The 3pm U.K. Blackout

Because it has feck all to do with the major leagues. It is to protect the lower leagues & non league in this country and it is imperative it remains in place.

Edited my original post to Countries, League was the wrong choice of words. Point is Spain, Germany etc. Cope just fine without blackouts and their lower leagues are doing alright otherwise they’d have one in place themselves.
 
We know the reasons, but they are shite, as someone else mention they get on just fine in Europe without blackouts
Do they? Do tell me how many 5th tier clubs in Spain average 4000/5000 fans a week? Or how many 6th tier clubs in Germany average 2000+?
 
I get this line of thinking, but Germany, Spain et al are coping perfectly fine without a blackout, as far as I'm aware
With all due respect, the English lower leagues are million times better than Spain or Germany
 
Edited my original post to Countries, League was the wrong choice of words. Point is Spain, France, Italy etc. Cope just fine without blackouts and their lower leagues are doing alright otherwise they’d have one in place themselves.
Go on then, same as to the previous poster: How many 5th tier clubs in Spain average 4000/5000 fans a week? How many 6th tier clubs in Germany average 2000+?
 
Is there any data that proves attendances of the lower league clubs would go down? Personally I think it’s bollocks. If someone wants to watch live football they will regardless of what games on tv. Streaming is so easy to access now.
 
So what percentage of people who go watching lower league teams only do so for want of anything better?

I thought fans of lower league clubs were meant to be 'proper football fans for proper football' etc. Now, suddenly, a significant proportion of those attending are the same 'armchair PL fans' who just don't have access between 3 and 5 so go to a lower league game instead?

A "significant proportion" could be as low as 5% to some clubs.

I have no idea what the percentages are but I know it's not zero.
 
Edited my original post to Countries, League was the wrong choice of words. Point is Spain, Germany etc. Cope just fine without blackouts and their lower leagues are doing alright otherwise they’d have one in place themselves.
Have a look at the highest attendance in La Liga B then have a look at the lowest attendance of the Championship
 
Ridiculously outdated rule now.

Also, I don't think fans of lower league teams are going to not go due to United v Newcastle..
 
Meh, I hardly ever get to watch or listen to 3pm KOs as I am playing Football myself and kicking off at the same time.

I don't really see it as outdated, but I do think the reasons for the 'blackout' are slightly forced.
You would still get full houses at games at 3pm even if they were televised.
 
Ridiculously outdated rule now.

Also, I don't think fans of lower league teams are going to not go due to United v Newcastle..

It's not necessarily about fans of Sutton United. It's about me & my dad (Chelsea fans) not going to a Sutton game because Chelsea are on the telly.

You don't think there are Man United fans who go to watch Salford or Oldham in similar circumstances?
 
A "significant proportion" could be as low as 5% to some clubs.

I have no idea what the percentages are but I know it's not zero.
My local club probably loses 100-150 off the gate when Wolves are at home on a Saturday through people going there instead. If Wolves were televised away from home at 3pm then that would be 100-150 off the gate pretty much permanently. And they're 20 miles away, I shudder to think what it would do to Curzon Ashton for example within a few miles of both Manchester clubs & averaging less than 300 every week.
 
It’s a fecking joke of a rule that’s well outdated. Every other major footballing country in Europe cope just fine with no blackouts, no reason for it to still be implemented in the UK.
All those major footballing leagues that are well known for their successful football pyramids?
 
Go on then, same as to the previous poster: How many 5th tier clubs in Spain average 4000/5000 fans a week? How many 6th tier clubs in Germany average 2000+?
Those are amazing numbers, absolutely. Still intrigued why those clubs couldn't survive without this gate income while german or spanish clubs can. Now comparing the quality of the leagues will be nigh impossible, but is an english 4th division team better than a german or spanish one?
 
Glad they've kept it - should do all they can to encourage people to attend live games imo.
 
Go on then, same as to the previous poster: How many 5th tier clubs in Spain average 4000/5000 fans a week? How many 6th tier clubs in Germany average 2000+?

Fans of them clubs will support them regardless. Fans of say Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea etc. Are only going to watch their own clubs games so it’s a pointless rule. If they can’t watch it live on telly then they’ll just stream it online, they’re not going to say oh I can’t watch this game live at 3pm so I’ll just go watch Luton town.
 
Is there any data that proves attendances of the lower league clubs would go down? Personally I think it’s bollocks. If someone wants to watch live football they will regardless of what games on tv. Streaming is so easy to access now.

This is what i want to know. We all know the reasoning behind it, but does it hold up now? It's always taken as self-evident. This is why i want to know if anyone has actually read the article posted??

Anyone??
 
Do they? Do tell me how many 5th tier clubs in Spain average 4000/5000 fans a week? Or how many 6th tier clubs in Germany average 2000+?

Do you know?

I genuinely don’t

If you do, can you provide a link to that info?
 
Fans of them clubs will support them regardless. Fans of say Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea etc. Are only going to watch their own clubs games so it’s a pointless rule. If they can’t watch it live on telly then they’ll just stream it online, they’re not going to say oh I can’t watch this game live at 3pm so I’ll just go watch Luton town.

My Dad wouldn't consider watching a Chelsea match via an illegal internet stream. He goes to see Sutton or Wimbledon if Chelsea are playing away at 3pm on a Saturday.

If I'm visiting I'll go with him. There's no way we're in any way special or unique in this.
 
I’m absolutely thrilled it’s back. You lot who wouldn’t dream of going to watch a football match on a Saturday will just stream it anyway so why complain?

There’s nothing like checking 5-6 scores come in at 16:45 on a Saturday. Love it.
Ooh you're well 'ard.
 
This is what i want to know. We all know the reasoning behind it, but does it hold up now? It's always taken as self-evident. This is why i want to know if anyone has actually read the article posted??

Anyone??
All it offers is opinion. You can’t produce data on something that hasn’t been trialled.
 
Those are amazing numbers, absolutely. Still intrigued why those clubs couldn't survive without this gate income while german or spanish clubs can. Now comparing the quality of the leagues will be nigh impossible, but is an english 4th division team better than a german or spanish one?
It's a difficult argument to quantify, but personally I would say, Yes, absolutely they are better.
The extra income allows them to be more professional, some of the championship teams would survive easily in laliga.
 
What makes the english football pyramid better than the systems of other successful countries?
Attendance? The fact that any club competing in it can be promoted or relegated? The sheer number of clubs supported by it? Pick one or all three.
 
My Dad wouldn't consider watching a Chelsea match via an illegal internet stream. He goes to see Sutton or Wimbledon if Chelsea are playing away at 3pm on a Saturday.

If I'm visiting I'll go with him. There's no way we're in any way special or unique in this.
I think the issue here is people out with the UK not really getting the culture.
 
The incentive to get people to go lower league teams isn't even that good. The tickets are expensive, the quality of football is rubbish, and most of the time it's a pain to get there as the stadiums are somewhere in the sticks and public transport is crap. I don't think it's a progressive system myself but appreciate people who actually follow their local clubs might feel differently.

I also think it'd be better if they played more lower league games on, say, Monday/Thursday midweek so people could follow a big team and their local one simultaneously.
 
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I’ve sacked off watching a Utd game on TV to go watch lower league games in person plenty of times. It’s a great day out with friends and/or family usually even if the standard of football has been shockingly low most of the time I’ve been and done it.

If that theory still holds up regarding why the blackout is in place then football in England maybe isn’t as passionate as England likes to think it is and the vocal ‘real proper football fans’ of the lower leagues are massive hypocrites who default to PL games on TV at the drop of a hat.
 
Those are amazing numbers, absolutely. Still intrigued why those clubs couldn't survive without this gate income while german or spanish clubs can. Now comparing the quality of the leagues will be nigh impossible, but is an english 4th division team better than a german or spanish one?
Well they would survive to a degree but as a shell of the club. They wouldn't be able to afford the players they have, highly likely most non-league clubs would not afford full-time football without a benefactor, as such how many full time staff would be needed by that club? The you've got job losses, both on and off the pitch. The overall standard of player on the pitch decreases because you're suddenly watching players who work 9-5 & train in the evenings, etc. So yes, clubs would adapt and a lot would survive but they would be nowhere near the clubs they are today.
Fans of them clubs will support them regardless. Fans of say Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea etc. Are only going to watch their own clubs games so it’s a pointless rule. If they can’t watch it live on telly then they’ll just stream it online, they’re not going to say oh I can’t watch this game live at 3pm so I’ll just go watch Luton town.
You honestly don't have a clue, that is literally what happens. People go and watch their local clubs generally from a younger age and it sticks with them. Watching lower league games, the amount of "big club" shirts, coats etc you see on people is ridiculous. Some people when they get older will go off and watch the "big club", other will stay and that is how the fanbases of such clubs survive. I don't know many people at all that started watching their local club at an older age.
 
All it offers is opinion. You can’t produce data on something that hasn’t been trialled.

Yeah, well this is part of the problem then. It's just taken as self-evident, and any questioning of it is met with scorn or insults (as we've seen in this thread) despite the fact there's no evidence.

Personally i think it should be binned. But there you go.
 
Yeah, well this is part of the problem then. It's just taken as self-evident, and any questioning of it is met with scorn or insults (as we've seen in this thread) despite the fact there's no evidence.

Personally i think it should be binned. But there you go.
People talk from experience. I know I stopped going to watch my local team when it became easier to stay at home in the warm and watch Man United. I know I’m not the only one. There are plenty with their fingers in their ears saying it makes no difference. What are they basing that on?

The clubs don’t want it. The article suggests the Premier League themselves are reluctant to change what works for them. The only people complaining about it are the same people who are saying how easy it is to stream. If it’s so easy, do it.
 
The 3pm UK kick off being shown in France next Saturday is Leicester v Man City on Canal+ Sport and on RMC Sport it's multi-zone whih I hate.
So I still don't know when I'll watch the United match.

Probably avoid all the results and watch it on the Monday morning.
 
I get the argument about protecting the lower leagues, but there's huge amounts of money involved in securing TV rights now.

In theory, could the money from a potential deal like that not trickle down and therefore reduce the burden on gate receipts to keep those clubs afloat?
 
Global broadcasting/streaming has kicked the chair out from under the blackout. It was fine back in the day, now it's outdated and needs to go.
 
I get the argument about protecting the lower leagues, but there's huge amounts of money involved in securing TV rights now.

In theory, could the money from a potential deal like that not trickle down and therefore reduce the burden on gate receipts to keep those clubs afloat?
I get the theory, but what happens at the end of that 5 year TV deal period? They're not going to keep subsidising it forever. Also not really because the FA tends to think football stops at League 2 so the non-league clubs would be even more fecked.