Chairman Griffin has concerns but Maidenhead United won't swim against the stream

Despite having reservations over its recent launch, and concerns as to how it will impact Maidenhead United in the long run, chairman Peter Griffin says the club won’t be swimming against the stream following the launch this month of the National League’s new streaming service.

December saw the ‘soft’ launch of the league’s new streaming service, with UK-based fans now able to watch their side’s midweek matches, and Saturday afternoon games on international break weekends online. The streaming platform was fully launched by the National League on Boxing Day.

The Saturday afternoon blackout remains in place to domestic supporters in a bid to encourage supporters to go and see their clubs play live, however the clubs – and the league – now have an additional revenue stream and Griffin is hopeful the Magpies will earn more than they lose from the new venture – however, that's far from guaranteed.

The service has been rolled out to National League clubs, with those in the North and South set to follow once the service is up and running without any hitches.

It represents a major departure from how things have worked before for clubs, and larger teams like Wrexham – whose Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney lobbied the league and BT Sport for the service to be launched – are set to benefit thanks to having more international supporters keen to watch matches and bigger fan bases in general.

Should a supporter specify they support Wrexham, for example, when they sign up for the service, that club will receive the lion’s share of the revenue from that match or streaming ‘season ticket’.

Therefore, it’s possible Maidenhead might lose out in the long term if fans of, say, Wrexham or Notts County opt against travelling to York Road in the future and instead choose to watch their side online, or at a local pub.

For the time being, with the service still in its infancy, there’s no real reason for a club like Maidenhead to fear its introduction, and there’s a good chance they may end up making more money than they lose from it. Griffin admits they’ll just have to go with the flow and see how it all plays out.

In an interview with the Maidenhead Advertiser, Griffin explained the potential pros and cons for the Magpies: “I’m sort of a bit ‘don’t know’. I accept that it’s the way things are going, and we’ve got to do it. We know anecdotally from people talking about the stream online that some Notts County fans stayed at home and watched our recent game with them online or on a pub TV. It was a cold day.

“They could stream the game because it’s an international break because of the World Cup. Domestic customers won’t be able to stream most Saturday, 3pm games, however, every Tuesday night game can be streamed, and we have one in the new year against Southend United. With the cost-of-living crisis, we have to expect that some fans will decide they can’t afford to go to a game, or they’ll choose to go to one game a month and maybe try to stream the rest. There’s a real possibility of that. And that’s not a problem, but the way the money is divided has nothing to do with whether it’s a home match for us or an away one.

“All of that’s not a problem, but the way that the money is divided out has nothing to do with whether it’s a home match for you or away match for you. It’s now about who fans nominate as their club when they subscribe because that club will get the lion’s share of the revenue. For example, if we’re playing Wrexham at home, the majority watching online are going to be Wrexham fans. They will then get most of the income from the stream and we’ll get a smaller amount spread between all the other teams.

“So, we’re not sure how big the pot is going to be, and what the impact is going to be. We are certainly concerned by it, but it could be that it raises more money than we lose. Equally, it could be the other way around, but the National League have said it’s not up for discussion and it won’t be voted on. It’s been done and agreed on and whether we like it or not it’s there.

“My optimistic head thinks we might make more money out of it than we lose, but it depends, if you’re playing a big club on a Saturday and there’s an international break, that might mean you do lose out on gate receipts, I don’t know, the jury is out a bit. We’re a bit concerned but let’s see what happens because we’ve got know choice in the matter anyway.”

In the short term, Maidenhead’s weekly crowds shouldn’t be impacted too badly, as domestic UK customers won’t be able to stream matches on Saturday afternoons, however, Griffin is wary of supporters getting hold of illegal streams, like many do to watch Premier League matches, and he isn’t aware that the league or authorities have anything in place to stop fans doing that.

“If you’re a domestic customer, you can’t sign up for a Saturday, 3pm kick-off unless there’s an international break,” he added.

“But I also have youngsters and I know people can watch Premier League games that are only supposed to be available overseas. People can get hold of illegal streams, so I have no idea what protections are in place to stop that. All I know is that it is possible to watch illegal streams of matches that are for overseas markets. I don’t know, but the bottom line is, we’re not going to fight against the stream on this, no pun intended.

“Streaming is here to stay, as is watching matches online. It’s part and parcel of how people watch and enjoy football these days. In some ways I’m glad that we’ve done something, but they don’t want to break the 3pm embargo on Saturdays, so let’s hope that stays for a long time. Because that will have a huge impact on us if that goes.

“Whenever someone signs up for a stream, whether it’s a season ticket or a one-off match, or whatever package they buy, they’ll be able to nominate which club they support. If they don’t nominate a club, the money will go into a general pot and be distributed between all clubs in the National League and the National League North and South.

“However, if they do nominate a club, the vast majority of the money goes to the club and the smaller amount is spread between everyone else.

“So, the bigger the club, the more money you’ll keep from the streaming service, and that’s the case

“That’s a real departure from the way the game works right now, where, if Wrexham come to us with a big away support, then we get that money. We benefit from big away supports, however, Wrexham would now benefit from those games because of the streaming service. It’s a big departure from the way it’s worked before and it goes against the principle that’s always been there of home clubs keeping their own gate receipts, whether big or small.”

He added: “However, if Wrexham go up next year the revenue from the whole thing will be far less. It might be a mountain that becomes a mole hill next season.”