Could the grassroots clubs and lower divisions benefit from this? Perhaps. Let those privileged clubs go off and do their thing. If it is Sky that is backing them then everyone who is against it should then consider boycotting Sky.
But then this is where the problems lie; if Sky have the rights to most of the other club games then how can a supporter of football follow their team at away matches if they can’t get there and they are only on Sky. Or supporters of other sports, like cricket that are on Sky, they are inadvertently funding this.
Perhaps football clubs that are never going to be in the ESL need a rethink on their business model and bring back some reality into the wages earned by players and bring them back in line with what the clubs can afford. It may make them more community based.
Like with the streaming of current Latics matches, supporters may prefer just to sign up to their local team’s stream and not Sky. Keep the income local and shun the monopolies/duopolies that currently supply the streaming.
It will cause some issues with sponsorship as why would companies pay to sponsor a team that is only on local streaming. We, the clubs and supporters, have signed up with the likes of Sky and love the cash it brings in, but when they screw us over, we still feel the need to keep using them. What’s are the options?