47 replies to this topic

[Barney63]

We definitely need clarity on the current situation and I hope we get it sooner rather than later. I think most on here would be of the view that SG has been a good steward of St Mirren. and deserves a chance to put his and the Board's position across. But what seems to have been forgotten in these discussions is that St Mirren is a business, and operates on a commercial footing. Our emotional attachment to the club as fans is inextricably linked to that business in a commercial arrangement through gate fees or season ticket purchase etc. There's nothing quite like it really, I can't imagine thousands of people turning up to cheer on Wiseman's Dairy production line every Saturday for example, but we cannot pretend that the club exists in a vacuum where commercial decisions do not have to be made. Obviousl,y the customers matter, but the reality is where TV revenue is massive the income from gates becomes less important. So my questions are, If Sky were to pull out and we have to downsize might we not see clubs moving closer to the fans again? Would that be the worst thing to happen?

[insaintee]

If Sky pull out then play EVERY game at 3pm on a Saturday. Watch the crowds come back.

[div]

If Sky and ESPN were to walk away today from Scottish Football, with nobody at all coming in to replace them, St.Mirren FC would be in administration by September

How anyone can think this is a good thing is lost on me.

[gudmunder]

If the Sky deal is removed or reduced because of recent events, then there would obviously be a financial hit to be taken in the short term and clubs would have to cut their cloth accordingly.
Although you have to remember the bigot brothers swallow up 80% of that income (if what I've read is true).
In my opinion, this is another opportunity to change Scottish football for the good of everyone and not just the few.
Television deals dictate to the fans and it needs to be rebalanced.

12.00 kick offs? 12.30 kick offs? wtf???? What a pain in the arse that is!!!! Not to mention messing up my drinking routine! Seriously, bring back the 3.00pm kick offs for a start
If TV deal subscriptions are vastly reduced or not available at all, then what are the armchair fans going to do then? Go and see a live game that's what! but then here lies a problem. Some supporters have stopped going to games and taken up subscriptions because it's cheaper and you have more games to see. As I see it, clubs have to reduce their gate/season ticket prices to get more bums on seats (don't see that happening anytime soon if at all).

There has to be compromise from all sides to improve the product on show, but if you get one party not happy then it's difficult to change things for the better.
There will always be TV coverage of games, wether it's live or highlights, the demand for it will always be there. That's why in my opinion, you have to offer an incentive to the paying punters and it has to be big enough to make them change their minds and go see a game in the flesh, so to speak.

Ok rant over

[freedom4scot2003]

The Product is bad enough at the moment ,if sky & Espn walk away our club will be in serious financial trouble

[Lochwinnoch Saint]

If Sky and ESPN were to walk away today from Scottish Football, with nobody at all coming in to replace them, St.Mirren FC would be in administration by September

How anyone can think this is a good thing is lost on me.

Many clubs would go into administration so we don’t want Sky pulling out. Many fans don’t realize the importance of sponsorship and sky.
Clubs up and down the country now operate with sponsorship and and TV money. The days of only gate receipts paying for the running of a club are long gone.
Over the years it’s led to overinflating wages for players and payments to agents. While board room are at the mercy of the commercial side. Is it a good thing of course not.

[Kendo]

Anyone in business would do all they can to keep their biggest source of income available.

Why would any business want to go into administration?

There is a real danger if we lose Sky that we go bust and Rangers emerge later on and dominate as per usual.

[davidg]

If Sky and ESPN were to walk away today from Scottish Football, with nobody at all coming in to replace them, St.Mirren FC would be in administration by September

By September?

I don't know the financial ins and outs but surely we would get to the end of the season as the prize money wouldn't be distributed until then?

Wouldn't this give us enough time to make adjustments?

I agree though, it would be a financial nightmare for St Mirren.

Edited by davidg, 30 June 2012 - 10:53.

[pozbaird]

The way I see it, Sky aren't the enemy - and rightly or wrongly, we need them more than they need us. They gave Scottish football a deal following Setanta and nonsense like 'SPL TV'. Kick off times shuffled around, games at Sunday lunchtime - doesn't bother me. We can't have it all ways. At times I think Sky would be well within their rights to tell Scottish football to fcuk off.

I can understand why they won't though. It gives them UK wide coverage of English and Scottish football, keeps their schedules filled, and positions them as the premier broadcaster of UK top flight football. Having SPL football on their roster also satisfies the needs of 'bet in play' bookmakers which is big business today. Also, if Sky DID walk away - they would get a lot of grief for deserting Scotland at a time when frankly, we really need them not to.

St Mirren have partnerships with JD Sports, Macklin Motors, many others. The SPL are in partnership with Sky. I would hope, especially at this delicate time, that the SPL and Sky are talking quietly, sensibly, and openly with each other - to calmly sort a deal out.

