Deloitte football finance: Premier League TV riches could spell better ticket prices for match-going football fans
Match-going football fans could benefit from the Premier League’s new £8bn broadcast deal next season as clubs freeze ticket prices to keep grounds full and broadcasters happy.
Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance found that matchday revenue of £584m accounted for just 18 per cent of the Premier League’s total £3.3bn revenue in the 2014/15 season, its smallest proportion in the competition’s 24-year history.
With the clubs’ accounts being primarily boosted by commercial and broadcast income — set to swell further next season with the start of a new deal worth at least £99m to clubs per year — clubs are expected to place less emphasis on extracting money from ticket sales.
Read more: Why Premier League clubs should not lower the cost of attendance
“Matchday revenue is becoming relatively less important in terms of the percentage against the total,” explains Deloitte Sports Business Group’s Andy Bull. “It’s now down below 20 per cent and we’d expect it go down to 15 or 14 per cent when the new deal comes in. What’s vital for the clubs and the league is that grounds remain full because the game is being broadcast as a great spectacle, it’s what the broadcasters want to see.
“We’d expect to see any price increases to be low and freezes to be more common. Clubs are aware they need to keep ticket prices at a price where grounds remain full.”