The increase in live TV football broadcasting in the UK is providing Premier League clubs with essential revenue, but are match-going supporters paying the price?
Following Everton’s move to their new Hill Dickinson Stadium, the issue regarding the growing disconnect between us fans and the club is more apparent than ever, with the main issue being matchday rescheduling.
TV — the Revenue Generator
The Premier League product enables its clubs to generate a significant financial advantage over European rivals. Between 2014 and 2024, Premier League teams have benefited from a £3B growth in television revenues. For comparison, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A, grew by £5.1B combined.
Broadcasting deals allow teams to invest and expand their worldwide status, with TV income helping Everton to fund Hill Dickinson Stadium as well as transfer fees and players' wages.
However, as a result, more fixtures than ever before are now frequently rescheduled for television coverage in the UK – often at the expense of us fans. So much so that approximately 270 of 380 Premier League games are being broadcast live this season — up from 200 in recent years before the current domestic TV deal came into effect this season.
What happened to 3 pm on Saturday?
Incredibly, there have been just three games that have kicked off on Saturday at 3 pm in Hill Dickinson Stadium this season, a slot that remains a blackout for live televised coverage in the UK. Instead, plenty of fixtures have been rescheduled to evenings, forcing Evertonians into late-night midweek travel.
Monday night’s fixture with Manchester City is the seventh time Everton have played in that timeslot this season. No Premier League team has done so more often. Many of us are left to feel neglected and detached, as Everton have a limited say over fixture rescheduling.
The final verdict typically lies with the Premier League and major broadcasters, who receive primary choice due to funding. These companies will then move fixtures to maximise their viewership.
The danger of alienating match-going fans
The consequences of rescheduling for us match-goers include reduced stadium atmosphere and travel difficulties, with logistical issues, such as rising costs and timing, collectively reducing accessibility.
Many of us may travel from afar, planning a perfect weekend of football and booking travel and accommodation, all for the fixture to be rescheduled for the sake of television coverage.
Ultimately, this risks damaging the connection between the fans and the club, which may discourage future attendance, reducing the historical matchday culture that has defined Everton for generations.
Perhaps the collective fan frustration stems from the idea that we don’t see an instant benefit from fixture rescheduling. Instead, the progressively increasing revenue from TV broadcasting through so-called Facility Fees provides clubs with essential income to turn potential plans into action over the long term.
More sanitised atmospheres in stadiums and empty seats would undermine the product broadcasters are hoping to sell, as the popularity of Premier League football is rooted in us, the passionate fans.
Due to the institutional advantage of live broadcasting, we are likely to be secondary to TV coverage for the foreseeable future.
Whilst we fans are being pushed out, clubs also risk losing their identity to broadcasters, Everton included.
Reader Comments (60)
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2 Posted 03/05/2026 at 09:37:51
A few friends who are season-ticket holders say there's always seats available but they could be those who are ill or have prior engagements they couldn't get out of.
I know we have to move on but tech isn't that good to keep fans away who can only make the occasional matches due to other commitments. 🤷
3 Posted 03/05/2026 at 09:50:35
However, it's easy to focus on match-going fans who it's fair to say are the lifeblood of the club but not everyone has the option to attend regularly. Ticket prices, distance, work, or family commitments mean many supporters rely on TV to follow their club. More live games simply make football more accessible to those people.
For some, evening or varied kick-off times are actually more convenient than a fixed Saturday afternoon slot. There's also a sense that the game has outgrown its local roots and now serves a global audience. That doesn't remove the issues for regular attendees, but it does show that not all fans are losing out in the same way.
Perhaps not a popular view, just an alternative.
For the record, I would prefer the traditional Saturday 3 pm kick-off. The early FA Cup rounds with games spread out over about 5 days clearly shows TV and the FA don't much care about the match-going fans.
I can see a future when some fans turn their back on the mainstream game and turn to lower leagues or non-league matches...
4 Posted 03/05/2026 at 10:11:24
For those living well away, the cost of travel, staying over if necessary, adds to the expense... but for quite a few, it's an experience worth paying for. 💙
5 Posted 03/05/2026 at 10:21:42
Likewise our City Council who knew for years the transport links to and from Hill Dickinson Stadium were inadequate have done very little to accommodate the concerns of match-going fans.
I can understand teams playing in Europe having more Monday night games, but that's not the case as Man Utd and us have had the most Monday night games.
I said back in 1992, when clubs sold their souls to Sky, that things would never be the same, and now the Saturday 3:00 pm kick-off is a rarity for all clubs.
