Kieran Maguire: Man United strategy has backfired as ‘£12m wiped out’
Man United are having no success with MUTV because the quality of the product is simply not up to scratch.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Red Devils’ in-house media platform.
MUTV – which airs re-runs of matches, exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes content, became one of the world’s first club-specific channels when it launched in 1998.
As relayed by Sport Business on Tuesday (6 December), MUTV has now launched on smart TVs.
Maguire revealed that MUTV lost £12million in the last financial year alone, although this loss has been “wiped out” by United’s accounting practises
“MUTV had an operating loss of over £12m in 2021,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“While the club managed to effectively wipe this out through some sleight-of-hand accounting, it does indicate that MUTV has not really generated the type of income the Glazers had hoped.
“For a club with an annual turnover which exceeds £600m in a good year, just over one per cent of this is coming from MUTV.
“This is partly due to the breadth of the product not being particularly enticing for fans. It is re-runs of under-23 games and post-match interviews.
“It is difficult to justify the subscription charges. So, I think United are trying to look for new ways to sell the product.
“Linking to smart TV apps is one way to go, but I think they will find this very challenging if they don’t improve the product.“
In other news, Man United offering “huge” Alejandro Garnacho deal amid £50m-plus reveal.