The End of Matchday Programmes?

L

Luke Imp

Alert Team
Staff member
A vote in the summer, which would leave it up to the Club's whether to produce programmes. At the minute, everyone has to.

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TBH, I never buy one. But I know a lot of folks do. Since it will be op[tinal, you'd hope clubs might actually ask their fans about it...
 
Won't be long before it's an electronic programme. Would be a shame but I don't buy them these days. Didn't even get one at Wembley to keep as a souvenir.

I do have 100s of old ones though. Will never get rid of them.
 
It would be a shame if we lost programmes. They are important memorabila. I always like looking at those programmes on the wall in the Golden Eagle reminding us we were actually in the 2nd tier playing the likes of Liverpool on a regular basis.
 
I think it inevitable that most clubs in the EFL and lower will vote in favour of not having to produce one for every match. The cost of production is such that they are a money losing thing now. A shame in many respects but in our electronic age perhaps they are past their useful date
 
I'm afraid it's the way things are going - the same as people are increasingly reading newspapers online.

I'm not sure, but I believe the Southern League have already removed the requirement for clubs to produce a hard copy programme (they were certainly leading up to it a year or two ago) - but they still have to do a downloadable electronic version.
 
The raison d'être for matchday programmes has changed completely. In days gone by, they represented the only means of communication with the supporters. There was no local television, no local radio, and no internet. The only other method was via the Lincs Echo.

But now we have Lincoln City available almost 24/7. We watch Danny on a Thursday and get the news from the horse's mouth. We get the team line-ups from Twitter at 2pm. Any information about the club can be found on the club website. There are match reports galore online within minutes of the final whistle, and far more detailed information on the opposition can be found by spending two minutes online than could ever be written in a programme. Printed programmes can also be out of date by the day of the match they have been prepared for, and that does not even take into account the problems caused by a late postponement. Can someone tell me, what is the point of listing the entire squad on the teams page? Completely and utterly pointless.

Furthermore, today's programmes are not really programmes any more. They are full colour magazines about the club, but do they really impart any information you didn't already know? And then we have the cost. My first programme cost 5p, which didn't really make a hole in your pocket even then. However, my last one cost £3, or £7 if you consider Wembley, and that is not loose change for a lot of people. The sheer size of them also causes storage issues: prior to the 1990s you could get a whole season's programmes in one envelope; try doing that now.

I still have an extensive collection of old City programmes, and they are fascinating items. But that day is done, information is no longer on paper for many people. I tend not to buy them anymore, and if they are a net cost to the club, why do it?
 
Impster said:
Won't be long before it's an electronic programme. Would be a shame but I don't buy them these days. Didn't even get one at Wembley to keep as a souvenir.

I do have 100s of old ones though. Will never get rid of them.
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Not too long back, we went through a phase of making them available in PDF format online.
 
I buy a programme everytime I go to a home game. I think they sell most of them as far as I can ascertain. For many they are something to read before,during and after a game. My guess is that LCFC make money on the sale of match programmes which also includes some advertising revenue. Also there is no VAT on programmes.
 
They will be gone soon enough.. as Scotimp clearly explained, the reasons for having them now are obsolete except nostalga, which isnt a compelling reason.
 
I only buy them very occasionally, but programmes and seeing programme sellers just feels part of a match day.

It'd be a shame if they went IMO.
 
In an age where so many companies are going paper-light or paper-free, getting rid of programmes seems like an obvious step. I understand nostalgia reasons but common sense must prevail.
 
To my mind this is not about ringing the death knell for programmes per se, but more about allowing clubs to excercise good business management. If one runs a business where a product line is losing money that product is axed, if it is making money it stays.
 
Yes, that's what attracted me to the Legends deal - the free program was a deal clincher...:shake:
 
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