Arsenal fans donated just under £6,000 to Islington Giving in 20 hours, in a protest against the £14.95 Premier League pay per view charge.

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 09: The Arsenal Foundation And HIS Church Deliver Food Parcels for Local Residents at Emirates stadium on April 09, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: The Arsenal Foundation And HIS Church Deliver Food Parcels for Local Residents on April 09, 2020. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust set up a campaign against the £14.95 pay per view charge this week, suggesting fans boycott the weekend fixture against Leicester City and donate the money to Islington Giving instead.

The campaign got off to a great start, with £6,000 donated in the first 20 hours after it started. Feel free to join the donation wave yourself here.

The £14.95 charge certainly doesn’t make any sense. You can sign up for Now TV for 24 hours and watch any games on Sky for £10, and that might include multiple matches depending on the day.

So why is it an extra £4.95 for just one game, more money for less content?

The EFL’s iFollow service has a £10 charge per game, with much smaller fanbases than the likes of Arsenal. So they’re bringing in significantly less money than the Premier League would by charging £10 a game, and they’re still finding enough to broadcast.

The recent League Cup game against Leicester City, which Arsenal fans also had to pay to stream, was also £10. Though there were some grumbles, there weren’t any campaigns and boycotts against that.

The price point was clearly a huge blunder, and if they don’t fix it quickly, supporters will lose interest in paying anything at all.

In the meantime, it’s great that the money is going to a much more worthy cause.