How Will the Credit Crunch Hit Football?
The financial storm is not over yet but at the moment, within the Premiership at least, the top clubs are sitting pretty while smaller clubs in less prosperous areas have to be more innovative in their response. Watching football at the top level either live or on television isn’t cheap at a time when incomes are being squeezed. A Sky package costs around £400 a year and season tickets have gone up by almost 800 per cent since the Premiership was set up. Another consideration is sponsorship and corporate entertainment budgets which companies often have to cut back in hard times. However, Dan Jones of the sport business group at Deloitte, believes that Premiership football is less vulnerable than other industries, because of fans’ enduring loyalty, and because much of clubs’ money is already secured. The record £2.7bn television deal runs till after 2010 and Sky’s competitors are already lining up for the next round of bidding. Walt Disney is likely to make a bid through its sporting su
