Television Rights and its Effects on the Ghana Premier League, A Case Study of the Ghana Football Association.

Abstract

Television was an everyday reality for millions of people at the beginning of the twenty-first century, and arguably remains one of the most important features of media-related leisure. It provides a fertile conceptual and empirical starting point for the exploration of the everyday leisure experiences of media audiences. The notion and experience of television are being transformed in the digital age, and televisual leisure opportunities appear inserted both in a transforming media ecosystem and in the everyday life of people. The study provides an idea or overview of television rights and how its effects has been on the Ghana Premier League, a case study of the Ghana Football Association. The key areas for analysis of the effects of television rights on the league was centered on spectatorship, finances of the clubs, marketing which is subdivided into player sales and sponsorship as well as accessibility and production quality. The sample size for the research were Forty - five respondents. Secondary and primary sources of data was used to elicit information from some officials of the Ghana Football Association, some selected football club administrators, selected sport journalists, some selected football fans and some selected Ghana Premier league players in the country. Data was sourced from the respondents through surveys (questionnaires) and in – depth interviews using the mixed methods approach. The study also emphasized on the emerging debate on the centralized and individual systems of television broadcast deals, as to whether the Ghana Premier League clubs should be made to negotiate their television right deals for their home matches individually as in other European leagues.