https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/efl-agrees-new-595million-sky-2237500
I’ve just been looking at this story and and according to Dan Roan’s (BBC sport editor) tweet, it seems there is going to be a meeting for the rebel clubs at Villa park today.
Hence it’s safe to say that Villa are definitely involved, even though it was said we weren’t, by Christian Purslow.
They make the point that the 72 EFL clubs will receive £119 million a year.
Pretty much the same as what Burnley got last season.
That can’t be right.
But the rebels also go on to deny greed and say they want a better deal for all EFL clubs.
This, in my opinion, is the way to go.
I’m all for an equitable agreement that favours the whole EFL, as much as I suspect that many of you will just want us to get as much as we can, as a club.
Else we just end up looking like a PL top six club MK2 and we create an even bigger gap than already exists in the EFL and are playing even more into Sky’s hands.
Apparently, the Championship representatives for the EFL are Brentford, Bristol City and Reading.
Do we think they have enough muscle to haggle with Sky?
Or are they fairly representative of the Championship on the whole and probably reasonable choices?
Keeping my neutral head on, I have to say I think it’s the latter, although that doesn’t suit the bigger clubs.
But keeping my common-sense and business head on, I smell a split seriously being threatened by the rebels.
The gulf is just too big and the top 6/7 in the EFL, in Villa, Leeds, Boro, Forest, Derby and the Sheffs (top of my head guess) probably outweigh the rest of the league.
But then, there are currently an inordinate amount of big clubs in the EFL, I’d say.
Sky would be in the proverbial if those clubs were to be promoted, while the likes of Bournemouth etc were to be relegated, in the next couple of years.
It’s a tricky one, but given our tradition, I just don’t want us to be seen as abandoning the smaller clubs in the pursuit of a short-term advantage.
I’m proud of the fact that we’re very much perceived as a club that does the right thing and plays fairly.
Is that an old-fashioned way of thinking?
Perhaps it is, I don’t know.
I’m just playing devil’s advocate, before anyone wants to shoot me.
It’s easy in today’s dog-eat-dog world to just think of ourselves.
Me, I want the whole game to do well.
I simply have to say that, or how else could I complain about the PL top six and what they’ve done to the Prem?
Nearly £600 million sounds like a lot of money for the second tier but it would seem that the way this figure was arrived at might be problematic.
Surely any deal must at least be approved by the majority of clubs currently in the Championship? It doesn’t sound like it was here. While I don’t want us to get greedy I definitely don’t want Sky to be making excessive profits from struggling clubs.
Whatever happens we need more competition for TV rights, Going forward I can see streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix becoming serious players but I’m not sure if they would be any different to Sky.
Perhaps the way forward might be to package games in a way that allows a variety of companies to bid for packages including some that might be ring fenced for terrestrial entities such as the BBC and ITV. OAPs and fans on low wages would surely welcome this.
Pat, this deal is for all the clubs outside the prem, not just the Championship.
It’s peanuts to us.
It would seem it was agreed by the Championship representatives, but what’s interesting here is that I think Brentford have one of the lowest attendances in the league. I’ll bet they’re not one of the clubs threatening to quit.
It’s more the fact that it was pushed through by whoever is in charge of the EFL, without talking to most of the clubs.
No wonder they don’t trust him.
Not that there were any “bungs” involved.
i couldn’t possibly suggest that.
I see th a the Albion game is sold out on the 7th December. No more allocation tickets are available. I wonder what the attraction is.
There should imho be a more equitable distribution of funds than is currently included within the Sky deals. The gap between the monies being earned by EPL and EFL is far too much and, as pointed out earlier there is little or no competition to Sky. I hold the EPL and EFL responsible in the way that these bids are structured.
For example there should be a joint bid rather than two separate bids with the bid documents setting out how the monies will be divided across the EPL and EFL, secondly teams in the EFL should receive much greater compensation where matches are televised particularly given that a number of the ‘top’ Championship clubs attract higher TV audiences than a number of EPL clubs (your point Badger). The EPL / EFL should allow Saturday afternoon screenings (to reduce continual rescheduling) but seek a higher premium for these games and there should be more consultation with clubs. All of this could be written into the bid documents. Maybe this will encourage more competition but with lower overall bids – would that be such a bad thing?
I’m not against televising sport but it should be about what is best for the game as a whole and not simply maximising revenue. It should also be sustainable in the long term!
Or maybe I’m just being naive?
The trouble is Hitch, the EPL and EFL are basically two totally different entities and the EPL don’t give a stuff what the EFL gets, as long as their plate is full.
I’m actually beginning to think that the game ought to be nationalised by the government and made to be equitable, as it’s my belief that we’re going to create another canyon between the middling clubs and the lesser ones.
The way it’s going, the lesser clubs won’t have a prayer of getting promoted to our second division, let alone the first.
I should have realised that when I posted but notwithstanding there is promotion and relegation between the two leagues so there are clear links.
Unless there is a more equitable financial arrangement, how long before the EPL becomes like the American franchises with no relegation?
