Brian Reade column: Stupor Sunday and Mundane Monday must make TV chiefs wary of who's paying the bill
There's a big gap between what firms hiking up prices after they overspent on the rights are selling us and the 'product' being delivered — and audiences are falling
Last Sunday, I was browsing through a magazine when I noticed a TV ratings chart for the week ending October 2nd.
The Great British Bake Off pulled in 13.13 million viewers and Strictly Come Dancing 10.61 million, while EastEnders and Coronation Street were coming in at 7 million and 6.2 million per episode.
Down towards the bottom of the ratings came the three most watched Premier League matches of that week ( Spurs vs Sunderland , Burnley vs Arsenal and Swansea vs Liverpool ) which averaged 940,000 viewers.
Or to put it in some kinds of perspective, 170,000 less than Channel 5’s GPs Behind Closed Doors and a mere 20,000 more than Celebrity Botched-Up Bodies (the one where Gail Porter gets her 28JJ breasts reduced to a C-cup).
I was surprised.
Not just about the existence of a 28JJ cup-size, but by how few people are actually watching Premier League games live on the telly... until I turned mine on and began to watch the first part of Sky’s Super Sunday package, Middlesbrough vs Watford .
It wasn’t so much an advert for Richard Scudamore’s Greatest Show on Earth as a huge pointer to why the latest figures show Sky’s Premier League audiences are down 19 per cent this season.
It was doubtful that game was even the greatest show in Middlesbrough on Sunday, as there must have been car-boot sales going on that offered more excitement — and about 5,000 times better value for money.
As broadcaster Danny Kelly tweeted, in reference to the previous day’s fan protest at Charlton:
The second part of Super Sunday, Southampton vs Burnley , was inevitably an improvement, but so poor was everyone in Sean Dyche’s side apart from keeper Tom Heaton it was probable, as The Times' match reporter noted “that there have been less one-sided games of solitaire.”
'Ah well,' Sky’s ad department must have thought, 'Red Monday will get the juices flowing!'
But having billed Manchester United’s visit to Anfield as a bigger event than Christ’s Second Coming, the dismal goalless draw we got to see was for many a bigger let-down than Sterile Sunday.
“It was hyped to death, and it died a death,” observed Jim Beglin.
Knowing how Mourinho sets up for must-not-lose games and knowing how Jurgen Klopp’s side can struggle when teams do a proper shackling job on them, it was predictable.
But still, when you looked at the level of attacking talent at his disposal (and the money spent to buy that talent) any post-match talk of a Mourinho tactical masterclass was an insult to the human eye.
In 2005, former-Real Madrid coach Jorge Valdano said watching Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea play at Anfield was like staring at “s**t hanging from a stick”.
I wouldn’t go that far about the other night, but let’s remember why the game that was being billed as the most electric club fixture in world football, was taking place on 'Red Monday'...
Because these two were so average last season they had no part to play in the Champions League’s Terrific Tuesday or Wondrous Wednesday.
The top flight of English football has always thrown up passionate matches, memorable goals and dramatic incidents.
But the corporate need to reclaim the money that has been overpaid to televise today’s games has created a huge gap between how this “product” is being sold and what’s actually being delivered.
And were I one of those broadcasters who’ve thrown billions at the Premier League I’d be very wary about continuing to hike up subscriptions to claw that silly-money back.
Because people are starting to notice those hikes at the same time they’re noticing their minds drifting away from the TV to more pleasurable pursuits... like sorting out the cutlery drawer.
Or watching Celebrity Botched-Up Bodies on catch-up.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/brian-reade-column-stupor-sunday-9080748
There's a big gap between what firms hiking up prices after they overspent on the rights are selling us and the 'product' being delivered — and audiences are falling
Last Sunday, I was browsing through a magazine when I noticed a TV ratings chart for the week ending October 2nd.
The Great British Bake Off pulled in 13.13 million viewers and Strictly Come Dancing 10.61 million, while EastEnders and Coronation Street were coming in at 7 million and 6.2 million per episode.
Down towards the bottom of the ratings came the three most watched Premier League matches of that week ( Spurs vs Sunderland , Burnley vs Arsenal and Swansea vs Liverpool ) which averaged 940,000 viewers.
Or to put it in some kinds of perspective, 170,000 less than Channel 5’s GPs Behind Closed Doors and a mere 20,000 more than Celebrity Botched-Up Bodies (the one where Gail Porter gets her 28JJ breasts reduced to a C-cup).
I was surprised.
Not just about the existence of a 28JJ cup-size, but by how few people are actually watching Premier League games live on the telly... until I turned mine on and began to watch the first part of Sky’s Super Sunday package, Middlesbrough vs Watford .
It wasn’t so much an advert for Richard Scudamore’s Greatest Show on Earth as a huge pointer to why the latest figures show Sky’s Premier League audiences are down 19 per cent this season.
It was doubtful that game was even the greatest show in Middlesbrough on Sunday, as there must have been car-boot sales going on that offered more excitement — and about 5,000 times better value for money.
As broadcaster Danny Kelly tweeted, in reference to the previous day’s fan protest at Charlton:
The second part of Super Sunday, Southampton vs Burnley , was inevitably an improvement, but so poor was everyone in Sean Dyche’s side apart from keeper Tom Heaton it was probable, as The Times' match reporter noted “that there have been less one-sided games of solitaire.”
'Ah well,' Sky’s ad department must have thought, 'Red Monday will get the juices flowing!'
But having billed Manchester United’s visit to Anfield as a bigger event than Christ’s Second Coming, the dismal goalless draw we got to see was for many a bigger let-down than Sterile Sunday.
“It was hyped to death, and it died a death,” observed Jim Beglin.
Knowing how Mourinho sets up for must-not-lose games and knowing how Jurgen Klopp’s side can struggle when teams do a proper shackling job on them, it was predictable.
But still, when you looked at the level of attacking talent at his disposal (and the money spent to buy that talent) any post-match talk of a Mourinho tactical masterclass was an insult to the human eye.
In 2005, former-Real Madrid coach Jorge Valdano said watching Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea play at Anfield was like staring at “s**t hanging from a stick”.
I wouldn’t go that far about the other night, but let’s remember why the game that was being billed as the most electric club fixture in world football, was taking place on 'Red Monday'...
Because these two were so average last season they had no part to play in the Champions League’s Terrific Tuesday or Wondrous Wednesday.
The top flight of English football has always thrown up passionate matches, memorable goals and dramatic incidents.
But the corporate need to reclaim the money that has been overpaid to televise today’s games has created a huge gap between how this “product” is being sold and what’s actually being delivered.
And were I one of those broadcasters who’ve thrown billions at the Premier League I’d be very wary about continuing to hike up subscriptions to claw that silly-money back.
Because people are starting to notice those hikes at the same time they’re noticing their minds drifting away from the TV to more pleasurable pursuits... like sorting out the cutlery drawer.
Or watching Celebrity Botched-Up Bodies on catch-up.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/brian-reade-column-stupor-sunday-9080748
