Why scrapping programmes is the wrong way for clubs to embrace digital progress

Progress will always come at the expense of something.

There are doomsday predictions flying around about the fate of TV, for example. Live-streaming will eat traditional TV broadcasters, some say, and those projections are based on the fact that digital media did the same thing with print not all that long ago.

The fact that reading online is more convenient than doing so with a magazine or a newspaper is only part of the story: the more important aspect is probably that you don’t have to pay.

Next month’s EFL summer meeting will see its clubs vote on whether or not it should remain “an absolute requirement” for football clubs to produce a matchday programme. Given the declining sales of such magazines over the course of the last few years and the costs incurred in producing them, it’s likely this will pass.

Today, in anticipation of that, Twitter has been awash with nostalgia for programmes – those things nobody buys.

If fans wanted to read about the goings-on at their club, they used to buy programmes and fanzines. These days, they simply log into Twitter or go to the club website: the content produced online by clubs these days is becoming more and more journalistic and entertaining. And it reaches far beyond the tentacles of the programme. Club platforms can reach anyone with an internet connection anywhere in the world, they can include videos, polls, games and even social media. The modest magazine handed out on matchday at the cost of a couple of quid can’t do that.

But that’s not to say that the prospect of Football League grounds without programmes isn’t a sad thought. Indeed, this is a precarious time for clubs who should be thinking about more than just their bottom line. That’s hard, admittedly – especially in the lower leagues – but football is treading something of a tightrope these days.

The popularity of the sport is based on the emotional connection so many fans have to their team. It’s the noise from the stands and the fact that it means so much to so many people that gives TV companies and sponsors the desire to invest in the game.

But on the other hand, digital media has made it easier to follow football without actually going to games. From next year, UK fans will be able to access the EFL’s streaming service iFollow for their club’s midweek games, giving fans greater possibilities to watch their team from the comfort of their own homes. It’s a great initiative, but many worry about attendances.

The concern, however, should be a broader one. It’s not about the decisions that the EFL are taking, or any other league for that matter. It’s more about the culture. Why do growing numbers of fans want to stay at home and watch on TV?

And that brings us back to programmes – because it’s all about the matchday experience.

Going into a cold ground in the middle of winter to watch your team play is an experience everyone should have if they’re a fan. The atmosphere makes it almost a religious experience: tens of thousands of people pull all their energies together in search of one glorious outcome. And yet you can still see why it’s appealing to stay at home and watch on TV: it’s cheaper, it’s warmer, you have access to the internet, stats and social media. Going to the ground and buying a programme can’t compete anymore, unfortunately.

But does that mean they should be scrapped? Does that mean we shouldn’t be encouraging clubs to try to change their matchday experience?

TV companies have fine-tuned their coverage to make it, essentially, the best seat in the house. Instead of offering what they’ve always offered, shouldn’t clubs be transforming the experience and attempting to differentiate matchdays in the ground from TV coverage? Shouldn’t they be trying to make something unique that fans can’t get anywhere else?

How do we do that? I’m not sure. But there are some examples of clubs who are trying.

Early this season, Blackpool added an augmented reality element to their programme. That’s an attempt to digitalise what is still ink and paper technology and, at the same time, give fans exclusive content they can’t get by staying at home and searching Twitter.

Other clubs have tried to incorporate technology by creating smartcards which work around the ground, turning their campus into a location where fans might want to spend some time. Manchester City’s City Square, featuring live music and other entertainment on matchdays, is another (non-digital) way of making the experience a bit different.

The news that the EFL may stop making it compulsory for its clubs to produce programmes doesn’t necessarily mean that all clubs will stop. Indeed, it might be short-sighted to discontinue it altogether, but it is a nod to the fact that the world is changing.

But instead of simply giving up on a tradition almost as old as the game itself, though, shouldn’t we try to adapt it?

At the moment, clubs are asking fans to pay extra money for access to a game and some content from a programme – something they can get on their sofas for free using a phone – so why not ask them to pay extra for something that’s completely different and unique instead?

About author

Chris McMullan
Chris McMullan 831 posts

Chris is a sports journalist and editor of Digital Sport - follow him on Twitter @CJMcMullan_

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