Town chief executive Simon Clegg has warned that Championship clubs will find themselves ÂŁ750,000 a year poorer as a result of the new Sky deal announced earlier in the week. The deal, which runs from 2012 to 2015, is worth ÂŁ195 million in total, a drop of ÂŁ69 million from the previous terms.
Sky will show 75 live league games per season, plus the play-offs, Carling Cup fixtures and the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, but the new arrangement will see the BBC’s TV coverage of the Football League end.
Clegg says that with around 80% of the revenue going to Championship clubs — 12% goes to League One and 8% to League Two — it’s the second tier which will be hit the most by the reduction: "It will affect us all, but it will be in the Championship that it will be felt the most.
"In the current climate this looks a good deal for the Football League. But the fact is it represents a 26% drop from the last deal.
"The market place has changed substantially, and it is a very different economy for clubs.
"With the consequent loss of tension in the market place, without having BBC, ITV and Setanta bidding, the bottom line is we will get £766,000 per annum less and so we need to cut our cloth accordingly.”
The Blues chief executive says clubs will certainly notice the shortfall: "I cannot believe £750,000 plus per annum will not have an impact on how people run their businesses. And much of our outgoings relate to players’ wages and transfers.
"Clubs will not be willing to give out large contracts and this could impact on players. People will act accordingly but I cannot believe that 24 clubs in the Championship will collectively be able to accept a loss of £18 million. Clubs will have to focus their minds even more on their finances.”