With more from last week’s EFL AGM, chief executive Nigel Clibbens explained how the club voted on the current mandatory requirement to produce match day programmes.
“As was highlighted just over a month ago, a number of clubs had previously asked the EFL if the mandatory publication of a match programme could be addressed,” he explained. “This request was lodged as a result of an overall decline in programme sales across the divisions, including at Championship level.
“Up to now, match programme advertising space was allocated centrally as part of EFL partnership, sponsorship and opt-in agreements. This could take away up to ten pages of content per issue, depending on the timing and frequency of these campaigns.
“We voted to remove the mandatory requirement last week but, along with a number of other clubs, we made it clear at the same time that we would continue to produce a match day publication of some description.”
“The removal of the mandatory requirement now gives clubs much more flexibility within an area that has changed markedly over the last few years,” he continued. “Many fans now feel they can get their information immediately online, be that by phone, tablet, or a number of other mobile devices and platforms. That has been the main reason behind this industry-wide drop in sales.
“We’ve heard already that some clubs - some of them high profile - will be discontinuing the production of printed match programmes completely, as they move to digital only versions. We’ve had a lot of feedback from our fans on this subject and the majority have told us that they feel we should continue to produce something in the printed format.
“Having taken that on board we will, as I say, continue to produce a match day publication next season. The format of that will be discussed ahead of the new campaign, and we will let you know what we’ve decided to produce in the lead up to our first home game.”
We’ll have more on how the club voted at the AGM as we go through this week.
