There's been a huge amount of wailing on Twitter about this, and I really can't understand it.
In normal times, these matches would have been 3pm kickoffs (or non-televised games at the same time as televised games.)
The only way to (legally) watch them would have been actually going to the game in person. As that's not an option right now, I see no issue in offering these games as standalone options for a fee which is much less than the cost of the average PL match ticket, not to mention the other ancillary costs - both necessary and unnecessary - that are incurred when attending a match such as transport, refreshment, merchandise and a programme.
(That is of course if you are one of the lucky ones able to get to the game, and then one of the luckier ones able to get a ticket.)
In the EFL, there is the iFollow system which appears to be working satisfactorily. It seems the PL doesn't want to or cannot offer that option, probably because of rights etc. So this seems like the next best thing - offer the games for those who want to watch them.
If Season Ticket holders get to watch the games for free, great. If they don't, then that's down to them to sort out a refund with their club.
Patronage is not constrained by the size of the stadium, or by the location of the match. A game which would have seen a maximum of 5000 away spectators crammed into the windy, wet end of a stadium on a December Saturday evening will now be open to all fans of the club in their own comfortable homes.
It seems folks got a little bit too used to being given 5 extra bonus matches per PL round effectively for free with their Sky/BT subscriptions. This of course was due to pressure from the government - both to keep up morale during lockdown and also so that newly reopened pubs weren't overloaded. Those folks must remember that this will be a temporary arrangement until we can let fans back into stadiums, hopefully in the spring.
As for the price, well it's interesting how much of a value fans are willing to put on the actual sport / game itself - the only thing that actually matters, the 90 minutes of action, as opposed to everything else. I have seen suggestions of £5. 90 minutes of entertainment for £5? How little value people place on football nowadays.
You don't pay the price of a ready meal in a restaurant, you don't pay the price of a tin of beer in a pub, so you don't pay the price of a full matchday experience to watch a game on TV. It's pretty simple to me.
Last edited by Michael on 9 October 2020 5:58pm