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London (pte023/31.03.2005/12:00) - The English Premier League has admitted that televised football is in danger of reaching saturation point and argues that European competition law has led to more games being screened than it would like. As the Media Guardian http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk reports, the announcement comes after Premier League club Charlton Athletic's http://www.cafc.co.uk chairman Richard Murray aired his concerns as he announced the club's financial results. He also called for greater fairness in the distribution of TV money to prevent the gap between the "big three" in England- Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal - and the rest widening. The Premier League was obliged to offer broadcasting rights in four packages rather than grant exclusive coverage to the highest bidder when the previous contract expired.
"We wholeheartedly agree with Charlton that there is a balance to be struck in regard to the number of televised games to ensure match-day attendances are maintained," said a Premier League statement. "Indeed, the latest increase in the number of matches broadcast came about as a direct result of regulatory pressure from Europe, as opposed to any desire on our part or that of our media partners." "We collectively must not allow our product to be overexposed on television as ultimately this will almost certainly lead to a decline in match attendances," said Murray, whose club lost almost 1.7 million pounds in the six months ended on December 31, 2004. "We must implement measures, including greater fairness in the distribution of broadcasting revenues, aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the league. Predictability is the enemy of even our most successful clubs," he added.
"There is a great danger that the myopic vision of the people running the Premier League, together with their greed, has led to them failing to see some very real threats to the game," said Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters Federation http://www.fsf.org.uk . "The Premier League is losing its attractiveness; it's now completely uncompetitive. Roman Abramovich's money has turned a two-horse race (between Arsenal and United) arguably into a one-horse race. This means that a lot of the games on television are not attractive either to the viewer of the match-going spectator." Charlton's turnover fell by 8 per cent to 19.5 million pounds, which Murray puts down to a 10 per cent drop in TV revenues on the corresponding 2003 period. "I am confident the second half of the financial year will see an upturn in our financial performance," he added however.
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