Should Season Tickets Include I-Follow?

Well if you've been to 80 grounds you would know how away crowds work. I'm telling you now, ifollow wouldn't make a blind bit of difference, less than a hundred even with a big away following. A crowd of a 1000 at Exeter isn't gonna drop to 500 because ifollow suddenly comes along. Where it does make a difference is to the casual viewer, I'd travel about 3 to 4 hours to an away game but I'm not driving to Exeter. Ifollow gives me a chance to watch when I'd otherwise be listening on the radio, effectively raising extra revenue that isn't there. Likewise an away following at say Oldham, where we usually take 2 to 3000 form dependant. Ifollow will not make anything like a significant dent into those figures and I'm yet to be shown any evidence to suggest, just fans making absurd claims. If you or anyone could show me why fans who would normally travel to away games then I'll change my mind. Fans who travel away will always travel away, casual TV fans by definition don't travel to away games bar the very odd fixture.

 

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.

 

What if the ifollow option is only available as a paid for add on to a season ticket?

My thoughts exactly

 

And that's the biggest market ifollow will appeal to. I watch it now as I have no choice for my football fix. But before that it was either an away day or the radio. It won't make a difference to the away games I go to but gives me a viable alternative to the radio coverage.

 

I very much doubt that the EFL will alter the pre-COVID arrangement once fans are allowed back.
Mid-week games will continue to be streamed live but Saturday 3pm games won't.
I think it's an arrangement most clubs will be happy with.
The pandemic has seen a major swith to remote tech such as zoom for both business and personal purposes. More people work from home now and I see that becoming part of the culture of a lot of businesses.
What will be intetesting to see is how much mid-week games are affected. Fans who'd previously attended these games may well decide to continue to live stream instead. Will mid-week attendances drop? That's okay for clubs where those staying away are ST holders. The club gets two revenues from them. The ST plus the £8.34 from the iFollow match pass. But what about the pay-on-the-gate revenue?
One aspect where live streaming would be good is for games where the away allocation sells out. Harrogate as an example can no way handle the demand. But iFollow passes would benefit both them and us.

 

Had an e-mail today from EFL regarding i-follow, asking to do a 20 mins questionaire(which i promptly deleted!).

Maybe changes ARE coming in or the EFL are trying to get feedback for their plans.
Anyone else get this e-mail?

 

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.

 

Why delete it?.I filled it in,I think the EFL are looking at streaming in a very big way,the questions are quite detailed,they seem quite serious about it.

 

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.

 

I deleted it too

 

sadly i cant see clubs agreeing to continue the 3pm Saturday streaming once fans are allowed back as clubs will want every penny possible through the turnstiles and wont do anything that will risk losing that. i can see a lot of clubs increasing match and season ticket prices too to try and make up for the losses incurred this season.

 

You can still subscribe for the radio commentary. That's always been available.

 

I wouldn't wish those two muppets on my worst enemy.

 

Neither would I. It was just in response that the radio commentary isn't available outside certain areas which isn't true.

 

Exactly how can people complain about what transpires when asked their opinions decline

 

I have received it and will be replying, at least I have had my say and input then.

I'm with @Rogered Tart in one of his earlier posts. I love away games. I get to spend time with my 2 boys (I'm divorced so don't see them that much!!). A full day out, rather than hours, train/coach, meals, drinks, footy...think we did 10 away games season before lockdown...I've done about 50/60 grounds over the years but my lads haven't!! My youngest, who is now 13 has done about 18 or so and when he talks to his school mates who 'support' PL clubs they can't believe it and he just calls them plastics!!

Live streaming @ 3.00 won't stop us going to the games that we can get to but it will allow us to watch other away games that we can't get to...

It was originally brought in by Sky because they were scared if games were streamed live then attendances would really drop off and PL would kick them into touch...

My thoughts anyway...

 

"I love away games. I get to spend time with my 2 boys (I'm divorced so don't see them that much!!). "
@QCFC BANTAM that might be as good a reason as there is to get to games. Hopefully you'll get that back soon, probably next season at this rate but what you say there is priceless.

 

Thanks TB, can't agree more!! I've done well with them though, they are both City mad so must have done some things right in the marriage!!

 

I deleted it because the only input will be what the owners want