On TV rights: Pay TV could be a disaster

Thenegotiations for TV rights are warming up with a number of multi-million pound offers set to hit the bargaining table - but what repercussions will the new deal have for English football?

The current rights for live matches are held by Sky Sports, but plenty of other cable and terrestrial stations are desperate to take over their mantle, with bidding expected to start at £300m a season.

Sky's deal expires in 2001 and all the big TV stations want to muscle in on the live action as a new three-year contract comes up for negotiation. Nobody wants to be left behind with only the scraps, such as highlights programmes, to show for their cash.

But what worries me most, apart from the monstrous amount of money being discussed in the scramble to become the football kings of television, is moves for more pay-per-view games.

Sky has already started experimenting with this idea, which allows fans to stump up an additional £6 to watch an extra live match. But this new deal is expected to include 40 pay-per-view games a season, which is frightening.

Pay-per-view could seriously damage our national game, as it will mean supporters can watch even more games from the comfort of their armchair without having to pay at the turnstile.

This is wrong. Anyone who has Sky is already paying around £400 a year for the choice of channels, so why should you have to shelve out more cash to watch specially- selected matches?

However, the danger is people may be tempted to pay £6 to view a match at home, rather than cough up £12 to attend a live game - plus all the other costs you would incur from buying a programme, hot-dog, beer or a cup of coffee.

I fear this package might prove more tempting for football supporters who are travelling around the country to support their team because it is much more economically viable.

It could destroy our game, especially in the lower leagues where teams like Southend United need to get as many people into their stadiums as possible on Saturday afternoons to keep the bank manager off their backs.

An Arsenal or West Ham fan living in Southend may give his or her support to their local team by making the occasional visit to Roots Hall because they can't afford a trip to Highbury or Upton Park.

But pay-per-view could kill this floating support, because these fans will stay indoors and watch their favourites for £6 on the TV, instead of visiting their local side.

This mustn't be allowed to happen. There is no substitute for live soccer and the last thing we want to do is raise a young generation of couch-potato football fans.

If, as I believe it will, a larger number of pay-per-view games do get the go-ahead, then TV bosses must protect our smaller clubs.

The TV chiefs need to be realistic by giving sides a larger chunk of the money on offer through the new deal, because they will need the extra compensation to survive.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.