Football broadcasting: tipping point or bleeding edge?

Abstract

Football in the UK took a dramatic turn with the establishment of the Premier League in 1992. Since then, like many industries, globalization in the sport has been driven by technological change. This article considers the change taking place and how it reflects within the income streams of football clubs. With broadcasting driving the major growth in revenue, the response of the global football fan feeding this revenue stream is considered. A limited understanding of their specific needs and level of satisfaction is found alongside broadcasting deals of significant value. In the midst of this are communications companies with high‐risk strategies and football clubs who seem intent on frittering away their rights money on player salaries. It begs the question – has the broadcasting revenue stream reached a lucrative tipping point or will there be casualties on the bleeding edge of technology?

Acknowledegments

The author would like to thank Catherine Evans, a final year Events Management student at Leeds Metropolitan University in 2006, for collecting the primary data on Premier League clubs attitudes to 3G technology used in this article.

Notes

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