Sky Sports and TNT Sports accused of Green Football Weekend hypocrisy by fans
Sky Sports and TNT Sports have been accused of hypocrisy by fans for promoting a sustainability initiative while playing a role in scheduling fixtures which increase the sport’s carbon emissions.
Both broadcasters are getting behind Green Football Weekend, which is encouraging football supporters to eat more meat-free meals. Fans can score points for their side by eating veggie meals, while many clubs will be promoting sustainable solutions around their matches this coming weekend.
Sky and TNT are key partners for Green Football Weekend and will show editorial content around the matches they broadcast between February 2 and 5. But their efforts to engage their audience have hit a stumbling block already.
While eating less meat will lower carbon emissions, the initiative has a wider goal. The vast majority of carbon emissions associated with sport – as much as 90 per cent in some cases – come from what are known as “scope 3” sources. Changing how fans travel to matches is the biggest factor in reducing football’s carbon footprint.
This is where Sky and TNT have run into difficulties. A video tweeted from the Sky Sports News account on January 18 of presenter David Garrido talking about the initiative has been viewed 4.3million times – an incredible reach, but unfortunately not for positive reasons.
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One quote-tweet reads: “How can you claim to be promoting a ‘green football weekend’ when you single-handedly cherry pick games to move for TV coverage which makes it impossible for fans to travel using public transport?”
Another, which has been viewed 1.9m times, says: “Sky Sports: promotes a ‘green weekend’ to tackle climate change. Also Sky Sports: puts Bournemouth v Liverpool on at 4.30pm on Sunday, when the last train back to Liverpool is at 5.06pm, takes nearly eight hours, is £100+… oh, and it’s a bus.” The post includes a screenshot showing a proposed journey on public transport back from Bournemouth to Liverpool after the match, which Jurgen Klopp ’s side won 4-0 on January 21.
Encouraging greener travel to matches is vital to reduce carbon emissions (Clive Mason/Getty Images)Another typical reply reads: “Sorry, but TV broadcasters constantly rescheduling of matches so that visiting supporters cannot attend by scheduled rail services makes you part of the problem not the solution.” Another added: “No thanks, not when Sky reschedule fixtures at a whim causing fans to have to take less carbon friendly transport methods. There are countless examples of where TV scheduling has caused transport issues for match going fans”.
The unreliable nature of the UK’s train network is something outside of the control of Sky and TNT, but the strength of feeling around the subject is clearly a problem when promoting something which needs buy-in from fans to make an impact. Sky have bonafide green credentials: they are committed to becoming net-zero by 2050 and staged the first carbon-neutral Premier League match in 2021. Meanwhile, TNT's parent company have signed up to BAFTA’s albert Climate Content Pledge, which means they want to inform audiences of what climate change means for them.
Sky are aware of the negative reaction from some fans towards Green Football Weekend. It should be noted that clubs involved in fixture changes for broadcasting purposes have to approve them and they are also paid a fee which could enable them to put on travel options for match-going fans.
Players wore green armbands last year for Green Football Weekend (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)TNT Sports, meanwhile, are no strangers to the gripe, which has been made famous by Jurgen Klopp. The Liverpool manager has made campaigning against TNT (previously known as BT Sport)’s 12.30pm kick-off slot on Saturdays a personal crusade, getting into heated arguments with the channel’s interviewers on more than one occasion.
TNT Sports have 52 Premier League matches per season in their current agreement. They bought them knowing that the 12.30pm slot on Saturday was theirs’. It was not set by them and they cannot change it – and it won’t change, either, with TNT picking up the same package in the most recent round of bidding in December.
As ever, these issues are liable to be blown out of proportion in the echo chamber of social media where nuanced debate and an exchanging of ideas does not thrive. People do not like being lectured, especially on their lifestyle choices by the channel which usually shows them sport without an agenda.
There is no obvious solution – and broadcasters are always likely to get a somewhat negative backlash on such topics – but the furious reaction should come as a lesson for broadcasters. Promote a worthy initiative, but do it at your own risk.
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