While Sky or whoever else might take over the schedules over the coming years, the match-going fan will be the least of their considerations. The money that clubs get from Sky goes straight into the pockets of agents and players, and very little trickles down to grassroots football.
Most clubs are now hiking up season ticket prices and some have abolished their concessions to youngsters and pensioners who have followed their clubs all their lives. TFG have already started this trend by making 2 sections of the ground which this season were family enclosures into Category A seating for next season; so much for encouraging youngsters to go to the game.
So, as much as our FAB question TFG about future pricing structures, concessions and general price increases, they have had no reply from TFG to these questions.
I am afraid the only thing owners care about is profit and the only thing that will consider fans is if fans protest by en masse by not attending a particular game, which would hit the only thing owners care about, which is profit.
The German fans showed us how to get things done when Sky Germany tried to introduce Monday Night Football to the Bundesliga -- the fans got together and boycotted a game. The following day, Sky Germany issued a statement saying there would be no more Monday Night Football -- and don't forget their teams play in Europe as well.
6 Posted 03/05/2026 at 11:40:34
Just to add a bit for older less able supporters, Brian, access and egress is really challenging.
I believe blue badge parking is allowed on some side streets between Regent Road and Great Howard Street -- if you can get a space -- you have to be there at least two hours before, and one hour after the match.
With a night game, you would have to arrive before 6 o'clock and leave around 5 hours later, then drive home. This also assumes that the normal 3-hour limit on blue badge parking is not applied.
I live in North Wales and have been once to the new ground. It is a really top stadium, but it could be years before adequate transport links are up and running.
So armchair viewing is now a default option for many. Sad but true.
8 Posted 03/05/2026 at 12:04:14
The TV companies want the matches on at different times to each other to maximise viewers. If everyone played at 3 pm and they were all televised, fans would only watch their own team.
Instead of the blackout, they should ensure every team plays a certain number of home 3 pm kick-offs, televised or not. With the Internet and all the apps, the blackout is irrelevant.
9 Posted 03/05/2026 at 12:10:49
Trying to balance both my and my wife's jobs with so many night games is too problematic, it's not doable with having to be up at 6am the following mornings.
Goodison was a better option just because of getting in and out of the ground. We also had more Saturday games then. But TV companies like the BMD facilities.
I'm slowly going off football now... certainly the Premier League and the Champions League farce. It ain't what it was.
I do feel that Sky have done to football what MTV did to music.
10 Posted 03/05/2026 at 12:45:32
Call me an old stick in the mud but I long for the days of Goodison Park, it was easier to get to and from, it was straightforward match paper ticketing, it was the in the community, and frankly it was Everton Football Club. The stands, such as the Gwladys Street, the Bullens Road, were synonymous with EFC.
Money in football has naturally taken the game away from the everyday match-going fan now. It was always going to reach the stage it has now, it began in the 1990s but football then itself and the majority of the support was still the same as it had been in the previous decades.
In the 1990s football was damn exciting and Sky Sports was new to us all so we didn't really pay much notice to it being taken in a completely new direction.
13 Posted 03/05/2026 at 12:49:21
If we should qualify for Europe this season, we will have at least 8/10 Thursday night games.
14 Posted 03/05/2026 at 14:16:50
I can understand teams playing in Europe having more Monday night games, but that's not the case as Man Utd and us have had the most Monday night games.
You have got the wrong end of the shitty stick. What I said was that being in Europe means more televised games -- not more Monday Night Football games. Specifically, the Europa League and Conference League games (played on Thursdays) lead to Saturday Premier League matches being switched to Sunday. And from this season, all such games are televised.
The corollary of this is that teams playing in Europe have less availability for selection by Sky to feature on Monday Night Football, which is exactly the reason why Everton and Man Utd have featured so many times this season -- because they are not in Europe.
15 Posted 03/05/2026 at 14:51:45
My take is it's perhaps the coincidence of the new domestic Premier League deal, bumping up TV games from 200 to 270 this season out of the 380 avaliable — just as Everton move into their brand spanking new Hill Dickinson Stadium. On paper, the higher attendances now possible should help the ardent match-goer?
The TV companies want the matches on at different times to each other to maximise viewers.
You'd have to assume that is the case but Sky Super Sunday don't seem to have too many qualms about showing games simultaneously on different channels. Although I see the second game this afternoon has been shifted to 3:30 pm (slight overlap with the end of the first game), with the third game at 7 pm -- a bit unusual, but we can probably put that down to a Bank Holiday weekend.
