Premier League’s Profit Amid the Empty Stadiums

DBasia.news – 10 from 20 Premier League clubs can have the profit though playing with an empty stadium. This is related to the high revenue from the television broadcast, BBC report said.

During the 2016-2017 season, the clubs took the record from Premier League. At that time, the Premier League scored £8,3 billion revenue from the global television broadcast. As a result, the profit from broadcasting right was bigger than the ticket receipts.

Moreover, some clubs still got the profit even though the ticket sales ticked off from the balance sheet, though the ticket price is upgraded every season.

Dr. Rob Wilson, the sport financial expert from Sheffield Hallam University said the change could be seen since 2012. That was when the Premier League succeeded in selling their broadcasting right worth £3,1 billion. Since then, English football business changed drastically.

“That is when the focus really went toward generating TV money rather than matchday ticket receipts,” he told BBC Sport.

“When you get a £120m payout from the Premier League for kicking a ball around, you can play in an empty stadium if you need to,” he added.

We can also conclude that the club are no longer depending on ticket sales for the revenue.

 

premier league 2017/18

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Let’s say Bournemouth, the club with the smallest stadium for 11,450 seats could score the £136M revenue. Only £5,2M came from the ticket sales.

So how important is supporters presence at the stadium? It couldn’t be measured.

“I’d say they are the most important element,” said Football Supporters’ Federation chair Malcolm Clarke.

“Players and managers come and go, but we are always there. The reason that they can get lucrative TV deals is that the product shows the crowd, the noise, the away fans and the atmosphere – it is all part of it,” he explained.

“On one level they don’t need the fans because they have got so much money from broadcasters, but at another level, they do need fans to keep an attractive product.”

“How boring would it be to watch a Premier League game in an empty stadium?” Clarke explained.

The profits also applied to the club at the highest level. The story would be different for clubs kicked from the Premier League.

Let’s say Swansea and West Bromwich Albion. They loss the profit from the television broadcast. Moreover, they also decreased the ticket price. It means the club revenue will decrease drastically.

That’s why the club won’t make the television broadcast income as the main source. The clubs try to get the profits from other sources, like merchandise sales, advertisement, sponsor, and many more.

While to score the profit, the clubs have to be smart in spending. The players and staffs high salary allocation often became the source of financial difficulty. For example, Bolton Wanderers who almost bankrupt due to spending £12,6M whereas the revenue was only £8,2M.

The conclusion is, the supporter’s presence at the stadium is still important for the clubs, especially outside the Premier League. While for Premier League clubs, fans’ presence at the stadium could be the magnet to attract the media.