Premier League and TV companies face backlash over kick off time changes
The Premier League and TV companies who broadcast their matches have faced opposition from supporter groups such as Wor Flags of Newcastle United over changes to kick off times that impact travelling fans. Changes are made to show the games live on TV, but create various issues for away fans. Daniel Wales reports.
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00:00 Prior to their Premier League match against Luton Town, Newcastle United fan group War
00:05 Flags displayed their objection to altered Newcastle United kick-off times as a result
00:12 of TV coverage, which impacts travelling supporters.
00:16 Just 48 hours later, the club confirmed that two further matches had had their kick-off
00:22 times changed, including moving a trip to Chelsea in London to 8pm on a Monday night.
00:29 War Flags responded with a statement as a follow-up to their display condemning this
00:34 latest move.
00:37 Given Newcastle's distance from other cities in the country and the renowned, passionate
00:42 following of United, many supporters have argued that they are being taken for granted
00:48 and their concerns simply ignored by the Premier League and the broadcasting companies who
00:54 show the matches on TV.
00:57 The display was also supported by the Football Supporters Association, who on X described
01:02 it as great and added that the kick-off times faced by Newcastle supporters this season
01:07 were "shocking".
01:09 Whilst these specific matches may be an issue only involving Newcastle United and its supporters,
01:16 it opens up a wider debate about the treatment of football fans, in particular those who
01:21 travel to away matches to support their teams.
01:25 Other Premier League clubs have also faced kick-off times that have been changed to less
01:30 suitable hours on less suitable days for their travelling fans because their games have been
01:36 selected for live TV broadcast.
01:39 Many have called for an end to this or at least more transparency regarding changes
01:44 so that fans have time to plan ahead, with some games being moved with very little time
01:49 for supporters to adapt.
01:51 The issue is that the Premier League has large revenue streams coming from selling coverage
01:57 of its matches to big TV companies and are therefore at the mercy of their decisions
02:02 about which games to show and when to broadcast them.
02:07 Fans are then often drawn the short straw as they have no say in when the games will
02:12 be played.
02:14 It is also important to note that we are living in a time with more football being played
02:19 than ever before, with several teams contesting up to four competitions in a season, meaning
02:25 games come thick and fast, with at least one and sometimes two a week for some clubs.
02:31 This all creates expense for the fans who attend the matches in terms of ticket prices,
02:36 travel and if necessary accommodation, with no transport running after a certain hour.
02:42 It was clear to see how much supporters impact the look and feel of football when they were
02:48 absent during the games played during Covid times.
02:52 They also say that football without fans is nothing but in this climate, is it time to
02:57 consider whether that is a fair judgement of the nation's most popular sport?
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