16 Posted 03/05/2026 at 15:05:20
Up until he was injured, we had lots of primetime games and that was why we signed him. The club knew it was going to happen. We get around an extra £1M for live broadcast games and Jack generated the club around $9 million or more up until his injury.
That's why paying his large wages was an investment and we actually made money in the long run from the attention he brought. It wasn't so much the stadium.
17 Posted 03/05/2026 at 15:24:02
18 Posted 03/05/2026 at 15:51:59
It would be past midnight in India and unearthly early morning in places like China, Korea, Japan. That is potentially almost 2 billion viewers that the Premier League is missing out on.
19 Posted 03/05/2026 at 18:15:03
I agree with others: TFG don't give a monkey's about the average Evertonian. They see the opportunity to commercialise the shit out of the club. Bottom line, nothing else matters.
20 Posted 03/05/2026 at 19:04:53
I appreciate the desire to get the Hill Dickinson signage in shot, but I think we're being short changed by not showing off our stadium's prime location to television audiences.
21 Posted 03/05/2026 at 19:48:21
Life is full of challenges. The Saturday afternoon 3 pm slot is no longer sacred so it's adapt or relinquish your seat to someone who will. They might be just as good an Evertonian as you.
I've never had a season ticket precisely because I've never been in a position where I could attend regularly, so I have relied on the likes of Sky to enable me to see games. I'd be a hypocrite to detest the service Sky provide but, on forums like this, I often think I am expected to be utterly ashamed of myself.
Kunal, if they don't ‘commercialise the shit out of the club' how do you expect us to grow and compete? If you were to accuse them of milking the club, then I'd be worried, but I just haven't seen any evidence yet that TFG have no interest in the club being a sporting giant again.
22 Posted 03/05/2026 at 20:21:59
I have to agree with Si, TFG are doing nothing out of the normal to benefit from televised games. It's what every other club in the Premier League does.
To claim that TFG "see the opportunity to commercialise the shit out of the club. Bottom line, nothing else matters" is ridiculous in its absurdity.
As owners, they have a fiduciary duty to ensure the club is and remains a going concern, and that commercial income is secured from every available opportunity. As Calum say, that money is needed to fund the new stadium, pay players' wages, fund transfer fees and plans for the future, as in any business.
How else do you ever expect us to be able to compete with the big boys???
23 Posted 03/05/2026 at 20:29:32
24 Posted 03/05/2026 at 21:46:16
Why? Because we have a discounted ticket, we rarely spend on club merchandise, probably habitually spend money out of the stadium, meeting friends at pubs pre-match etc.
With fewer season ticket holders, Everton can sell tickets at a premium to those on waiting lists, or tourists visiting Liverpool, wanting to see a Premier League game maybe as a once-in-a-lifetime thing. They spend money in the shop, they eat and drink in the ground.
The revenue from ‘tourists' is far higher than from season ticket holders. Not rocket science.
Liverpool and many others have reduced numbers of season tickets, we'll go the same way, maybe many priced out of attending.
Business is first, second and third…
25 Posted 03/05/2026 at 21:54:41
For some people, loyalty that can never be questioned by others might end up being questioned by themselves once they truly realise that the bastards don't even care.
Maybe that's a little bit deep for this very shallow world!!
26 Posted 03/05/2026 at 23:48:54
Is the club actively trying to make life difficult for supporters or is it just attempting to maximise revenue and hoping nobody is inconvenienced too much?
I am entirely sympathetic to genuine hardship cases but I'm much less bothered if people are just peeved that their preferred routine needs some readjustment.
27 Posted 03/05/2026 at 00:22:23
The RS can spend £100M on a player because they have 4x our commercial revenues -- because 15 years ago their new owners made the decision "to commercialise the shit out of the club".
I am hoping that's exactly what TFG does. Why wouldn't you?
As for taking good care of the average Evertonian, let's wait and see if they deal with the obvious issues of ticket prices and stadium access, but I'm pretty sure changing kickoff times isn't ownership's call.
28 Posted 04/05/2026 at 02:10:33
So all clubs can have a 3 o'clock Saturday kick-off and Sky sell subscriptions based on your primary choice of team with add-on packages for Video On Demand to watch other teams' matches straight afterwards, or instead of, or at your leisure.
This would be better for a lot of overseas fans like me who would then have a reasonable viewing time to watch a live match instead of silly o'clock in the dead of the night, something I've given up on. Those with wider interest than their own team can then access the VoD matches.
