AST has dialogue with Arsenal over changes to Pay Per View (PPV) Model

The AST is continuing its campaign activity around the Premier League games which are being broadcast on Pay Per View (PPV) at £14.95.

You can read our previous statements here and here.

Over the last week more than £36,000 was raised for Islington Giving by Arsenal fans who choose to make a contribution to charity rather than pay the £14.95.

We are delighted that so much has been raised for Islington Giving. Our campaign was designed to give supporters an alternative to paying a Pay Per View Charge. Their generosity shows how much Arsenal fans care about the community in which their club is based.

 You can read more from Islington Giving here: 

Yesterday we learnt that the Premier League Clubs agreed to extend the PPV arrangement until after the November international break. This means that the Arsenal game against Aston Villa on November 7 will also incur a £14.95 charge to watch.

We are disappointed at this decision and immediately made contact with Arsenal and were pleased to have been able to have had a dialogue.

The club understand the frustration that supporters have about the pricing and told us they will be working with other clubs, the PL and broadcasters to find a better solution.

The AST has put forward some proposals to the club which we have been assured will be raised as part of the review process.

These proposals are summarised below:

In finding a way forward from the current arrangements the Premier League and broadcasters need to address not just the price but some key principles.   These include:

• Ensuring that all fans are treated equally – it is not fair that Aston Villa or Newcastle fans pay the PPV fee three times as often as Liverpool fans because their games are not selected for the subscription packages.
• If PPV continues then discounts should be offered to those fans who have Season ticket payments (including deposits) and membership fees (such as the Silver membership) currently sitting with their clubs and also to those who already have subscription packages with Sky and BT.
• A fair PPV charge if one is applied is in the region of £5 per game, with the two points of principle set out above also applying.
• Consideration should be given to a PPV bundle price. The bundle would be either for all the PPV games played that weekend; or for all of the PPV games that a particular club plays.