ManU is "counting the cost of failing to qualify" for the Champions League, having "suffered a double-digit decline in television broadcasting and ticketing revenue," according to Kadhim Shubber of the FINANCIAL TIMES. ManU said its revenue was down 10% year-on-year in the three months to Sept. 30. This fall had been "widely expected after last season's failure to qualify" for the Champions League, a "lucrative source of publicity and income for European clubs." It was the first time ManU had not taken part in the tournament since the mid-'90s. Commercial revenue -- which includes sponsorship and merchandise sales, and now accounts for the majority of the club's income -- fell 5% to £56.8M (FT, 11/18). The PA's Martyn Ziegler reported revenue for the three months ending Sept. 30 was £88.7M, down
£9.8M ($15.3M) compared to £98.5M for the same period a year ago, a
9.9% drop. ManU's spending on employee benefits for the quarter fell by £3.5M ($5.5M), or
6.6%, to £49.4M, "primarily to lower player wages," the club said in a statement. ManU Exec Vice-Chair Ed Woodward "confirmed the fall in revenue was mainly due to the absence from Europe." Woodward: "While we recognize that the 2014/15 fiscal year financial
results will reflect our absence from the Champions League, we signed
the largest kit sponsorship deal in the history of sport in the first
quarter and, with that concluded, we are excited to focus our efforts on
the meaningful growth opportunities in sponsorship, digital media and
retail and merchandising" (PA, 11/18).
