Bolton see positives from TV snub

Bolton Wanderers commercial director Gareth Moores insists there's no reason to be down about Sky's decision to feature them just once in their live games schedule for the first third of the season.

“You can look at the fact we have got only one live game either of two ways,” he told the Bolton News. “It is disappointing, and we would expect that the broadcasters would redress that balance in the remaining two-thirds of the season, as has happened in previous years.

“But the overriding view that is derived from our sponsors and advertisers is that it is not simply about how many live games are shown on satellite television.

“The primary value they receive is from the terrestrial broadcasters, such as Match of the Day on the BBC, which receives millions of viewers on a weekly basis.

“Added to that, the Premier League is a truly global brand and in the case of our primary sponsors — 188BET and Reebok — they recognise that our games are shown all around the world in various guises.”

Moores added that the lack of live coverage could even benefit the club, convincing some supporters to watch the games live, instead of on the television.

“Hopefully, it will make afew people think ‘we have to get down to the Reebok’ and get a few more people through the turnstiles,” he said.

“It is by no means all doom and gloom from our point of view.”