Friday 14 June 2013

Does it matter which AFCB games are televised?

I was pondering the new season and the games AFCB will be playing. Some of those games will be televised for sure and I was considering whether it was better for the club that the TV cameras come for a certain game and if it helps not to be a derby match?

On the last few occasions that I have witnessed the cameras at Dean Court it has been for derby matches like Southampton or Brighton. Last year Fratton Park had cameras for the Bournemouth games as well. Derby matches seem to excite the TV world as they expect huge gates and viewing figure. But with a team like the Cherries when we have a match against Brighton, for example, most of us will be there already watching the game. We don't have 20,000 fans to see the game on TV as well.

For supporters it might be of more interest for us to have the cameras down when we play Burnley at home because of the recent history and it would give Burnley fans who can't make the trip a chance to see their team get beaten by Eddie Howe's Cherries (couldn't resist the wind up). QPR could be another one, when Harry Redknapp returns to Dean Court that might attract media interest and help put the Cherries on the map.

With so many of us being season ticket holders it is perhaps in most AFCB fans' interest that we get an away game televised. Moreover, a game that is a long way from home that is difficult for Cherry supporters to get to. So Middlesbrough or Bolton would be good for us fans, but not for TV companies. TV stations need to dress games up and have a reason for showing them and while it might be appealing to them to think of the battle of the seaside towns of Blackpool and Bournemouth, it does not have the same meaning as Brighton v Bournemouth.

I am sure the TV companies have their own reasons for choosing particular games and the fixture list will determine when they can come to Bournemouth, but I hope they look a bit beyond the south coast rivalry this coming season.

No comments:

Post a Comment

tag: