English football's pot of gold

[Lago]

Reports that the next round of tv bidding for EPL rights could be worth up to £4 billion. The rich get richer and the SPFL can't even attract a sponser, what chance have got.

[Ross4356]

We need to stop comparing SPFL with the EPl, the sooner we do that the better and people will accept the standard of football more

[Pretty Boy]

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We need to stop comparing SPFL with the EPl, the sooner we do that the better and people will accept the standard of football more

Spot on.

Almost exactly what Barry Hearn tried to tell the blazers at Hampden when he tore them apart a couple of months ago. Stop trying to compete or compare with the EPL and sell and support your own product.

The fact our leagues have no sponsor is a disgrace. The sponsorship should have been gifted to a charity or charities if one couldn't be found. Not only would it have been a decent thing to do, it would also have demonstrated to potential sponsors the audience that could be reached.

[Just Alf]

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We need to stop comparing SPFL with the EPl, the sooner we do that the better and people will accept the standard of football more

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Spot on.

Almost exactly what Barry Hearn tried to tell the blazers at Hampden when he tore them apart a couple of months ago. Stop trying to compete or compare with the EPL and sell and support your own product.

The fact our leagues have no sponsor is a disgrace. The sponsorship should have been gifted to a charity or charities if one couldn't be found. Not only would it have been a decent thing to do, it would also have demonstrated to potential sponsors the audience that could be reached.

Brilliant posts... especially the bit in bold.

I'm clinging on to the fact that when our TV rights come up for renewal, with both SKY and BT interested (to whatever degree) we'll see competition, for the 1st time ever, that might up the price.... a bit.

[Weststandwanab]

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Reports that the next round of tv bidding for EPL rights could be worth up to £4 billion. The rich get richer and the SPFL can't even attract a sponser, what chance have got.

The reason we do not have a league Sponsor can be answered in one word

Doncaster

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Brilliant posts... especially the bit in bold.

I'm clinging on to the fact that when our TV rights come up for renewal, with both SKY and BT interested (to whatever degree) we'll see competition, for the 1st time ever, that might up the price.... a bit.

Spot on.

[NAE NOOKIE]

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Spot on.

Almost exactly what Barry Hearn tried to tell the blazers at Hampden when he tore them apart a couple of months ago. Stop trying to compete or compare with the EPL and sell and support your own product.

The fact our leagues have no sponsor is a disgrace. The sponsorship should have been gifted to a charity or charities if one couldn't be found. Not only would it have been a decent thing to do, it would also have demonstrated to potential sponsors the audience that could be reached.

Bang on in both points PB.

However .... Our youngsters are comparing our game to what they see on TV and that's a big problem we need to get around. If I had my way EPL and Spanish football would be severely restricted in Scotland. Unless SKY and BT were willing to admit the detrimental affect their saturation coverage is having on our game and compensate us accordingly.

[HappyAsHellas]

Scottish football has to get it's own identity and keep well clear of any comparisons with the EPL. BBC average more than 4 million viewers for MOTD, while a big live Scottish match can attract about 250k viewers. There is a product to sell, as average punters through the gates have increased since Rangers went belly up. Do we have the people at the top to capitalise on this? I seriously doubt it as we were in the ridiculous position of paying broadcasters to screen some games, and even our beloved team refusing broadcasting rights to one of our games. It needs sorting out and pretty quickly but I honestly can't see Sky/BT falling over each other to cover our league, unless of course Rangers go up in the play offs which might change things a bit.

[Lago]

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Spot on.

Almost exactly what Barry Hearn tried to tell the blazers at Hampden when he tore them apart a couple of months ago. Stop trying to compete or compare with the EPL and sell and support your own product.

The fact our leagues have no sponsor is a disgrace. The sponsorship should have been gifted to a charity or charities if one couldn't be found. Not only would it have been a decent thing to do, it would also have demonstrated to potential sponsors the audience that could be reached.

You will never stop people/organisations making comparisons to do so is to accept medicocrity. Totally agree re sponsorship, Doncaster should be sacked.

[lord bunberry]

Until the SPFL starts listening to it's customers the downward spiral will continue

[Lago]

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Bang on in both points Pshouldn'ter .... Ourers are comparing our game to what they see on TV and that's a big problem we need to get around. If I had my way EPL and Spanish football would be severely restricted in Scotland. Unless SKY and BT were willing to admit the detrimental affect their saturation coverage is having on our game and compensate us accordingly.

