How Sky and BT have revolutionised football

The Premier League era has changed the face of English football forever with lucrative TV and Sponsorship deals that have taken the game to new heights. We’ve seen an influx of multi-million-pound transfer deals and six-figure wages that have attracted some of the biggest talents in world football making the Premier League the most watched league in the world broadcasting to 4.7BN people in 212 countries. Many clubs including Liverpool and Man United have become global brands establishing avid fan bases from all over the UK and the world but how much has TV companies such as Sky and BT changed the game.

The inception of the Premier League in 1992 marked a new era for English football. Sky Sports invested a fortune into the game which meant more people could watch games meaning that fans had greater access to more teams rather than being restricted to their local teams which means the big teams have now been able to expand their fanbase both domestically and globally which also enabled access to lucrative kit and sponsorship deals.

Also, fans have been able to expand their knowledge of the game, Sky and BT give in-game and player stats as well as pre and post-match shows including tactical analysis of each team as well as filming days which allow fans to get to know players and managers on a human level. The inception of social media means fans can now also watch match highlights instead of having to wait till the evening for Match Of The Day, BT Sport has embraced the use of Social Media with it’s no filter videos for their Champions League coverage which shows what goes on behind the scenes of their coverage whereas Sky Sports has extensive coverage on matchdays including Soccer Saturday which is the first place to be notified about goals on every Saturday 3pm game.

However, parts of the fan experience have been compromised, for example, televised games are moved throughout the weekend which means, for example, if Chelsea V Man United is moved to Saturday 12:30, United fans will have to wake up in the early hours of the morning to travel down to London to make kickoff whereas if a game is moved to Monday night, fans may have to take a day off work to attend the game and/or finish work early. The nightmare scenario is if a team has a European game midweek and has a league game moved for TV broadcasting which means attending games can be tough both personally and financially.

Also, owning a Sky and BT subscription is very expensive throughout the season, although both channels show plenty of football, fans are unlikely to want to watch every game which is the only way to utilise subscriptions that could also compromise a fan’s personal life. Season ticket holders bear the biggest burden if they are unable to attend a game due to change in kick-off times, personal circumstances etc. although most clubs offer ticket exchanges.

What the future holds

As of this season, Amazon Prime have started broadcasting Premier League games on its online streaming platform, this could serve as to the future of broadcast rights as there have been discussions of the Premier League introducing an online streaming platform once the current TV deal is over, if it goes ahead, it would be a welcome relief for fans as the sheer expense of owning a Sky and BT subscription means they would end up missing out and have to watch games in pubs or at a friends place. TV income has massively inflated the transfer market which could prove to be the biggest obstacle and some regions may miss out. Overall, Sky and BT’s investment has taken the game to new heights but more affordable options such as a Netflix style streaming service need to be considered so fans who are unable to afford multiple subscriptions don’t miss out.