Why are football kick-off times so bad for away fans?

Because fixtures are scheduled for the screen, not the ground. A Sunday late-afternoon slot pulls a bigger sofa audience than the few thousand who travel, and the rights deal was priced on the sofa. The club knows there is no train home. The decision is rational and the fan is the backdrop.

What can marketers learn from the business of sport?

That sport shows you who the customer really is faster than any other industry. Every business has a loyal customer who shows up and a scalable one who watches from a distance, and the pressure is always to design for the second. Sport is finding out what happens when the first one stops coming.

Does sponsorship actually work?

It works when the brand had a reason to be there that the fans could name. A shirt sponsor people have never heard of buys reach and not much else. The deals that pay back are the ones where the brand does something for the supporters that the club could not, and then stays long enough for it to be noticed.

Topic

The business of sport

Sport is the most honest mirror we have. It shows you exactly who’s in charge and who gets left behind, usually within 90 minutes and in front of a live audience.

These pieces follow the money: media rights, sponsorship, ownership, technology and the growing distance between the people who run the game and the people who turn up to watch it.

21 October 20263 min read

The 3pm blackout is the last thing built for fans

English football still bans live TV on Saturday afternoons to protect the people in the ground. It is the one rule the broadcasters haven't bought, and it won't last.

7 October 20261 min read

Kick-off times are a media product now

Fixtures used to be arranged for the people in the ground. Now they're arranged for the schedule. What that says about who football thinks its customer is.

Questions I get asked

Why are football kick-off times so bad for away fans?: Because fixtures are scheduled for the screen, not the ground. A Sunday late-afternoon slot pulls a bigger sofa audience than the few thousand who travel, and the rights deal was priced on the sofa. The club knows there is no train home. The decision is rational and the fan is the backdrop.
What can marketers learn from the business of sport?: That sport shows you who the customer really is faster than any other industry. Every business has a loyal customer who shows up and a scalable one who watches from a distance, and the pressure is always to design for the second. Sport is finding out what happens when the first one stops coming.
Does sponsorship actually work?: It works when the brand had a reason to be there that the fans could name. A shirt sponsor people have never heard of buys reach and not much else. The deals that pay back are the ones where the brand does something for the supporters that the club could not, and then stays long enough for it to be noticed.