But it's not just Sky/BT that is the problem, how many on here were watching Bolton - Liverpool last night, a good few I would guess and that was BBC. How many watch MOTD and groan if it is proceeded by Sportseen.
BBC pay £240 mil for MOTD highlites, supper studio and pundits, we get Sportseen filmed in cupboard with Michael Stewart as a pundit. No wonder the kids all wear EPL tops.
So we should be content with what weve got, no we shouldn't we are worth more and should be getting more, time Scottish foorball got off its backside and stood up for it's self.

[patlowe]

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Scottish football has to get it's own identity and keep well clear of any comparisons with the EPL. BBC average more than 4 million viewers for MOTD, while a big live Scottish match can attract about 250k viewers. There is a product to sell, as average punters through the gates have increased since Rangers went belly up. Do we have the people at the top to capitalise on this? I seriously doubt it as we were in the ridiculous position of paying broadcasters to screen some games, and even our beloved team refusing broadcasting rights to one of our games. It needs sorting out and pretty quickly but I honestly can't see Sky/BT falling over each other to cover our league, unless of course Rangers go up in the play offs which might change things a bit.

I'm not so sure about this but if the people in charge keep talking about our league with such disdain and continue to talk about the pitiful TV money we get (compared to England) as if it's some gift from the gods then you might be right. We have a (relatively) decent product on offer, we have some big clubs with decent and loyal supports, and we have broadcasters that have schedules to fill. We need to stand up for football in this country and demand that we get what it's worth. We need to be radical and ambitious - continuing to scrape around on what SKY and BT give us is only going to see us going one way - down. If we lost the TV money then, yes it would be hard at first, of course it would, but finding our true level might just be what football in this country needs to buck up its ideas and actually come up with a sustainable plan for improvement. A future of subservience to the whims of television will see a continuing spiral of diminishing returns on and off the park IMO.

[NAE NOOKIE]

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But it's not just Sky/BT that is the problem, how many on here were watching Bolton - Liverpool last night, a good few I would guess and that was BBC. How many watch MOTD and groan if it is proceeded by Sportseen.
BBC pay £240 mil for MOTD highlites, supper studio and pundits, we get Sportseen filmed in cupboard with Michael Stewart as a pundit. No wonder the kids all wear EPL tops.
So we should be content with what weve got, no we shouldn't we are worth more and should be getting more, time Scottish foorball got off its backside and stood up for it's self.

Agree the Sportscene coverage is less than slick, but not about Stewart who is pretty decent if you ask me. But that's the problem the football authorities, clubs and TV have, their marketing is poor.

Its a small thing but indicative of the problem. From where I sit I can see this years Hibs calendar, the first picture is of Liam Craig with a white wall as background. The second picture is Liam Fontaine with a background of totally empty green seats. Can you imagine a big club releasing a calendar of 'action shots' with not a fan in sight. FFS is it too much to ask that the photographer position themselves to get a crowd backdrop.

[Pretty Boy]

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But it's not just Sky/BT that is the problem, how many on here were watching Bolton - Liverpool last night, a good few I would guess and that was BBC. How many watch MOTD and groan if it is proceeded by Sportseen.
BBC pay £240 mil for MOTD highlites, supper studio and pundits, we get Sportseen filmed in cupboard with Michael Stewart as a pundit. No wonder the kids all wear EPL tops.
So we should be content with what weve got, no we shouldn't we are worth more and should be getting more, time Scottish foorball got off its backside and stood up for it's self.

I don't disagree but it's finding an angle or a gap in the market that's the tricky part.

The EPL money has inflated clubs that were historically smaller clubs into financial giants. I defy anyone to successfully argue that historically Wigan, Leicester, Hull etc are any bigger than Hibs, Hearts or Aberdeen. Likewise Man City and Chelsea are historically far smaller clubs than Rangers or Celtic. Still big clubs but not superpowers like now. Money has changed the face of thr game and as long as TV money in England is talked about in billions whilst in Scotland it's the very low millions we can't realistically compete in that sense.

For me it should be about selling our game in the best way we can. A league where we develop top young players, at least explore summer football, look at the league structure etc. For me a simple thing would be to improve the look of the games on TV. Nothing looks worse than big empty stands and flat atmosphere. Offer fans an incentive to fill from the front so it looks busier and generates a bit noise. Explore pricing structures, work with the BBC to make Sportscene lool a bit better etc

And for Gods sake those at the top could do with talking the gane up. It's no wonder so many fans would rather support United or City or Arsenal when those running the game here are so keen to talk it down. Highlight the good things, improve the bad and listen to the fans and it shouldn't be too hard to see an improvement.

[JimBHibees]

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Spot on.

Almost exactly what Barry Hearn tried to tell the blazers at Hampden when he tore them apart a couple of months ago. Stop trying to compete or compare with the EPL and sell and support your own product.

