drop in away fans will make their job easier.

Quoted from GrimRob

The paying legacy supporter who attends games has very little bearing on when it is played. Sky will announce their fixture times and that will be that. Police might have a say still but the likely drop in away fans will make their job easier.

I’m not sure precisely what the agreed notice period is, but the EFL Q&A confirms that it will be “much more” than the current 5 weeks. I’m still of the opinion this deal won’t be anywhere near as disruptive as many people seem to fear, but we’ll have a much clearer idea either way within the next few weeks.

https://www.efl.com/news/2023/may/efl-and-sky-sports-broadcast-rights-agreement/

Wonder if there’s an argument to move a few matches to Friday nights? Used to quite enjoy them in the 05/06 season and we had some decent crowds & atmospheres in too. Everyone rolls out of work early, no school to worry about the next day, gives everyone a full weekend. Bit of a ball ache for us exiles potentially but it is what it is.

Quoted from GrimRob

The paying legacy supporter who attends games has very little bearing on when it is played. Sky will announce their fixture times and that will be that. Police might have a say still but the likely drop in away fans will make their job easier.

I’m not sure precisely what the agreed notice period is, but the EFL Q&A confirms that it will be “much more” than the current 5 weeks. I’m still of the opinion this deal won’t be anywhere near as disruptive as many people seem to fear, but we’ll have a much clearer idea either way within the next few weeks.

https://www.efl.com/news/2023/may/efl-and-sky-sports-broadcast-rights-agreement/

Quoted from ska face

Wonder if there’s an argument to move a few matches to Friday nights? Used to quite enjoy them in the 05/06 season and we had some decent crowds & atmospheres in too. Everyone rolls out of work early, no school to worry about the next day, gives everyone a full weekend. Bit of a ball ache for us exiles potentially but it is what it is.

no thanks, ruins the weekend even more when we lose

There’s one easy fix for that problem.

Quoted from ska face

Wonder if there’s an argument to move a few matches to Friday nights? Used to quite enjoy them in the 05/06 season and we had some decent crowds & atmospheres in too. Everyone rolls out of work early, no school to worry about the next day, gives everyone a full weekend. Bit of a ball ache for us exiles potentially but it is what it is.

Unless you have Carlisle away.

At least 20 Town games to be screened live. I hope to god we play better than we did this season.

As an exile, this really worries me. Didn't realise so many games would be televised - might make it infeasible to make it to a whole host of games, home and away, as trains might not be running in time to make it to early kick offs or may not run late enought to make it back from late kick offs.

Quoted from RonMariner

At least 20 Town games to be screened live. I hope to god we play better than we did this season.

I'll be able to record the games to 'enjoy' them again later on.

Quoted from MaccasBoots

As an exile, this really worries me. Didn't realise so many games would be televised - might make it infeasible to make it to a whole host of games, home and away, as trains might not be running in time to make it to early kick offs or may not run late enought to make it back from late kick offs.

Unfortunately for the tradional football supporter the EFL and SKY couldn't give a dam. The only thing they are concerned with is money, which SKY dishes out.

I’ve just had enough of VAR and the whole PL drain on the football pyramid that I’m cancelling my sky and tnt . I don’t care I could see 20 games on sky . The sooner the big 6 fook off to a super league the better. It’s inevitable regardless of what the fans want. I’m happy to actually go to as many games as I can and not bother about the others that i could watch on sky scum

Quoted from DB

Unfortunately for the tradional football supporter the EFL and SKY couldn't give a dam. The only thing they are concerned with is money, which SKY dishes out.

I don't know whether the last 3 words were an intentional play on them but gave me a chuckle .

Quoted from DB

Unfortunately for the tradional football supporter the EFL and SKY couldn't give a dam. The only thing they are concerned with is money, which SKY dishes out.

The “EFL” don’t give a damn?

Who are the EFL? The 72 member clubs.

So when you say the EFL are only concerned with money what you mean is the member clubs (including Town) voted for this new deal with all the details in front of them.

Quoted from MaccasBoots

As an exile, this really worries me. Didn't realise so many games would be televised - might make it infeasible to make it to a whole host of games, home and away, as trains might not be running in time to make it to early kick offs or may not run late enought to make it back from late kick offs.

I got one but will likely miss even more games if they are moved to Friday and Thursday's as never make any midweeks with living 3 hrs away . I figure the club needs the support though so will just keep buying 1 however badly the fixtures fall . I just hope there isn't a whole host of people (especially the % that can't/don't do online or football outside of 3pm on a Saturday ) who will not be aware and hit with the shock come August that games are being shifted all over the place . The clubs are not exactly pushing the info out  there apart from it being a great deal financially (which is also debatable ) through Sky and the EFL .

