Leeds United have regularly felt “short changed” by the EFL and Sky Sports after bringing in big viewership numbers, says Phil Hay.
The Athletic’s Whites correspondent told The Square Ball on 19 February that the broadcaster was obviously targeted by the travelling supporters at the early kick-off at Plymouth Argyle on Saturday (17 December) in what was the latest example of the club being messed around with scheduling.
He said that successive Elland Road regimes have believed the club is worth more to the rights deal than the rights deal is to them in the form of extra payments for games on TV, while coaches dislike their schedules interrupted and fans resent difficult travel arrangements.
Hay said (3m 30s): “The feeling when Leeds are out of the Premier League is that they as a club are worth a hell of a lot more to the EFL’s broadcast contract than and the TV rights deal with Sky than that TV rights deal is to them.
“Because you do get facility fees, extra payments, for live games but essentially the central distribution is much the same for every club, and Leeds were always of the view that they were being short changed by it. The money wasn’t great but they were providing the really big audiences…
“It has been a bone of contention for a long time and I thought it was very obvious at the weekend the way that the away end went after them actively.”
Leeds United fans rail against Sky Sports after Plymouth Argyle trip
It is a good thing the Whites at least returned from their long journey to the South West with another three points to slightly dampen the displeasure among the support.
The 260-plus mile distance between the two cities, that is far longer by road, to arrive in advance of a 12.30pm kick-off isn’t easy, and it can’t have helped that Leeds United have already been to Home Park once already in 2024 for the FA Cup replay.
To an extent the club are a victim of their own success, and with the promotion race getting even tighter they will likely remain so from here on out.
The uneasy relationship between Leeds United and Sky Sports in the EFL is a long-running one.
It is certainly nothing new that match-going fans are increasingly undervalued in comparison to the millions watching on TV, and while the riches brought in the Premier League broadcast deal can make it a a fairer trade-off the money in the Championship doesn’t, as Hay points out it is worth over £100million more to the club in the top flight.
Sky are obviously going to want to put the most popular draws on TV but clubs like Leeds will continue to be unhappy if the compensation is low it would likely only worsen the financial divide between relegation top flight clubs and the rest if the payments were increased.
