Albion's televised clash with Leeds United at the Amex on Monday evening is more than just a conflict on the pitch.
The difference in attitude of the Championship rivals to the match being moved back 48 hours for live screening by the Sky cameras is far greater than the 22 points and 13 places dividing them in the table.
It would be reflected more accurately if Albion were sailing clear at the top and Leeds were tailed off at the bottom. They are on totally opposite sides of the argument.
Massimo Cellino is incensed. The controversial Leeds chairman is embroiled in a bitter dispute with the Football League over television rights.
Albion chief executive Paul Barber, an elected member of the Football League Board, is an unashamed advocate of TV's contribution to the game.
Cellino's fury centres around the amount of control Sky have in exchange for their £100 million-a-year contract with the Football League.
The long trip south to the Amex will be the 11th time Leeds have featured in a live TV game this season.
Cellino has been at war with the governing body for months.
He initially refused Sky entry for the match against Derby at Elland Road on December 29. Leeds eventually relented and allowed the broadcaster access.
The League took out an injunction to force Leeds to play their tenth televised match of the campaign at home to Middlesbrough earlier this month.
The game was moved at less than four weeks' notice, although the League said this was due to a legal challenge by Leeds.
All 72 clubs were represented at a recent special meeting in Milton Keynes convened by the League. They were briefed by chief executive Shaun Harvey about the dispute angrily playing out behind the scenes with his old club.
Leeds say they are in favour of collective bargaining. Reports have suggested they want to negotiate an individual TV contract but this is impossible under the terms of the League deal they have signed up to.
Paul Bell, the executive director of Leeds, said: "The club has made it clear to both Sky and the League that it opposes the degree of control exercised by Sky over the league fixture list, and seeks transparency as to how these rights have been sold."
Bell also denies Leeds are a lone voice. He said: "This is far from the truth."
There is some sympathy for their stance, even among Albion supporters tired of the disruption to the fixture programme.
The Seagulls are almost as popular with Sky as Leeds. Monday's match is the eighth time they have been on TV this season, five at the Amex and three away.
The exposure has pocketed them £590,000 (£100,000 for each home game, £30,000 away).
The home game against promotion rivals Burnley on April 2 has also been chosen by Sky, altering the kick-off time from 3pm to 12.30pm.
Mark Pritchard, a West Stand season ticket holder, vented his "extreme annoyance and frustration at the frankly diabolical and cavalier changes" in an email to the club and The Argus.
He said: "I wholly sympathise with Leeds. Those of us that live outside Sussex (and work in Kent) have no option but to drive to these evening games, if we are able to get there at all, as it is all but impossible to get home afterwards.
"I have been a season ticket holder at Gillingham, Withdean and now Falmer but am seriously doubting I will be next season as I can only see the situation deteriorating further."
That will certainly be the case if Albion are promoted to the Premier League, where the financial rewards and accompanying obligations dwarf the Football League deal.
Barber accepts some fans are disappointed but says a "good number", who cannot get to games at all or benefit from the revised dates and kick-off times, welcome the changes.
Unable to comment on the specifics of the Leeds case for legal reasons, he has nevertheless made his position clear in a lengthy defence of the TV benefits.
Barber said: "Such exposure brings plenty of positives for our club. The additional revenue we receive every time the club is on live TV helps us to give Chris Hughton a bigger transfer budget, but it's also worth noting that the television money actually helps clubs like ours to keep ticket prices lower.
"The Football League's broadcast contract is one which is signed with the support of all 72 clubs for the benefit of all 72 clubs. Every member club is party to the contract and every member club benefits from it – both in terms of a lump sum payment and for each selected match.
Article continues after...[h=3]More Articles[/h]
"Indeed, some of the League's smallest clubs, who might not receive any live TV exposure or additional fees in a season, still rely on this vital income stream – just as we at the Albion did not that long ago – to pay wages or, in some cases, for their very survival.
"In recent years, TV money has also been reinvested throughout the game to improve stadia, facilities, and to develop young players. Squad sizes have also expanded, wages have risen and the wider football industry – clubs, leagues, businesses and services supplying the game – now provide more employment for more people than ever before, boosting economies all over the UK.
"With additional global TV deals now in place for the Football League (and Premier League), these contracts, creating vast exposure for clubs, also help to generate additional revenue for clubs by way of new and more valuable sponsorship revenues and increased merchandise sales."
Barber added: "For me, a balance remains vital. Football needs TV – and TV needs football. And the football industry needs the noise and the passion of supporters to create the TV spectacle. Football simply wouldn't be the same without supporters at the game – and we mustn't ever forget this."