Not realy fussed when games are played. If i can attend i will  if not i will watch on tv. So long as the club do not miss out on income i dont see a problem.  It may not go down well with some for various reasons tho

Quoted from Mappers

I got one but will likely miss even more games if they are moved to Friday and Thursday's as never make any midweeks with living 3 hrs away . I figure the club needs the support though so will just keep buying 1 however badly the fixtures fall . I just hope there isn't a whole host of people (especially the % that can't/don't do online or football outside of 3pm on a Saturday ) who will not be aware and hit with the shock come August that games are being shifted all over the place . The clubs are not exactly pushing the info out  there apart from it being a great deal financially (which is also debatable ) through Sky and the EFL .

It'll be interesting, in the loosest sense of the term, to see the number of games additionally moved owing to the TV deal (as pointed out above, there's already a fair number that get moved on police advice).

I don't think the unknown will affect season ticket sales this summer.  Next summer will be when it has an impact, if at all.

Midweek games are very difficult for me.  Enjoyment wise I've always liked it when we've done Friday nights, I just prefer games under the floodlights but would present another challenge getting to the games.  From a 100% selfish view, midday games over the weekend would be absolutely ideal.

The NTT20 Podcast is worth a listen on the issue this morning, explains it a bit better than what has been put out into the public domain so far. Main point of interest is that all televised fixtures before round 3 of the FA Cup (early Jan) will be announced in advance before the start of the season. The rest of the televised games will then be announced in Nov/Dec time, which should realistically give plenty of time for arrangements to be made.

In terms of travel, do any exiles think it’d be worthwhile the club looking at putting coaches on from some places (London, Southwest, Northwest) if it looks like train options might be limited?

Quoted from GollyGTFC

The “EFL” don’t give a damn?

Who are the EFL? The 72 member clubs.

So when you say the EFL are only concerned with money what you mean is the member clubs (including Town) voted for this new deal with all the details in front of them.

I don't know which clubs voted for it and which didn't. I can only comment that those who voted for it cannot complain if their attendance figures are down below last year's.

It's an easy stick to beat the EFL clubs with to say they voted for it, the reality is they probably didn't have much choice about the matter.  Especially the case for those, such as us, at the lower end of the table.  The bigger clubs in the EFL all want to join a variation of Premier League 2 and hold all the cards when it comes to voting these things in.  

The likes of little old us hold no appeal to the broadcasting companies.  Their interest is in Leeds, Leicester, West Brom, Sunderland and the EFL Cup for those glamour ties of Man Utd Reserves V Man City Reserves in the semi-finals.  Without them, we don't have a broadcasting deal, or if we did it's about as lucrative as the one we had in the Conference.

Let's be honest about it, the bigger clubs would be quite happy if weren't part of their collective bargaining chip and could strike a deal on their own to get a greater share of the bag.  We know that and that's why when these deals get put on the table, clubs of our standing have to just bite down, go with what the bigger boys say and hope we're not going to take it completely dry.

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

I’ve just had enough of VAR and the whole PL drain on the football pyramid that I’m cancelling my sky and tnt . I don’t care I could see 20 games on sky . The sooner the big 6 fook off to a super league the better. It’s inevitable regardless of what the fans want. I’m happy to actually go to as many games as I can and not bother about the others that i could watch on sky scum

I think your kidding yourself if you think VAR and other changes are not coming. Technology always starts at the top on works its way down. Electronic scoreboards, big screens, var, blanket tv coverage. Some are here, others are coming. Var will be automated and no human involved at some point I should think. The simulated atmosphere may also feature as the real consumer is the armchair fan. Legacy supporters are required for now, at least enough to provide the appearance of an atmosphere.

Quoted from diehardmariner

It's an easy stick to beat the EFL clubs with to say they voted for it, the reality is they probably didn't have much choice about the matter.  Especially the case for those, such as us, at the lower end of the table.  The bigger clubs in the EFL all want to join a variation of Premier League 2 and hold all the cards when it comes to voting these things in.  

The likes of little old us hold no appeal to the broadcasting companies.  Their interest is in Leeds, Leicester, West Brom, Sunderland and the EFL Cup for those glamour ties of Man Utd Reserves V Man City Reserves in the semi-finals.  Without them, we don't have a broadcasting deal, or if we did it's about as lucrative as the one we had in the Conference.

Let's be honest about it, the bigger clubs would be quite happy if weren't part of their collective bargaining chip and could strike a deal on their own to get a greater share of the bag.  We know that and that's why when these deals get put on the table, clubs of our standing have to just bite down, go with what the bigger boys say and hope we're not going to take it completely dry.

Of course each individual club has a choice. You either vote for a motion or you don't. If JS , in agreement with the other GTFC board members, doesn't want an EFL proposal then you vote against it - simples. If the motion still goes through then at least the club has tried.