Sadly, I had little confidence in the SPL leadership before Feb 14. I have absolutely zero confidence in them now.

[st jock]

Do we not have a year or two still to run on the present sky contract? That would give us a bit of breathing space to cut our cloth accordingly, and try to negotiate some new deal. If Doncaster stuck to his job of selling the SPL instead of doing everything he can to help one (ex-)team then we wouldnt be so gloomy.

Bloody Cockwomble

[Stuart Dickson]

By September?

I don't know the financial ins and outs but surely we would get to the end of the season as the prize money wouldn't be distributed until then?

Wouldn't this give us enough time to make adjustments?

I agree though, it would be a financial nightmare for St Mirren.

The story appears to be that if Sky walk away they will be due a REFUND on money that has already been paid out to clubs and spent. A considerable part of the problem would also be that the large sum of money that Rangers got would also be due to be paid back and since the SPL would be Sky's creditors and the SPL would become creditors of the liquidated Rangers the rest of the teams would also have to pick up the tab. This is where the immediacy of the problem is, especially since St Mirren are unlikely to get any lines of credit from anywhere.

[bluto]

What a lot of pishy scaremongering.

When St Mrren or Hibs or Dunfermline or Dundee were relgated and robbed of the precious SKY money, how many of them went out of business?

There will be adjustments. Such is life. Good things persist.

[reborn saint]

Sky won't walk away...It really is that simple. Reduced contract in the future yes. Why would a company like Sky wish to be known as the killer of Scottish football ?. The money they pay to our league is loose change for them. They have a reputation to keep and as we seen with the Setanta competitive bid they have a maximum £ figure for our game. Keeping their contract for next season will have no impact on this company atall (in real terms).

Edited by reborn saint, 30 June 2012 - 13:29.

[Kendo]

Sky won't walk away...It really is that simple. Reduced contract in the future yes. Why would a company like Sky wish to be known as the killer of Scottish footaball ?. The money they pay to our league is loose change for them. They have a reputation to keep and as we seen with the Setanta competitive bid they have a maximum £ figure for our game. Keeping their contract for next season will have no impact on this company atall (in real terms).

I agree, I don't think they will pull out but that wasn't the question.

[stevenw05]

Too many if's but's and maybe's.This is all about scaring us all into keeping sevco in the SPL or 1st Div.It's time we were told what Sky is saying and doing.Is it me or is it Saints running scared as other teams are still bringing players in and not all doom and gloom.Just gives our board another excuse to spend less..

[reborn saint]

I agree, I don't think they will pull out but that wasn't the question.

Sorry Kendo....We will have a tv contract from someone forever whether It's sky, Espn or the many others who are coming on the seen. How much it will be worth I have no idea. So if you question relates to "Is a TV deal a good thing" then the answer is yes.

[bluto]

I suppose I would have been better to answer (and more on topic) by saying... ahem...
"If Murdoch's TV company did pull out, the SKY wouldn't fall in".

[David Mc]

Too many if's but's and maybe's.This is all about scaring us all into keeping sevco in the SPL or 1st Div.It's time we were told what Sky is saying and doing.Is it me or is it Saints running scared as other teams are still bringing players in and not all doom and gloom.Just gives our board another excuse to spend less..

I can't see who is scared. Nobody on this forum for sure. So tbh I really don't think it's a factor.

It's fairly plain. If you take a chunk out of any company's income they need to adjust quickly. We have 23 players under contract and as everyone knows SPL clubs are under financial pressure it is unlikely anyone will offer us much for any player. So we are likely stuck with these costs. That only really leaves other employees and possibly the youth development programme as a way to save significant amounts of money.

So depending on the size of the TV money hit and the impact on sponsors it is possible St.Mirren could go into admin. Possibly the supporters could contribute enough time and money to keep things ticking over. Who knows? Or would a better strategy be to let the club go into admin and for the supporters to buy the club if we have the will? If St.Mirren were in trouble so would plenty other teams too.

Without the figures it's hard to say what the situation is. Hopefully the meetings at GR next week will help make things much clearer.

If Sevco end up in div 3 and the reduced TV deal/sponsorship hits clubs hard then the supporters of all these clubs are going to need to stand up and be counted for a number of years. Not least to be a source of revenue in short/medium term. REA's idea to use the different skills and experience of supporters (whether there is a CIC or not) could come into its own too. It may no longer be enough to pay to watch games, buy a Saints top or for all of us to post to our heart's content on this forum. Could be radically changed times. How much are we up for it?

[insaintee]

So what happens if we get relegated no sky money then. Would we be bust by September?

[davidg]

So what happens if we get relegated no sky money then. Would we be bust by September?

We have relegation clauses in the players contracts which would help us to survive the financial loss.