Original article
The difference in attitude of the Championship rivals to the match being moved back 48 hours for live screening by the Sky cameras is far greater than the 22 points and 13 places dividing them in the table.
It would be reflected more accurately if Albion were sailing clear at the top and Leeds were tailed off at the bottom. They are on totally opposite sides of the argument.
Massimo Cellino is incensed. The controversial Leeds chairman is embroiled in a bitter dispute with the Football League over television rights.
Albion chief executive Paul Barber, an elected member of the Football League Board, is an unashamed advocate of TV's contribution to the game.
Cellino's fury centres around the amount of control Sky have in exchange for their £100 million-a-year contract with the Football League.
The long trip south to the Amex will be the 11th time Leeds have featured in a live TV game this season.
Cellino has been at war with the governing body for months.
He initially refused Sky entry for the match against Derby at Elland Road on December 29. Leeds eventually relented and allowed the broadcaster access.
The League took out an injunction to force Leeds to play their tenth televised match of the campaign at home to Middlesbrough earlier this month.
The game was moved at less than four weeks' notice, although the League said this was due to a legal challenge by Leeds.
All 72 clubs were represented at a recent special meeting in Milton Keynes convened by the League. They were briefed by chief executive Shaun Harvey about the dispute angrily playing out behind the scenes with his old club.
Leeds say they are in favour of collective bargaining. Reports have suggested they want to negotiate an individual TV contract but this is impossible under the terms of the League deal they have signed up to.
Paul Bell, the executive director of Leeds, said: "The club has made it clear to both Sky and the League that it opposes the degree of control exercised by Sky over the league fixture list, and seeks transparency as to how these rights have been sold."
Bell also denies Leeds are a lone voice. He said: "This is far from the truth."
There is some sympathy for their stance, even among Albion supporters tired of the disruption to the fixture programme.
The Seagulls are almost as popular with Sky as Leeds. Monday's match is the eighth time they have been on TV this season, five at the Amex and three away.
The exposure has pocketed them £590,000 (£100,000 for each home game, £30,000 away).
The home game against promotion rivals Burnley on April 2 has also been chosen by Sky, altering the kick-off time from 3pm to 12.30pm.
Mark Pritchard, a West Stand season ticket holder, vented his "extreme annoyance and frustration at the frankly diabolical and cavalier changes" in an email to the club and The Argus.
He said: "I wholly sympathise with Leeds. Those of us that live outside Sussex (and work in Kent) have no option but to drive to these evening games, if we are able to get there at all, as it is all but impossible to get home afterwards.
"I have been a season ticket holder at Gillingham, Withdean and now Falmer but am seriously doubting I will be next season as I can only see the situation deteriorating further."
That will certainly be the case if Albion are promoted to the Premier League, where the financial rewards and accompanying obligations dwarf the Football League deal.
Barber accepts some fans are disappointed but says a "good number", who cannot get to games at all or benefit from the revised dates and kick-off times, welcome the changes.
Unable to comment on the specifics of the Leeds case for legal reasons, he has nevertheless made his position clear in a lengthy defence of the TV benefits.
Barber said: "Such exposure brings plenty of positives for our club. The additional revenue we receive every time the club is on live TV helps us to give Chris Hughton a bigger transfer budget, but it's also worth noting that the television money actually helps clubs like ours to keep ticket prices lower.
"The Football League's broadcast contract is one which is signed with the support of all 72 clubs for the benefit of all 72 clubs. Every member club is party to the contract and every member club benefits from it – both in terms of a lump sum payment and for each selected match.
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"Indeed, some of the League's smallest clubs, who might not receive any live TV exposure or additional fees in a season, still rely on this vital income stream – just as we at the Albion did not that long ago – to pay wages or, in some cases, for their very survival.
"In recent years, TV money has also been reinvested throughout the game to improve stadia, facilities, and to develop young players. Squad sizes have also expanded, wages have risen and the wider football industry – clubs, leagues, businesses and services supplying the game – now provide more employment for more people than ever before, boosting economies all over the UK.
"With additional global TV deals now in place for the Football League (and Premier League), these contracts, creating vast exposure for clubs, also help to generate additional revenue for clubs by way of new and more valuable sponsorship revenues and increased merchandise sales."
Barber added: "For me, a balance remains vital. Football needs TV – and TV needs football. And the football industry needs the noise and the passion of supporters to create the TV spectacle. Football simply wouldn't be the same without supporters at the game – and we mustn't ever forget this."
Original article