Full stream ahead! Step two joins party!

By John Lyons

THE National League plan to press ahead with streaming in their North and South divisions in the coming season after impressive top-flight results last term.

National League TV was launched in December and grossed £1.4m in half a season. After costs, it meant £750,000 was redistributed back to clubs.

There were 117,000 subscribers from 57 countries and a total of 306 streamed matches.

“We are hoping to move forward with streaming at Step 2 domestically next season,” said National League general manager Mark Ives after yesterday’s annual meeting at Celtic Manor.

“We are planning to stream Step 2 games not covered by UEFA’s Article 48 (which states that Saturday 3pm games cannot be broadcast domestically). It would be an extra 332 fixtures at Step 2 next season.

“Our spectator base has massively increased over the season. Across the three divisions, attendances were 3.09 million last season, up by 22 per cent. Streaming hasn’t had a negative impact. We are looking at the approach for next season to get to the right position, but it’s all positive.”

VISION: Mark Ives

Ives also revealed that the league are set to launch a five-year National League Strategy by the start of the season.

“It will be looking at the direction we want to go in,” he told The NLP. “It’s making sure we take into account the interests of all clubs in key decisions.”

Top-flight clubs agreed to allow clubs to choose whether they want to play midweek games on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday rather than just a Tuesday as at present. Next season’s fixtures are due out on Wednesday, July 5 and the season kicks off on August 5.