Alternatively, and possibly a little more difficult, the Premier League and Sky get together at the time the fixtures are generated and pre-plan the revised schedules to suit the broadcasters and not leave it until the last minute. This minimises disruption to fans except for cup and European participations.
ps: For those having problems with the edit function I've found that mashing the Edit icon furiously for about 5 seconds gets the Edit Comment window to open.
29 Posted 04/05/2026 at 04:14:04
All clubs can have a Saturday 3 pm kick-off except those who are playing on a Thursday evening?
All fans always want to watch their team on a Saturday at 3 pm? Because no-one is ever doing anything else at that time are they?
Instead of trying to get the genie back in the bottle, why not just accept that football clubs aren't going to forego the TV revenue and the TV companies want to cover all the bases including appealing to either new or simply nonpartisan fans of the sport who may indeed be inclined to watch a couple of games back to back.
If the game you want to watch is on at an inconvenient time, a TV viewer can always record it and watch it later.
It seems the mountain really must come to Mohammed.
30 Posted 04/05/2026 at 07:37:47
It's that simple.
31 Posted 04/05/2026 at 08:09:52
There is no choice… and without these wonderful people, we would be nothing.
32 Posted 04/05/2026 at 08:50:02
Assume it's the same on other phones..
33 Posted 04/05/2026 at 08:56:03
If Monday night games were played in near empty stadiums, the clubs would also demand a change. If your going to keep going then you can't complain.
34 Posted 04/05/2026 at 09:04:38
Edit: YES! Works perfectly, seems the webpage is formated for columns not rows.
Edit again, it appears the webpages are formatted for desktop computer viewing, not 'phones. Come on Tech, join the 21st century!
35 Posted 04/05/2026 at 09:11:11
36 Posted 04/05/2026 at 09:17:51
The show still went on because of the contract with Sky.
37 Posted 04/05/2026 at 10:08:08
38 Posted 04/05/2026 at 10:34:02
I doubt that boycotting some games will make any difference seeing as most of the tickets are prepaid anyway.
What will change is in future years there will be less and less fanatical lifetime supporters and that will make a big difference at the game, it will be like going to the cinema or theatre although the audience at the football game might not appreciate it as much as those going to the cinema because quite a big proportion of them will know a lot less about football than the fanatical supporter did and the players will certainly notice the difference with the muted applause, mind you there will be a lot less booing!
Just a final thought that will be of no use to the debate — The new stadium is fabulous but “ The Old Lady” was where the heart and soul was.
39 Posted 04/05/2026 at 11:00:09
I have a thousand memories of Goodison, some good, some great, some bad and some horrible, but I was glad I wasn’t there the day that David Moyes, was clapped out of the stadium, and I definitely don’t think he his the type of manager we need if we want to start winning things, which will definitely help the new stadium, create a brand new soul.
40 Posted 04/05/2026 at 11:14:02
A house is not a home unless it is run properly.
41 Posted 04/05/2026 at 11:29:03
It’s an intriguing game, one that might just suit us, or one that might completely expose the limitations in our squad, but I’m bored with the football, and I was already bored with David Moyes, long before he left Everton, in May 2013.
It didn’t used to matter, it was always, just always about Everton, but we have been to hell and back, whilst waiting for the keys to our shiny new home and I don’t think we will make many new memories, whilst we are only looking for stability, in our new home.
42 Posted 04/05/2026 at 11:46:43
43 Posted 04/05/2026 at 11:49:33
44 Posted 04/05/2026 at 12:46:25
On a Bank Holiday with no other premier league games on offer, why have they chosen the most inconvenient KO time for ticket holders?
Is the US appetite for televised 'soccer' that special?
45 Posted 04/05/2026 at 14:08:20
Still left a lunchtime or a 5pm for our KO time
46 Posted 04/05/2026 at 14:12:57
47 Posted 04/05/2026 at 14:35:02
48 Posted 04/05/2026 at 14:53:51
If you have a hospitality season ticket then your unlikely to have the same amount to drink, so effectively paying more for less.
49 Posted 04/05/2026 at 15:49:25
Which is ridiculous.
50 Posted 04/05/2026 at 16:14:34
51 Posted 04/05/2026 at 17:34:13
I'll buy him an alarm clock
52 Posted 04/05/2026 at 18:51:40
I can’t tell you which came first, large spectatorship or professionalism, but whichever it was it happened organically rather than being mapped out, and the dynamic may have changed many times. At its best it is a symbiosis but theoretically at least clubs can do without spectators because the money from ticket sales is a fraction of the clubs overall income. Attendance at Bournemouth v Brighton yesterday was 11,000.
