Should Season Tickets Include I-Follow?

I think there is a case of banning away fans next season with the virus still around with a choice of an away I follow season ticket on the opportunity to buy away tickets on a match by match basis

 

I agree with all of this but times move on. Top Shop and a lot of the high street failed at least in part because they failed to embrace internet shopping. Football needs to embrace technology in my opinion.

There has to be space for both being at the ground and watching on TV, if kids can’t watch their lower league football club on telly they are even more likely to watch one of the big four PL clubs or Champions’ League. I live too far away to travel regularly to VP, especially mid week when I’m usually working until 6pm or travelling but they’ve had iFollow money out of me for almost every game. Better clubs allow that than less income or people turn to illegal streaming.

The other thing football needs to do is to bring their offering in to the 21st century. You’re not attracting younger people to a shit hole of a stadium offering luke warm Carling, a rubbery sausage roll and all for 32p change out of a tenner. Apart from standing against a barrier, it’s no different from 20 or 30 years ago or more. Premier League football is different to lower league and I think the lower league clubs need to make attending a match much more of an event than it is. Love it or loathe it, Peter Deakin had crowds flocking to Odsal 25 years ago with a much more Americanised way of putting on a sports event. If I were Sparks I’d be looking closely at this.

 

If this virus is still in fairly wide circulation it wouldn’t make sense thousands of fans going all over the country. An I follow ticket would make sense for everyone

 

Fans who are not from the area of a club are few in number compared to the amount of fans travelling to away games. I do see your point but unless the virus Is fully beaten for at least next season it would be a good idea

 

The case for combining home attendance season tickets with a TV package outside of lockdown is a non-starter. I think i-follow will continue to develop as its own entity as restrictions ease, having greatly benefitted from our recent enforced exposure to it, and yes a possible inclusion with future development of away attendance packages.

 

Talking of away days and the atmosphere etc, the last one I got to was Morecambe, Oct 2019. City fans everywhere, noisy bunch, hard to get that "feel" on telly. A proper day out. That said, ifollow has a role to play.

 

By the end of the season City could be around £100k better off with away iFollow money, In a normal season that would be very very little if anything

 

If they gave me an option of £199 for a season ticket and the same again for an away Ifollow ticket (to include an away cup matches) I would snap their hands off.

 

If I went to every home game, season ticket and travel would set me back £800 before any food or drink. Give me a home ST with iFollow for £400 or even £500 I’d do it. That’s £500 they’re not getting without the iFollow offer. I’d still go to local away games and home games when I could.

 

I agree that iFollow needs to be an option, and they should tailor deals to the individual to some degree. I live in Bradford, so I go to all the home games, I'd like to be able to buy an iFollow season ticket for the away games on top of that, but they should also retain the pay-as-you-go options.

It might be a concern if Bradford City went on another horrific run of form in League Two and people took to iFollow rather than trailing out in the cold and rain, but not enough to warrant looking a gift horse in the mouth. This is a time when the sport should be looking to maximise income for obvious reasons; what I'm not sure about is broadcast rights. Aren't iFollow only allowed to broadcast every game because people aren't allowed to go?

Anyway, absolutely bang on about the at-the-game opportunities. The food and drink offer is pathetic and the value for money is worse, and given the number of top food brands in our city, it makes zero sense to persists with an exclusive offering of pies, sausage rolls and crap coffee. I don't buy any food or drink when I attend a game because the value for money is the drizzling sh!ts.

I swear I was reading ideas about 20 years ago ideas about embracing the city's cuisine options as part of the in-stadium product, but there probably wasn't any appetite to change on the tired old formula - it would be nice to get a bit of a Bradford Festival vibe when it comes to food and drink. I'd be much more likely to skip lunch if I knew I could have a kick ass curry at the game for £6.

 

It could still be difficult to make a midweek game after work from some of the postcodes in the BD region. Getting home after work from Settle for example at 6.30 then trying to get to the ground and find a parking space before kick off would be a push.

Regarding ifollow passes, the EFL could restrict the number available to say 250 - 500 per match. They could then close sales 48 hours before kick off giving those missing out a chance to make arrangements to travel to the game. Hopefully the impact to the atmosphere at the ground won’t be adversely affected.

 

I don't get this view that sales need to be limited to a certain number per game or only available to purchase if you live outside of certain postcodes. Firstly, it would encourage some of those that want it but are unable to purchase it from the club because they have the audicity to live in West Yorkshire to get it via IPTV, reducing potential revenue for the club. Secondly, it would be a nightmare to Police - anyone can use a VPN to hide their IP address so even if the card they are using to pay for the ifollow pass is registered in a BD or other local postcode, they can say they are working away from home, visiting relatives, on holiday etc.
And what would be the point of doing that anyway, other than to discriminate against local supporters, some of whom may be elderly or disabled or suffering with mental health issues that makes it difficult if not impossible for them to attend games in person? Why shouldn't they have the opportunity to continue watching games and supporting their team like they have been able to do this season?
If ifollow is going to continue to be available next season and beyond, it needs to be available to all, and people need to stop worrying that it will lead to a reduction in match day crowds. I don't know a single person, City supporter or supporters of other clubs that say they prefer watching the games on ifollow to being there in person, most are chomping at the bit to get back.

 

That was the argument years ago for not allowing televised games on TV, They were wrong then and would be wrong now, The more exposure football was given the more popular it got bringing in new audiences, iFollow would do the same

 

As others have said, the genie is out of the bottle now, ifollow isn't going to go away and there will have to be some outside of the box thinking to solve these issues. Perhaps consideration needs to be given to non-league playing their games on a Sunday - that could potentially increase their casual fan base even further.