A new TV contract signed by the league for £23m less a season than the previous one, has put pressure on many of the teams that are already under severe economic pressure causing them to suffer yet another reduction of income.
There will be 75 live Football League matches and the return of the Carling Cup to exclusively pay TV are parts of the £65m deal that is for the three years from 2012-13. BBC is believed to have declined the bid for live matches this time while having the current £88m a year deal that has 10 Championship games a year and the Carling Cup final.
All insiders are saying that when ITV digital went bust is in no way comparable to the now drop in TV income because back then TV income dropped overnight by £84m when many players were in lucrative multi-year contracts.
Before the new deal will go into place over 80% of the players current contracts will have expired thereby giving owners time to reduce their cost base. A parliamentary committee was recently told that the Football League was heading toward the precipice and arriving quicker than thought, by Chairman Greg Clarke, and the recent reduced funds will worry many teams that face uncertainty over sponsorship and season ticket renewals.
The negotiation of television rights had been held in a very difficult climate because of the state of the economy and the lack of tension in the sports broadcasting market. Setanta’s collapse and the unwillingness for some broadcasters to bid left Sky as the only one to turn to and the only positive is that teams have the time to plan for the future, confidant that the clubs will see there is genuine interest because of the ongoing investment in their competitions.