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| The following article has been reproduced by kind permission of The Non-League Paper.com. We are hoping to provide weekly articles from the website of the weekly Non-League Paper, that have something to do with Barnet, or will be of interest to people. | |||
| SKY BOOST FOR NON-LEAGUE FOOTBALL | |||
By: Marc Webber Sky bosses have given a boost to non-League football by saying they are totally committed to live coverage despite the slowdown in ad and sponsorship revenue. Fears that the satellite broadcaster may pull the plug on Conference and FA Umbro Trophy games to save cash have been dismissed by company officials, who say they are totally committed to bringing the best of the semi-pro and amateur game to our screens. The thumbs-up comes after BSkyB aired its third agreed live game for the season yesterday, when Dagenham & Redbridge - complete with new stand and TV gantry - hosted a Conference clash with Northwich Victoria. Concern over future coverage was raised after City analysts, Granville Baird, warned that decreasing advertising revenues coupled with an increasing apathy for so much live soccer is making TV companies think twice about forking out for so many live matches. Adding to the nervous sentiment in the media industry is the concerns about the success of the newly formed ITV Sports Channel. The company has spent just under £800million on coverage for major football matches, but the fledgling operation is posting less than impressive viewing figures and is offering a 'free trial' this week to boost take-up of the subscription service. With thoughts of cutbacks in the minds of many TV bosses, you would be forgiven for thinking that the first thing to be axed would be Non-League coverage, which attracts a smaller audience than the bigger games. But a spokesman for Sky Sports told the Non-League Paper that there is no question of them ditching coverage of teams competing in the Conference, Trophy and the early rounds of the FA Cup. "Our viewing figures for football are actually rising, not shrinking. And nowhere is that more evident than in our coverage of non-League. "We have been very pleased with the response from our first year of Conference coverage and we have always been committed to the Trophy and early stages of the FA Cup. "The media sector is having a tough time with ad revenues at the moment, and we are not immune to that. But we intend to at least see out our contract with the Conference." The Conference has a one-year deal with Sky, with the option of a further two years initially. Official figures suggest that audiences for the first few games have exceeded expectations, with "hundreds of thousands, rather than thousands" tuning in. |
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