Exactly.
Although in fairness, it would seem our American friends don’t mind a lack of compettition.
I’m not keen at all, but it might be the way it’s going, as much as we don’t want it.
If we’re going to go down this totally greedy route, I want the lot.
Sod the little clubs.
I want the lion’s share that we’re entitled to.
(No, i really don’t 🙁 )
Hello Villans,
I’m not a Villa fan but i do follow one of the other “Bigger ” clubs in the EFL.
Last time out you beat us quite comprehensively ( we were not at the races and you lot looked up for it ) i did offer to take a very old pal of mine a Villa fan to the match but he couldn’t make it due to work ! ( worked out well for me ! ) anyway enough about the game , my point is this there was 30k plus in Pride park that day, is there another second tier any where in world football boasting the crowds the EFL get?
why shouldn’t all the clubs in EFL get a bigger slice of the cake its surely the only way to even start to close the gap between the EFL and the Prem?
i for one am proud of my club and the clubs that stand with Derby to say no to Sky they need to invest the money all through the leagues and not just the premiership.
they have had things all their own way for far to long hopefully this is the wind of change starting to blow…….
I think that the EFL may have just shot themselves in the foot. It was partly their intransigence which caused the Premier League to break away in the first place.
Just wondering if a deal with the Premier League might be on the cards if the Championship does decide to break away? That might actually make quite a lot of sense.
£119 million a year / 72 clubs = around £1.653 million per club or around £31,750 a week (through the full year).
It’s next to nothing for the likes of the Villa.
What worries me, is I’m not convinced any breakaway league would have to sign a deal with anyone.
If the ONLY way to get to watch the Villa, apart from actually attending, was via AVTV I wonder how much money it would pull in?
I’d love to know what the current viewing figures are.
And even if that wouldn’t work and we did have to do a deal we all know that televised EFL is all about the championship.
That £119 million (or the best part of it) shared between 16 clubs suddenly becomes very attractive.
Consider this from Wiki and it’s a point “Thebiglad” (my Derby mate) made to me earlier;
“The Championship is the wealthiest non-top flight football division in the world and the seventh richest division in Europe.”
And after reading the list below of countries that have broadcasting rights, it’s obvious how big the championship is and that we would have to do a deal with someone, unless we made our own arrangements.
Either way, those who don’t breakaway will be massively in the proverbial.
The list;
International
Australia – beIN Sports broadcasts live Championship matches every weekend
Belgium – Eleven Sports
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sport Klub
Brazil – ESPN Brasil has exclusive rights to broadcast live two Championship matches every week.
Bulgaria – Diema Sport and Nova Sport
Canada – DAZN
Caribbean – Sports Max
China – ssports.com
Croatia – Sport Klub
Czech Republic – Arena Sport and Digi Sport
Denmark – TV3 sport
Estonia – Footbal TV
Finland – Viasat Urheilu, Viasat Sport, and Viasat Jalkapallo
France and Monaco – beIN Sports
Georgia – Silk Sport
Austria, Germany, and Switzerland – sportdigital.tv broadcasts one or two games every week. Other matches also availale on DAZN and Sport1
Greece – Nova Sports
Hungary – Digi Sport
Iceand – Stöð 2 Sport
India and the subcontinent, Jio
Israel – Charlton
Italy – DAZN
Japan – J Sports
Korea – SBS Sports
Kosovo – Sport Klub
Macedonia – Sport Klub
Macau – TDM (Macau)
MENA Region – beIN Sports
Mexico – Sky Sports Mexico has exclusive rights to broadcast live two matches, also available in Central America and Dominican Republic.
Montenegro – Sport Klub
Netherlands – Ziggo Sport and Ziggo Sport Totaal
New Zealand – beIN Sports has exclusive rights to broadcast all matches live or on delay.
Norway – Viasat Sport and Viasat Fotball shows one or two matches a week.
Poland – Eleven Sports
Portugal – Sport TV
Russia – Telekanal Futbol
South Africa – FOX Sports
South America – ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast live two Championship matches every week
Slovenia – Sport Klub
Sweden – TV3 Sport, Viasat Sport, and Viasat Fotboll
Serbia – Sport Klub
Slovakia – Nova Sport
Sub-Saharan Africa – Kwesé Sports
Thailand – Modernine TV, MCOT FAMILY
Turkey – beIN Sports
United States – ESPN and BAMTech broadcast EFL Championship with all matches on streaming service ESPN+ with select matches on ESPN.
Vietnam – Reddentes Sports, VTVCab.
In fairness, I’ve seen it suggested that the 16 clubs aren’t complaining about the actual deal, but the fact that they’ve been tied up without being consulted.
I struggle to believe this, because if the money is not a problem, why complain?
It’s obvious to me that the clubs see this costing them in the future.
Although I guess it could just be a principle thing.
Whatever, the threat of a breakaway must terrify the EFL.
Hmm, it seems I’m not the only one who thinks it’s all about the money;
https://thisisfutbol.com/2018/11/blogs/webber-three-likely-outcomes-from-championship-fallout/
My bet is that the bigger clubs get to keep a much bigger part of the streaming revenue, which is where the future lies.
At more cost to the lesser clubs.
This isn’t good for the game, even though it might suit us, imo.
Marc Webber’s tweets are interesting.
Badger I think it’s both about the dictatorial approach of the EFL and the deal itself which is a logical link.
The EFL have shown a complete disregard for the views of the clubs in not agreeing to a delay in signing the deal (or making it a short term agreement – 1 year) to allow clubs to get involved.
I found the comment that the clubs dispute is ‘not with Sky who they respect and value’ but with the EFL illuminating. Neither the EFL nor Sky can afford for these clubs to decide to go it alone as they provide the overwhelming majority of the TV revenue that funds Sky’s payments.
Extending my further thoughts – we could well see an EPL2 with promotion and relegation between the two leagues but not with the remaining EFL clubs. As you say – will this be for the good of the game in this country?
Just to reinforce where Sky’s revenue comes from:
– Villa has 10th highest attendances in English football last season; Leeds were 12th
– 7 Championship clubs are in the top 20 of attendances in English football last season.
Many of these clubs boast global fan bases and have higher TV viewing audiences than EPL clubs.
The payment to the EPL by Sky is around 8 times greater than to the EFL
Hitch, I’d be inclined to think it’s about brown envelopes.
Which is why the big clubs are targetting the CEO.
Of course, that sort of thing doesn’t happen these days, does it? (ahem).
And your figures just reinforce how we’re being had over.
I couldn’t possibly comment Badger!
144 years old today. Happy Birthday Aston Villa.FC.
Indeed Bill – Happy Birthday to the Villa.
Hitch, I agree with you on why there’s been a big fall out, its not the money its all about making agreements and not consulting clubs.some organizations think they are bigger in making agreements. They all have to be stopped in the name of football fans.
The days of football being a working mans game died when Sky stamped on terrestrial TV and created the premier top six. I am to blame amongst all the others who have taken out the Sky sports subscription to line the pockets of the elite. When Villa were in the premier league I didn’t have much interest in the championship barring the big games and play offs. Therefore I can’t get annoyed that now we are a championship club that we are getting a tiny slice of the Sky TV money. I didn’t care about championship clubs TV revenue when we was a premier club so we are where we are and get what we deserve. Talk of a breakaway league are as pathetic as when a European super league was being muted. It’s all about greed and it does make me annoyed when transfer fees of £100 million for top clubs are becoming commonplace, considering children in need raised £50 million! I won’t have sleepless nights if we don’t get promoted. Changing topic ever so slightly and if Brexit ever happens we might see a reduction in the overpriced foreign influx and get some of our homegrown talent through the ranks.
Hopefully I will get 52% agreeing with this view.
But what about the 48% who refuse to accept the result? 😁
We will have to have another vote. Maybe if we lose against Small Heath we should all complain until we get the game replayed! 🤪
“Hopefully I will get 52% agreeing with this view.”
Only if you put it on the side of a bus 🙂
I have no real convictions about the deal, I have not got Sky and refuse to buy it. I have got BT because I use business-grade internet, and wish they had bid.
One thing stands out though. It is alleged the basics of the deal were circulated to clubs before the CEO went to sign it, with no significant alterations expected. There were significant alterations, Sky paying less and the deal running for more years, yet the CEO did not revert back to the clubs before signing. If that is true, (s)he should be sacked.
Agreed OLL and I believe that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I also believe questions should be asked of the Chairman and whether the representatives of the EFL clubs on the Board were sufficiently robust in their roles.
Reading the statement made by the ‘rebels’ and from various other Chairman there appears to be a consistent theme of poor or no communication with little or no time allowed to clubs to make a meaningful contribution.
I suspect this is going to run for some time with legal action instigated by – the majority, if not all of – the Championship clubs.
On another subject the Mail says that Steer might be on his way back in January –
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-considering-surprise-recall-15452612
Nyland not cutting it with Smith or just back up?
OLL,
I’ve lost my patience with Bt been a customer for 60 years and yesterday I rang them to ask why has my bill jumped £12 a month more. They wasn’t interested in reducing it but told I’m in contract till May next year and nothing they can do till then. Sky and Bt are a money grabbing organization that needs to be capped, it seems that they have got the footballing market trapped in offering money taken from fans wanting to see their favourite teams.time to be rebellious and stand our ground. VPN.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/championship-clubs-appoint-lawyers-in-tv-fight-with-efl-9h8lb9w0g?shareToken=24404189394920f01bd0633c0eb36c99
For those interested in following the battle between the Championship clubs and the EFL Board. Smacks of the Board not advising clubs of changes to the draft agreement knowing (or suspecting) they wouldn’t accept them.
As the clubs are refusing to accept the deal, one development to watch for might be the clubs refusing to allow Sky cameras into their grounds – that would really set the cat amongst the pigeons.
Bring it on
Slaughter & May great choice – nothing like a bit of S&M – lmao.