Football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley has stated that Sunderland fans would ‘love’ Sky to introduce their ‘Access All Areas’ coverage to the English Football League.
Sky Sports introduced their all-access format for their coverage of Wycombe Wanderers‘ recent clash with Portsmouth in League One.
It gave viewers more behind-the-scenes features, including dressing room footage, exclusive interviews and on-pitch audio.
Plumley sees the feature as an opportunity to strengthen the ‘connection’ between the players and fans, and believes Black Cats supporters would be all for the format being rolled out across the EFL.
He told Football Insider: “From the outside looking in, I think it’s great to give as much insight to the fans as possible.
“If you can strengthen that connection between players and fans, that is a real positive. I know you don’t want to give away trade secrets, but I think you can manage that.
“Financially, it depends on whether it is going to cost the clubs any extra. If it costs more for the broadcasters, do they have to pass that cost onto the clubs or through the subscriptions?
“It might hurt the margins that Sky make, but the flip-side is that it produces a better product overall.
“In the grand scheme of things, the numbers will be relatively low either way. But I think most fans will love this.”
TIF Thoughts on Plumley’s comments…
We believe that this could be a great opportunity for Sunderland to help their fans rally behind them.
They were promoted to the Championship last season after winning the League One play-off final against Wycombe.
This season has seen a strong start from the Black Cats, as they are 10th in the league and only one point off the play-offs. Sunderland are also the joint-third-highest scorers in the Championship with 29 goals.
Introducing the Access All Areas format could have a knock-on effect of helping the club push for promotion. If the fans feel more of a connection to the club, it could well continue the strong results on the pitch.
It seems as if owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is fully invested in the club and backing boss Tony Mowbray. In the summer window, the club brought in 10 new players, demonstrating a desire to improve the team.
Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms have been on fire this season for Sunderland. The duo have both scored five Championship goals this season, which accounts for 34% of their league goals so far. Keeping them fit for the second half of the season will be essential if the club are to keep pushing for promotion.