The fact our leagues have no sponsor is a disgrace. The sponsorship should have been gifted to a charity or charities if one couldn't be found. Not only would it have been a decent thing to do, it would also have demonstrated to potential sponsors the audience that could be reached.

Absolutely spot on especially about the charity the goodwill would have been amazing (Clic Sargeant or something like that) and it isnt really a surprise we cant find a sponsor when all the people doing the selling do is talk the game down.

[H18 SFR]

We don't have the ability to give our clubs a decent playing surface for a national cup semi final, how can we honestly expect to sell our product. According to press reports, the old firm game was sold to around 50 countries at the weekend, I challenge anyone to give me one reason why they would return for second helpings. Our product is a joke.

[chasitup]

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Spot on.

Almost exactly what Barry Hearn tried to tell the blazers at Hampden when he tore them apart a couple of months ago. Stop trying to compete or compare with the EPL and sell and support your own product.

The fact our leagues have no sponsor is a disgrace. The sponsorship should have been gifted to a charity or charities if one couldn't be found. Not only would it have been a decent thing to do, it would also have demonstrated to potential sponsors the audience that could be reached.

That bit about a charity is genius! Brilliant idea. If only those that were paid hundreds of thousands to run the organisation could think like that!

[ancient hibee]

Don't agree that banning other football is a good move-surely improving ours is the answer.We don't lose anything like the number of youngsters that we used to lose to england so we should be producing a better standard.It used to be said that an hour of studio time cost a million quid so TV is getting a real cheapo from Scottish football.

[Lago]

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Agree the Sportscene coverage is less than slick, but not about Stewart who is pretty decent if you ask me. But that's the problem the football authorities, clubs and TV have, their marketing is poor.

Its a small thing but indicative of the problem. From where I sit I can see this years Hibs calendar, the first picture is of Liam Craig with a white wall as background. The second picture is Liam Fontaine with a background of totally empty green seats. Can you imagine a big club releasing a calendar of 'action shots' with not a fan in sight. FFS is it too much to ask that the photographer position themselves to get a crowd backdrop.

I actually like Stewart myself, but the point I was trying, poorly, to make is MOTD will have a multitude of ex internationalist not just from England, but France, Netherlands etc.so Sportsean is the poor relation like so much of Scottisg football. Your point about marketing is spot on and the point another poster made about talking down our game is correct as well but I get so fed up with people saying ' what can we do'. How do teams from Croatia, Austria, Denmark, Sweden to name a few manage, they won't win champions league but they routinely give the so called big teams a fright.

[Pete]

People around the world love English football because of it's heritage. They want to associate themselves with a club within the spiritual home of football.

What other country in the world has such an iconic national stadium with a history of great matches? What other country has the majority of its clubs with roots dating back from the 19th century and a rich history of pioneering clubs contributing so much to world football?
What other country has thousands of newsreels of grim stadiums in the fifties that were bursting to capacity full of men who had finished their half day in the factory?
What other country has gritty club sides that done well in Europe in the sixties, seventies and eighties?
What other country is famous for being a source of a culture that mixes football violence with expensive clothing? (You might not like that one but it's something that a lot of people are interested in).


If another country did have all these things then all they would need would be a system in place that would ensure proper wealth distribution and therefore healthy competition. It would be be criminal for a country to have all these plus points and attributes yet ignore what is possible because they concentrate on making the select few richer.

[HFC 0-7]

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I don't disagree but it's finding an angle or a gap in the market that's the tricky part.

The EPL money has inflated clubs that were historically smaller clubs into financial giants. I defy anyone to successfully argue that historically Wigan, Leicester, Hull etc are any bigger than Hibs, Hearts or Aberdeen. Likewise Man City and Chelsea are historically far smaller clubs than Rangers or Celtic. Still big clubs but not superpowers like now. Money has changed the face of thr game and as long as TV money in England is talked about in billions whilst in Scotland it's the very low millions we can't realistically compete in that sense.

For me it should be about selling our game in the best way we can. A league where we develop top young players, at least explore summer football, look at the league structure etc. For me a simple thing would be to improve the look of the games on TV. Nothing looks worse than big empty stands and flat atmosphere. Offer fans an incentive to fill from the front so it looks busier and generates a bit noise. Explore pricing structures, work with the BBC to make Sportscene lool a bit better etc

And for Gods sake those at the top could do with talking the gane up. It's no wonder so many fans would rather support United or City or Arsenal when those running the game here are so keen to talk it down. Highlight the good things, improve the bad and listen to the fans and it shouldn't be too hard to see an improvement.

i agree that historically these clubs are smaller than hibs, however, it's not just money in the English leagues that are making them bigger, they are supported much better than hibs now. We moan about the money they get but we are, and have been seeing dwindling supports. Scottish fans have a massive part to play here, many just don't seem interested in the game, viewing figures are low and attendances are low. Why would tv companies rush to buy our rights?

Sky get get the blame all the time about how it's ruined football, I don't think they wanted to pay as much as they do for the rights, the demand is there and they are forced to do so. BT joining now makes things worse as its not just sky negotiating with the epl, they have to fight bt.

we complain about scottish football being boring etc, yet this season had the potential of being one of the most exciting in a long time but fans still don't seem that interested.

[spike220]

The EPL is a disgrace, who wants to watch a bunch of millionaires playing football.

[greenlex]

It will go pop eventually. From my perspective I'd like Scottish football to just tell the TV companies to bolt and let's get on with 3pm sat kick offs and find our level.

[Winston Ingram]

It could even be worth more than £4bn.

BT are going to be in for it in a big way, as will Virgin.

On top of that, Sky really can't afford to lose this. There was recently a report criticising their business model for being far to reliant on this deal. If they lose it, Sky are goosed.

All of the above lead to the bids hitting obscene levels...and this isn't even including the foreign sales which will likely double it again.

[Alex Trager]

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It will go pop eventually. From my perspective I'd like Scottish football to just tell the TV companies to bolt and let's get on with 3pm sat kick offs and find our level.

This. I think they should let the tv deal
Run its course and get back to all thre I clock saturday fixtures.

Build from the beginning.

Make a product worth coming to see.
Then the tv will be interested.




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[HappyAsHellas]

Hibs playing St Mirren was screened a couple of times and the first one on sky had a paltry audience (40,000)as it was on SS4 and clashed with an English game on SS1. SS1 screened the next game and had 220,000 viewers which was a higher viewing figure than a Birmingham v Newcastle game, so all is not lost. We cannot hope to muscle in on the English timetables so perhaps we should get used to Friday night football as people will watch the product on offer. It just seems sad that the presenters of MOTD get a much higher salary than is paid to all of Scottish football. We need positivity at the top, and badly, yesterday wouldn't be quick enough.

[ScottB]

Fundamentally, we have some problems that will be hard to overcome, and arguably the biggest is unique to us.

Unlike other small nations, our broadcasters are the same as the big nation attached to us. I would imagine in, say, Denmark, or Belgium, the local broadcasting budget goes on their domestic league, then they pick up cheaper, foreign rights to show 'big league' games, but the local league is the priority. Here, our broadcasters spend a vast fortune to secure Premiership rights, and focus on that as a consequence, because as part of the UK, it's effectively a local league. Independence might have offered a way out of this unique problem, had future Scottish broadcasters been able to get cheaper, foreign rights to EPL matches it might have allowed our game to flourish on TV.

Secondly, the standard has collapsed. Again, because companies buying rights here have to view it in a UK context, is anybody down south going to watch St Mirren v ICT? Hell, how many in Scotland would watch that?

I'd be tempted to suggest we jack the whole concept in as it stands. BT and Sky are not going to get into a bidding war because our product has very limited appeal, and isn't going to attract the new subscribers they need like the Champions League or Open Championships will. Getting the games back to 3pm on a Saturday would probably lift attendances enough to make up for the loss of cash, with a highlights package and the possibility of screening the few matches with broader appeal live; Old Firm, Edinburgh Derby etc.

In short, hoping for more money because of what happens in England isn't the solution.

[jacomo]

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That bit about a charity is genius! Brilliant idea. If only those that were paid hundreds of thousands to run the organisation could think like that!

You're asking for vision and leadership here, both sorely lacking at the top of our game.

Doncaster is worse than useless, Regan's not much better.

[Tinribs]

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Spot on.

Almost exactly what Barry Hearn tried to tell the blazers at Hampden when he tore them apart a couple of months ago. Stop trying to compete or compare with the EPL and sell and support your own product.

The fact our leagues have no sponsor is a disgrace. The sponsorship should have been gifted to a charity or charities if one couldn't be found. Not only would it have been a decent thing to do, it would also have demonstrated to potential sponsors the audience that could be reached.

That does seem a good idea, but when we did finally find a paying sponsor, i wonder how they would feel about knocking Help The Aged or similar off the name of the league? Bad publicity maybe.

[green&left]

That's the figures from last season. Cardiff City earning more than Bayern Munich and Dortmund combined!

**** no's what it'll look like next year.


DdVAomI.jpg

[CB_NO3]

In the top 40 paid clubs in Europe this year, 20 come from the EPL. Even the Burnley chairman was laughing at the situation. He also seem pretty embarassed.