Back in the 1980s, English football bosses were deeply suspicious of televised matches, believing that, given the choice, most supporters would sit at home and watch it on the box, and attendances would dwindle. Viewed at from the context of the Sky Sports era, this logic seems ludicrous.
But in the League of Ireland, the problem of TV coverage impacting upon attendances still holds.
Shamrock Rovers officials believe that they are losing somewhere in the region of €10,000 through live games. Daniel McDonnell reported in the Irish Independent today that Rovers have written to RTE to tell them that they would prefer if they didn't screen their home matches. League of Ireland clubs do not receive compensation when their games are shown on TV.
The club can not demand that RTE stay away, but they have outlined their difficulties to RTE and hope the station will agree to their request.
The FAI are adamant that TV coverage is good for the League as it helps both it and the club attract sponsors. They also cited evidence claiming that the five best attended matches of the 2015 season thus far were all televised.
