Kieran Maguire issues ‘dangerous’ claim as record-breaking Man City payout revealed
Man City and other top-flight fans being forced to pay record prices to watch matches is ‘dangerous’ for the Premier League.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the subscription costs facing fans this season.
As reported by RadioTimes, Premier League fans face prices of £1,019 a year if they intend to watch every Premier League match this season.
Domestic television rights in the UK are split between Sky Sports, TNT Sports and Amazon Prime, all of which require customers to pay subscription fees monthly.
City played more games last season than any other team in the Premier League as they went on to win the treble, and fans will be required to own all three subscription services if they plan on watching all of their side’s games in 2023/24.
Maguire believes the growing piracy numbers from increased subscription fees is ‘dangerous’ for the Premier League.
“Broadcast subscriptions are very high, they have accelerated with inflation since the Premier League started in 1992,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“At the same time, it has to be stated that more games are being broadcast than ever before.
“I think we can expect that number to continue to grow when the next set of rights are sold to domestic broadcast partners.
“The problem is with multiple subscriptions and multiple renewal fees it does mean that fans are looking at total costs which now exceed £1,000 a year.
“People will be looking at alternatives, and one of those are fewer subscriptions.
“But football is more popular than ever before and now fans feel they have the right to watch live football on weekends on whatever screen they choose.
“This puts the Premier League in a dangerous position as they have the rights to matches and want to protect its rights holders.
“But more and more fans are being tempted by cheaper, illegal alternatives and that is why piracy is growing.“
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