The 2024 Premier League season is well underway, but the question is – are there streaming services available? How will the new COVID law impact the amount of money spent on matches?
How will the Premier League re-distribute the money among the clubs? And what about the impact of COVID on match attendance?
These are some of the questions we hope to answer in this article. So, if you are interested in watching Premier League matches, read on!
The Premier League season is well underway
The 2024 Premier League season is underway, and there’s a lot of optimism surrounding the league. For one, the first matches will feature full-capacity crowds, something that hasn’t happened since the Covid-19 pandemic. Likewise, the European Championship was a disaster for English football, and the European Super League failed to live up to expectations. So what’s different this season?
It’s easy to see where a few Premier League managers will feel frustrated by this, given that some of their star players are going to be away for an extended period of time. Among these are Liverpool, who will be without Mohamed Salah and Sadiq Mane for almost a month.
Arsenal will be without Nicolas Pepe and Pierre EmerickAubameyang, while Norwich City and West Ham will join the English Championship League.
Streaming services for premier league matches
Source: africanentertainment.com
In the United Kingdom, Sky Sport, BT Sport, and Amazon Prime Video are the only streaming options available for Premier League matches. But not all of these services carry every match. If you want to watch at least 200 matches, you need to subscribe to all three services.
If you don’t live in England, try DAZN. This service is also available in many countries. It is a great option if you live in an area where there are no streaming services.
NordVPN is another popular streaming service for Premier League matches. It works on desktop and mobile devices, as well as routers, and it allows you to watch Premier League matches on six devices at once.
NordVPN offers a free 7-day trial for Android devices, as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee. NordVPN is particularly effective in bypassing geo-restrictions, allowing users to watch EPL matches anywhere in the world. To know more information about: sure.bet.
Redistributing money between clubs
The Premier League has rejected calls to redistribute an extra 5% of its broadcasting income to its lower league clubs. The league already redistributes money between clubs through the Football League Cup and FA Cup. However, it claims to give away PS68m a season to Football League clubs, which includes parachute payments of PS6m to recently relegated clubs. These payments continue for two seasons and must be returned to the top flight.
The Premier League argues that it is not the right solution because it does not consider the loss of gate receipts to justify the current distribution formula. However, the Premier League has noticed a rise in live coverage of the league’s matches and an increase in the number of fans attending the matches. It is the Premier League’s perception that the current system of collective selling has made clubs’ financial positions more unstable and susceptible to shocks. To make it fair to all clubs, the Premier League must find a less anti-competitive method of redistributing the revenue. For example, they could share their gate takings more fairly or create a common fund for merchandise sales.
Impact of COVID on match attendance
Source: mfc.co.uk
One preliminary study linked high COVID-19 case-county match attendance with increased incidence of the virus. The study used a matched-set design with additional control variables to estimate ATT (Average Treatment Effect).
It was not possible to identify “case clusters” among 119 games played in front of fans. Nevertheless, the association between match attendance and COVID is substantial, suggesting that the virus could disrupt match-day sports in the future.
The effect of COVID on match attendance was studied in two groups: those that were affected by the disease and those who did not. Attendance data were collected weekly. Each participant completed 63 pre-impact surveys and 28 post-COVID-impact surveys. Data were analyzed using a standard segmented linear regression model.
This resulted in a significant change in match attendance. The researchers were able to estimate the COVID-19 effect in more than 85% of the surveyed cases.
Changes in fixtures due to the COVID pandemic
Despite the ongoing COVID pandemic, Premier League clubs are planning to play their games. During the recent Belenenses outbreak, nine starters and two goalkeepers were ruled out of games. This is not an ideal situation, but it must be addressed to maintain the health of players, fans, and the public. The league will closely monitor public health guidance and proceed with caution.
To avoid postponed games, Premier League clubs are considering modifying their cancellation criteria. Currently, teams must prove that they have four positive Covid tests for a match to be played. Nevertheless, the change will also apply to matches where players are on international duty.
Hence, the north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur has been postponed. The new regulations are expected to come into force next month.
Source: design.studio
Impact of live broadcasting on match attendance
Although the effect of televised highlights of football matches is not completely indeterminate, some evidence suggests that the presence of such coverage may reduce match attendance in lower divisions.
The effects of live television coverage on football attendance are discussed in several studies, including the Chester Report. Broadcasts, including BSkyB matches, are particularly detrimental. The second Chester Report suggests that live television coverage may lower match attendance at lower divisions.
The UK television industry has seen the rise of cable, satellite, and digital broadcasting, with BSkyB breaking the terrestrial rivalry between BBC and ITV in the 1993-1994 season.
Although the impact of live broadcasting on match attendance is disputed, some studies have suggested that the change from terrestrial broadcasting to non-terrestrial broadcasting could have negative externalities. In the UK, the First Division Rugby Football League was covered by the BSkyB satellite network during the 1993-1994 season.