I do believe clubs should be grateful to their loyal fans and interested in reasonable concessions to keep them happy, but any ambitious club also has to be expected to maximise revenue and so is likely to push to find where the breaking point is.
It seems to me that people are being far too precious about the traditional Saturday 3 pm slot. If they are annoyed because Monday evening games don’t enable them to drink as much alcohol as they can on a Saturday then I think their interest is not really in the football and I’m not sure why they expect the club to be overly concerned about that as I’m sure most of that happens away from the ground anyway.
I’ll ask again. If supporters are prepared to vote with their feet over a few more Monday night fixtures can we expect them to go ballistic if we ever do qualify for Europe or have decent cup campaigns, which will probably reduce the Saturday 3 pm fixtures even more?
53 Posted 04/05/2026 at 18:55:24
54 Posted 05/05/2026 at 07:30:26
55 Posted 05/05/2026 at 09:45:26
I only have it for the golf, F1 and rugby league, the football I generally just flick over to see the score.
Regarding the World Cup, I cannot raise any excitement. I think it is because there are so many teams involved and it is over three countries that there is no excitement. Who wants to watch Outer Mongolia v Madagascar in Group Y or whoever is playing?
56 Posted 05/05/2026 at 09:58:37
Owners realised during Covid that match-goers are more of a supplement to their much bigger income sources and so don't matter as much as they once did.
57 Posted 05/05/2026 at 11:02:38
58 Posted 05/05/2026 at 00:30:42
But with the advent of stadia the clubs were reliant on the income from spectators. Look at the 70,000 that attended Dixie's 60th, or the regular 50-60ks at the derbies in the 60s and 70s.
What's happened since is the game has been sanitised, starting with ground capacity reductions from all seater stadia. It was only then that clubs had to look for outside income. Before that there was no shirt sponsorships, advertising around the ground was for local butchers, bakers and candlestick makers and players were majority home grown, went to the match on the same bus as the supporters, and earned very little more than them. Club funding came from local family owners who could no longer keep financing them due to decreased capacity and therefore reduced income.
So I'd disagree and say football WAS very much for the fans, and the local community, and the malaise that we suffer now is because of the televisation and commercialism of the game by 'the powers that be'
That's why fans are disillusioned and if they stopped attending matches, sure it wouldn't affect income that much, but it would be a soulless experience just watching it on telly, just look at the televised Covid matches.
I guess with AI technology though the telly companies can fill a stadium with bodies and sound and generate an atmosphere. Then maybe in the future do the same with players.
And remember, we're only talking EPL here. There's plenty of other lower division clubs that rely on supporter attendance and spending to survive and there the game still is very much for the fans.
59 Posted 06/05/2026 at 16:44:09
I'm a 17-year-old Everton season ticket holder who is working towards being a full-time sports journalist. I'm hoping to allow a platform for healthy debate, which I can see has occurred already!
I appreciate any feedback or opinions you may have, thank you!
60 Posted 06/05/2026 at 16:50:33
From an institutional point of view, like Brian Harrison @5 has said, our concerns will be ignored as supporters still attend matches, despite being concerned about fixture timings.
As football is moving to a money game, clubs must have their matches on TV to not fall behind, especially with a new flashy stadium, as Jim Bennings @10 has said; it is expected, therefore arguably playing a part of the problem, though other clubs are suffering too.
61 Posted 06/05/2026 at 16:57:42
Good start to your postings there.
62 Posted 06/05/2026 at 18:24:17
If we fail to make a European competition for next season, expect us and Chelsea to dominate the Monday night slot (again).
We've known for years that neither the Premier League nor Sky have any interest in whether the match-going fan is inconvenienced. Don't expect that to change next season.
63 Posted 07/05/2026 at 14:34:35
Fan protests don’t work -- maybe you are going to have to be careful, the silent ones.
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Editorial Team
1 Posted 03/05/2026 at 09:26:32
It’s something that has been picked up by the Everton Fan Advisory Board, who voiced a strongly worded statement condemning the footballing authorities for their clear disregard of fans’ wishes at the end of March, when the change to this weekend’s Manchester City fixture was announced.
That prompted an earlier discussion of these issues here on ToffeeWeb, and clearly it’s an ongoing concern that is not going away anytime soon. And if we were to somehow qualify for European football next season (kinda impossible at this point, I suspect), it would only get worse for Everton, with a lot more fixtures rescheduled away from the traditional 3 pm Saturday afternoon timeslot — and every one of them getting the live TV treatment in the UK.