Most liked posts in thread: Should Season Tickets Include I-Follow?

I'd understand more where there are covid or health concerns but for anyone else, if they want to watch their team on TV, go support a PL club.

Taking fans away from the stadium is the fastest way to kill a lower league club.

TV streaming = Far less admission money from both home and away fans as the atmosphere dwindles due to the lower crowds.

Less revenue taken at the ground through food and drink plus the lost revenue for the club shop.

Less commercial and sponsorship income stemming from the broadcasting of ever increasing numbers of empty seats.

A poorer matchday experience, especially for floating fans and children, many who may then not return.

Without fans football is nothing and lost league fans wanting more of their games broadcast live is like Turkeys voting for Christmas.

 

No it won't. Poeple who go to away games will go regardless, away fans aren't your casual nothing better to do on a Saturday only going cos the season tickets are cheap fans. Away days are all about the full day experience not watching a crap camera view on TV. Ifollow gives the opportunity to fans who would like to see the away game live but circumstances dictate otherwise. Has to be implemented at some stage.

 

For a long journey, Exeter or a London club away mid week, or a big ground, say Sunderland or MK Dons in League One, Wigan when the come down, the away end isn’t going to be sold out.

Nothing can replace being in the stadium, but life is very different to years ago when almost everybody worked 9-5, you gave your pay envelope to your wife every Friday, women stayed at home and looked after the kids and you were born, worked, lived and died within your own town or City. Football has to get with the times, those who buy a season ticket for £150 aren’t going to be put off going to home games on a Saturday and the odd away game when they can, but they might well pay an extra £250 to watch mid week games and more away games on TV, that’s £250 the game isn’t going to get otherwise.

I’d like to see some hard evidence for attendances dipping when the CL is on and that the CL is the sole cause. I’m a City fan, the CL final could be free on telly and I could be given £50 and all the ale I can drink to watch it and I’d still rather pay to watch City. Mid week games in general have lower attendances because people have other commitments, they’re working, kids, early start in the morning, long journey to get there and in winter it’s colder, I’m sure of that.

 

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.

 

Like anything in football, its always one of the last sports to embrace technology in any way. We may yearn for the old days (there were things that were better years back) but we have to accept the world has moved on since the days of a pie and a pint and 90 minutes stood with your mates on terracing. The game has tried to embraced a new audience of women and families, fans from different backgrounds and with this comes new ways of watching football. My take on watching football is of a past generation and that thinking is also of the past. Clubs must take these new ways of making revenue on board as to not do so is short sighted and bad for business.

 

Partly negated by the fact that you follow a club not football in general. If Liverpool v Man Utd (for example) were on ifollow at 3pm on a Saturday, would it make me watch that instead of watching City away at Exeter ? No. If it clashed with a home match or an away match I wanted to attend (and assuming fans are back in) would I watch the PL on ifollow ? No.

If City were available on ifollow for an away match or I could pay £10 to go to Halifax or Guiseley or Farsley or even Eccleshill United, would I go to the match ? No, I'd pay my money and watch MY club.

Non league clubs would only lose out if your own club weren't playing and you chose to watch the "big match" on ifollow rather than go non league.

I don't even watch the PL on match of the day.

 

Despite the best efforts of this government to lock everything down forever, we will be back to some normality in the future. And that means access to away grounds. Without fully repeating myself it will hardly effect the away support numbers, these are the loyal fans who go regardless of any ifollow options. But waht new technology like ifollow does do is open up the game to an audience who for various reasons only have the option of a radio at best. We live in the 21st century, its about time we used that technology to its advantage rather than living in the dark ages.

 

Your right, it does have to be implemented correctly but the positives of being able to enjoy watching live, even on TV, far outweigh the negatives.And to be fair from my point of view, i much prefer live away games than home games so my use of it would be minimal. Because to be honest, watching football at home on TV is in no way a substitute for actually being there.

 

Yes I received it too. Haven't opened it yet, but I will reply. They have gone to the trouble of asking. If we don't say what we like or don't like, any decisions they make about the service won't have the input of users.

 

The problem with home games is that the club wouldn't want that because it would lose out on the revenue from programmes, food and drink etc that only comes from fans physically being in the ground.
Plus you diminish the atomsphere. I can see a situation where, say it's mid-winter and the weather is sh!t, more fans choose to stay at home and watch the game. The game itself suffers because you've suddenly lost 50% of those who'd normally be there cheering the team on.
VP feels very empty when it's less than half full. One thing that other teams comment on is the intimidating atomsphere of playing at VP when the fans are backing the team.

 

There would hardly be any fans in the ground for mid week matches.

I finished work at the office at 6.30 last night. Normally, I would put the effort in to get home for quick tea and then get to match for a 7.45 kick off in all weathers.

Last night I, along with probably thousands of others, would have been tempted to stay at home and watch on ifollow if that was an option with season tickets, especially given the heavy rain.

So no, not for me when we get back to normal again.

 

I've watched nearly every game on iFollow this season. It's been a godsend in these crazy days. When we are all back in grounds safely I'll certainly attend every home game I can in person. But the routine established this season means I'll almost certainly pay for many more away games on iFollow than I used to do. But that won't stop me enjoying a few proper away trips each season - there's nothing quite like the experience of a winning away trip.
What I would hope though, is that iFollow ups it's game technically. One static camera isn't really acceptable in this day and age. I wouldn't expect Sky/BBC level coverage but at least one other angle for replays surely isn't asking too much.

 

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.

 

I generally go to 2/3 away games a season and every home match. I'm far from casual and only restrict the away games out of choice, having done all that in my 20's & 30's. Ifollow wouldn't make the blindest difference to my habits, but I would potentially watch all of the matches that I now follow through Soccer Saturday (can't do with the radio commentary as its pants). From that perspective, the club could potentially gain £200 a year from me that they won't get without Ifollow.

 

It’s been a godsend this season, well since mid December anyway but that wasn’t iFollows fault. It’s certainly not Sky but it’s allowed us to watch the clubs we love in the worst time in living memory, plenty it can improve on and if the email me I’m happy to give my feedback.

 

Problem is im not sure its upto City to decide this but the powers above unfortunately.