One very interesting thing in the refund discussions between the PL and broadcasters is the idea refunds will be paid because games didn't take place when scheduled *and* because they are behind closed doors. In other words, fans increase the financial value of the product...
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When we say 'football without fans is nothing' we are appealing to the many ways fans are marginalised and treated as mere customers of a product made an industry in which we have no stake or voice. We know this is wrong because football isn't an ordinary business. But...
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What this rebate shows is it isn't even accurate in the terms club owners like to frame the game. Match-going fans aren't customers, they are co-creators of the product. They significantly increase the financial value of the product.
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By their own actions, the Premier League has acknowledged that fans aren't mere customers, but commercial partners who add hundreds of millions of pounds of value annually. If it wants to run things as a business, very well. We'll start by letting fans into PL games for free.
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After that, once we've assessed more accurately the financial value of fans, we'll move to a revenue sharing arrangement where fans are properly compensated for their extremely valuable work.
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