Starting this season Skysports are launching a new channel called Skysports+ which will cover:
- 328 Sky Bet Championship matches
- 248 Sky Bet League One matches
- 248 Sky Bet League Two matches
- All 15 Play-Off matches
- All 93 Carabao Cup matches
- All 127 EFL Trophy matches
- Exclusive access to Sky’s great sports documentaries.
- Sky Sports+ offers the capability to show up to 100 events concurrently.
I mean that list is pretty substantial and the first thing to mention is that the sheer amount of people required to make this possible must be huge and that can only be a positive in terms of the amount of jobs that it is creating, especially with the cost of living crisis still raging on for all of us.
In terms of how much each club is receiving as part of this new television deal, well League Two – Gillingham FC have announced that as part of this deal the club is set to receive £300,000, this is a signficant fee but as the club have rightly pointed out already, should attendances take a hit across the season due to this new channel being in place at home, then the £300,000 will soon disappear to plug the gaps left by empty seats.
Now I know what you are thinking, why should non-league football fans care? And you are right to be thinking that question !
Now originally when this was mentioned months ago, I was sceptical about the sheer amount of games that they were promising to cover of each team, I thought it was something that was going to be ultimately promised but underdelivered. Now that the full announcement has been made public I think there are some potentially wins and losses for Non-league football, which we will dive into now…
Good or bad?
Now the football aspect of this new channel and its offering is vast and covers alot of untouched ground, if you are a fan of a EFL club you will be able to watch them for at least 20/46 games throughout the season.
Now I see this could be a loss to Non-league football in the sense that some fans who were attending their games last season when their EFL team were away from home and they couldnt watch them will now stay indoors and watch them instead. Another potential is that people may sign up to Skysports to start to watch their team more, something that is not a cheap commitment, this may lead to peoples disposable income being reduced. Disposable income which beforehand may have gone on a non-league game and a few drinks, may no longer be there.
However…one key bit of information is that Article 48 will not be lifted as a result of this new offering, so what does that mean exactly?
Well this means that “No football is allowed to be broadcast on live television on any Saturday between 2.45pm and 5.15pm”. So there will be significantly less Saturday 3pm kick-offs.
That could be a huge boost for non-league football.
Why? Well the fact that more EFL games will now have to be played on Friday nights, Saturday lunchtimes and even Sundays means that the traditional Saturday 3pm slot will largely be left unfilled, apart from anyone playing in Non-league.
And playing devils advocate in terms of the reduced disposable income, football fans are on the whole an extremely passionate group and I can see football being one of the last things to be cut if people are tightening their budgets.
So what should Non-league clubs do next…
Well this might be slightly biased of me to say as I work in marketing myself but I believe this is a genuine chance for these non-league clubs to market themselves heavily as having a true football offering.
Sell the fact that they will still be playing their games at 3pm on a Saturday, that people can come down and enjoy proper football at the proper time. The added benefit for most is that they can also offer pitchside drinking too, something that is prohibited in the EFL. This is a huge selling point to many and should be in my opinion shouted about more to those who may not know this fact.
This is of course in addiiton to the fact that the Premier league has for many years moved away from the 3pm Saturday fixture, many Premier league games are now spread across the week. This only adds into the opportunity for non-league clubs as fewer and fewer traditional 3pm Saturday kick-offs are taking place from next season across the board.
The fact is, football fans will want somewhere to go, if non-league clubs get in there early and are clever with their promotional activity early doors then I can see alot of EFL club fans coming along on the day to support their lower leagued teams. They may even enjoy it so much that an occasional trip turns into a regular outing.
If I have learnt just one thing in the short time I have been involved in non-league football it is this…once you have the bug you cannot shake it off!
The good bits for everyone
Anyway…going back to the new TV deal and what it means for all fans of football.
Due to this new channel, the marmite offering of Ifollow will now be removed, this means that the 1 camera, dodgy commentators, no replays and overall unreliable service will be a thing of the past. The new coverage from Skysports+ will boast of 8 cameras at each game, so those watching at home can actually feel like it’s 2024 and not 1994!
The overall increase in coverage of the game is always a benefit and the EFL has long been the long forgotten support act to the Premier league in the same way that Non-league football has been shunned by both the EFL and Premier league.
Football lovers will benefit from having more football than ever to choose from at their finger tips which will certainly be a much more desirable option than 99% of anything else that is shown on the television nowadays.
Conclusion
Ultimately time will tell if this deal is good for the EFL, the fans, Non-league teams or is just something that benefits Skysports back pockets.
Do I think it will be successful – yes and no.
I think people will be grateful for the extra coverage of their teams, especially those who are unable to travel to games or can afford to attend as many games but still wish to watch their beloved teams in action. However the fact that alot of games are going to have to be moved to potentially more troublesome days/times for away day travel especially, i can see fans being ironically forgotten about in the planning aspect of covering these games.
Non-league clubs will benefit, that is something that I am sure of. People want to see football with their own eyes at a ground, there is some things that simply cannot be replaced and live football in a stadium is up there with live music and comedy for me.
Buckle up its going to be a bumpy ride!
Through The Turnstile of Non-League Football 
Leave a comment