[Telegram Chat] - FROM FREE-TO-AIR TO PAY-TO-WATCH: THE CHANGING FACE OF FOOTBALL ON TV

My colleague was humming this tune (clip above, credit: insorlow) to another colleague before I replied, "Road to Wembley, lah!"

"It was a time when we were able to watch football (on TV) without paying extra (money)." I continued with that bit of reminiscing feel after listening to that humming of the tune that was played at the start of the iconic program that showcased the highlights of the FA Cup matches back in the 1980s to 1990s on the long-gone Channel 12 – the terrestrial channel that broadcasted most of the sporting programs in those days.

WHEN ENGLISH FOOTBALL FIRST CAPTIVATED US

It was also during that period when many of my peers first got to know about English football and started to pick a team to follow (with me no exception until I decided to localise wholeheartedly in the early 1990s).

How we watched football in the past 

Not surprisingly, what we saw in the highlights from the program and those of the weekend's live matches on Channel 12 became a common topic among us in the class, with a number of us trying to mimic the playing styles we picked from the screens.

THE BIRTH OF THE (ENGLISH) PREMIER LEAGUE AND ITS IMPACT

Those carefree days soon changed when the pioneering 22 First Division clubs broke away from the English Football League (EFL) to form the English Premier League in order to secure commercial independence from the both English Football Association and the EFL which allowed the new entity to negotiate its broadcast and sponsorship agreements on their own.

How football content are consume now

This groundbreaking move eventually changed the landscape and watching habit of the game with many fans complaining the skyrocketing costs they have to pay to watch the game on either cable or streaming channels who forked out astronomical figures to secure exclusive broadcasting rights to beam the games on their platforms.

FOOTBALL ON TV BECOMES A LUXURY

Back in 2010, Phil Lines - the former Director of International Broadcasting and Media Operations for the Premier League explained why broadcasters paid dearly for the exclusive rights.

Phil Lines speaking at Soccer Asian Forum back in 2010

“You got start with a good partnership with a good broadcaster, as the money (earned from the broadcasting rights) will go back to the league.” said Lines.

“If SKY (the present rights holder) decided to drop their bid by 20%, you would see many clubs gone into liquidation and having top players leaving the league.” he added during his one-on-one session at the Soccerex Asian Forum that took place in Suntec City.

Well, that was what Lines said 15 years ago. Whether his theory still holds today is debatable, though several lower-tier clubs in the English football pyramid have either gone bankrupt or are on the brink of administration ever since.

WHY I GAVE UP ON PAID SPORTS CHANNELS

And for yours truly, the escalating costs that consumers being charged had me cancelled my sports subscription to my cable operators more than a decade ago.

So it shouldn't be a surprise to hear me say I never really seen Leo Messi in action before when he is hardly available on terrestrial channels.

- 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎'𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍 -

📊 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 ➡️ 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬.