By Mark Sheppard
Football fans are questioning where the money from TV rights is invested and why they rarely see the benefits from such financial rewards.
A new deal that saw Sky and BT Sport secure the rights to broadcast Premier League matches for three seasons is worth a record £5.136 billion.
This has left fans speculating about what the £10.2 million per match is going towards, and whether they will see the benefits of this rather than the players and their agents.
Miren Patel, 19, a Liverpool supporter has said: “Personally I feel that there is too much money in football. It is difficult to see how clubs can justify signing a player for millions of pounds when the government is trying to save money by making cuts in essentials such as education and healthcare.”
Fans would prefer to see the money invested in things that would satisfy them, as opposed to seeing it go towards those who already earn a lot of money at the club.
Mr Patel said: “TV money could help clubs give something back to the fans maybe by reducing ticket prices for certain games or even hosting events like meet and greets.”
Adult season tickets at Leicester City can cost a minimum of £365, but a top Premier League club such as Arsenal will charge fans as much as £2,000 for a season ticket.
This leaves fans feeling concerned they have been pushed to the bottom of the priority list with expensive ticket prices and last minute fixture changes when their team is on TV.
Jaimin Tailor, 19, a Leicester City supporter has said: “With fixture rearrangements I feel there is a clear issue especially when decisions are made relatively late.
“I think the TV money should be redistributed throughout the league more evenly to clubs to ensure that the competition remains a relatively level playing field.”
Clearly there is a case to consider whether the financial rewards from TV rights are being invested in the right way.
