League Two clubs get 8% of TV money

League Two clubs will receive 8% of the TV money from deals with television broadcasters and the Football League this season. The main deal with Sky is said to be worth around £37m per year.

The pot is split so that 80% goes to Championship clubs and 12% to League One clubs. Hereford United should receive about £125,000 from this deal per season.

Extra money in television rights comes from the BBC through the broadcasting of the FA Cup. However the FA don't reveal how that money is shared out except to say that the combined 'prize fund and the television monies represent a £30 million investment in the competition.'

The idea of a split, in the same way as television, with radio fees has been scrapped according to the League Paper.

The BBC had agreed to pay £1.2m for the radio rights which would have given Hereford United just £4,000 a year. The idea was to stop local negotiations.

But some clubs objected to this deal. One was Lincoln who said that there club was as important to Radio Lincolnshire as any of the bigger clubs. The situation is the same with BBC Hereford and Worcester where Hereford United are currently the biggest club in the area.

So the League now allows clubs to deal direct with their local stations. In effect how much coverage H&W will give to the Bulls will depend on whatever deal is, or has been, brokered between the two organisations.

Trevor Owens, head of sport at BBC Hereford and Worcester, recently made the situation clear locally.

For full commentary on a Football League or FA or Carling Cup game at Edgar Street we have to pay United a fee (for league games, around £566 plus VAT). This is fair enough, as there is an argument that live radio commentaries could affect the gate(although I am sure most fans would rather be there if they could). In addition to this, we also have to pay the away side a fee (for league games, around £346 plus VAT). This harks back to when clubs used to split the gates for league matches; they don't any more, but the fees have remained in place.

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