Why Evolving Consumption Habits May Change Football’s Broadcasting Model

Florentino Perez and countless other football administrators believe the game needs to change to cater for changing viewing habits and shortened attention spans1. Many believe it’s more nuanced than that. Whilst we certainly have more distractions readily and constantly available to us, with endless social media streams, instant messages and email at our fingertips on mobile phones, tablets and other screens, young people are regularly spending hours on YouTube, Tiktok, Fortnite, Netflix, Roblox and plenty of other platforms.

It’s not that their attention spans are necessarily shortening; it’s that there are so many platforms competing for finite attention. There is much more digital competition for our attention than there ever used to be. That’s why the idea that football needs to protect its 3pm Saturday games by using the blackout period feels somewhat ‘1990s’ right now. Live football isn’t so unique that televised football content remains is its only competitor or substitute. Fans are multi-tasking and multi-screening. Fans can watch a game at a stadium whilst streaming YouTube, accessing TikTok or even watching another match. With mobile devices, it’s not an either/or approach anymore. In the face of this challenge, the question is how football continues to adapt in order to remain relevant.

With the development of the entertainment industry and the spread of technology, this article examines the broadcasting landscape in football and the potential models for rights holders, such as the Premier League, to better commercialise and monetise their rights.

It looks at: