TV Question

becasue the FA is scared that if games get shown at 3pm then people will stop going to lower division football and just watch the premiership on telly.

 

Probably more the league than the FA, but it's a genuine concern, which is why the ruling has been in place since live TV football started in 1984. You only have to look at the difference in attendences between Saturday and midweek nationwide matches, which are often up against Live European football, to see the impact it could have. I can see why Man Utd complain that they keep having to play at 12 noon, but to bow down to their wishes at the expense (literally) of football in the rest of the country is something that should not be allowed to happen.

 

what does that mean? how would the rest of the country be adversely affected by more 3pm kickoffs. btw: supposedly only 5 or so out of approx 22 Man Utd home games are at the traditional 3pm kickoff time. I think Man Utd fans want the same schedule as most others, is that unfair?

also, personally for me the noon UK time is a pain 'cos it means I have to get up for a 7am kickoff (EST).

 

Premier league games are pretty much sold out. Outside the premier this isn't the case and clubs rely to an extent on people just deciding on the day to go along. The problem is that there's a fair chance that if these less committed fans are presented with a choice of watching Man Utd v Chelsea for free on TV down the pub or at home, or having to pay £10-15 to watch a Division 3 match against Rochdale, then Man Utd v Chelsea on TV will win a lot of the time.
When nationwide matches are played midweek up against live European football, crowds are generally about 15-20% lower than they'd be on saturday. A 15-20% ticket revenue reduction would be pretty disasterous and personally I don't think having clubs being pushed closer to extinction is a worthwhile trade off for allowing premier league players to have a bit of a lie-in.

 

as far as I remember the games were not shown live on Sat anyway. maybe Sky shows them these days. if that's the case then the problem rests with Sky, not Man Utd.
if Man Utd were singled out for special treatment which generally favoured them over other clubs there'd be war. this noon time situation doesn't favour the fans so they complain and get villified for it.

 

The only reason Man Utd kick off at 12 on saturdays is for live TV coverage. Man Utd officials are calling for the "no live TV at 3pm saturday" rule to be lifted.

 

I couldn't care less if Man U don't like the noon Saturday kick-offs. However, they do seem to be on at that time quite a bit. No idea why, but Arsenal are very rarely on at this time (which suits me just fine!). We get a lot of the 4pm on a Sunday slot though. There's obviously some marketing geek at Sky who thinks this is the best way to get an audience.

 

Try living in Hawaii. I tried to sleep a little beofre the 1:30 a.m. KO It would have been better to just stay in bed since Alan Riley was determined Man Utd would win.

 

I am not convinced the smaller crowds are because they are up against televised games, in general midweek sporting events are less attractive. People have worked all day and often have to wake up early the next morning to work as well. I would expect smaller crowds for midweek games simply because it is a school/work night

In addition the US has seen live baseball games at the normal time since the creation of television. And although our minor league system, which is simmilar to the lower leagues in england still excists and has actually seen a revival in the last ten or so years (cheaper tickets more accessible players and stadiums). But at the end of the day doesn't matter to me since in the US we get to see live 3 pm saturday kickoffs (although they are at the god awful hour of 7 am pacific time).