It’s been a while for an opinion piece, lots of games going on and places to be but one thing of course stood out last week and so in between these games it was a topic that needed to be covered.
Streaming non-league football was always going to raise it’s head at some point in the near future and thanks to the Hollywood boys probably a little before it’s time.
Not surprising it’s a very contentious issue to cover and there is no right or wrong answer to it, it’s something that will come into the game whether we like it or not, we’re in such a technological age that it’s inevitable.
We can take a look at both sides of it here and we’ll start with the pros of having games streamed.
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Of course we had games streamed two seasons ago when we weren’t allowed to attend games, it took a little while for clubs to get the arrangement right in the National League and people had to think fast to make it work and gain some vital income at a point where little to none was coming into a club.
I actually watched a Barnet stream every game once they were up and running, granted there was little else to do and it was material for this blog each week, but no doubt I watched more football of my club than I had for a long while.
The quality got better as the season went on, I can’t say the same about the football however! Income in non-league football is vital wherever it comes from, that’s not in doubt and providing the logistics of that particular part is worked out to the letter there is some benefit and as I mentioned above it’s something that is going to come our way whether we like it or not.
There are many who can’t attend every home game let alone away games due to work, family or other personal commitments, they can however be around to watch a stream starting either a few minutes or more before kick-off, there are times it will increase income I’m sure, it might be a while down the line but surely every pound note is vital?
In this day and age we should be able to watch similar from within a foreign country, you can if you want to watch top level games so why not extend it further? The point being is how far you extend that to making sure it’s for benefit and not for a loss.
Going against it on the other side is the club’s concerns about attendances and division of money which in both cases would be completely understandable to be worried on both counts.
I will admit I can’t afford to watch every single home and away game for Barnet, funds just simply don’t allow unless I start earning some fantastic amounts doing this writing alongside a full time job. I naturally know I can attend the away games closest or with less travel time and usually one a year much further away.
Instead I tend to watch games around the South East, less cost and more variety for me to write about but if the far away games were streamed would I be watching? 99% sure I would be, it’s my club above all else but it’s also to the detriment of the clubs I would take the opportunity to go and take a look at.
Would it be fair to charge the same as if you attended the game in person? I think so, after all it’s the same cost you would have parted with at the turnstile had you gone. The problem however is if others think like me and decide to bin it off, even home supporters. Granted the club would still get the ticket cost but they lose that secondary spend in the bars, food outlets and club shop, that’s where they really make the extra up even at National League level for some.
You can understand the club’s stance on wavering one way or the other, in the case of Wrexham the income potential is huge with the American market tapped into, not so for others but it’s a league of 72 clubs who should all have the same rights and be looked after.
We’ve seen with the Football League iFollow streaming that it’s weighted for the bigger clubs, that can’t be allowed to happen in non-league’s top divisions. Division of income is all important and it must be done fairly in order for all clubs to benefit, I would hope that if they get it right it actually increases what a club makes over the course of the season.
For me being at a live game is the pinnacle, streaming won’t ever come close but it would give opportunity to gain new audiences and still retain income from those who wouldn’t have been able to get to the game at all, it’s finding the right balance where clubs don’t lose out, there’s certainly a lot more mileage in this one.
