In the fast-changing arena of sports media, football has taken the DTC (direct-to-consumer) model and sprinted ahead of the pack. No longer content with third-party coverage or sporadic highlights, clubs across the English football pyramid are now broadcasting their own stories, building content empires to engage fans and generate revenue — whether they’re Champions League contenders or grassroots battlers.
The shift is as much about survival as it is strategy. In the past, football fans had few options: newspapers, radio, or premium-rate hotlines. Today, that model has been turned inside out. With social media and affordable streaming tech now the norm, clubs can broadcast directly to supporters, bypassing traditional media gatekeepers. And crucially, fans — especially younger ones — are expecting it.
Few clubs have embraced this more comprehensively than Manchester City. The Premier League champions have built an in-house media operation that rivals some national broadcasters. City Studios boasts two state-of-the-art production spaces — one at their training facility and another in the Etihad Stadium. A third is already in development as part of the stadium’s North Stand expansion. Backed by a creative team of over 80 staff, Manchester City’s output is prolific. Their Together: Treble Winners docuseries, which premiered on Netflix in April 2024, was entirely self-produced, an industry first.
But 50 miles south, a different story is unfolding with the same mission in mind. Newcastle Town FC, competing in the Northern Premier League Division One South East, may lack City’s resources, but their ambition is strikingly similar. Surrounded by stiff local competition, the club has made DTC content an essential part of its growth strategy.
“For us, content production is non-negotiable,” says Newcastle Town Chairman Gavin Appleby. “The club has been producing its own multimedia content since 2012 and has developed its accounts with a range of content across all platforms.”
Unlike the Premier League elite, Newcastle Town’s operation is powered by volunteers and university partnerships. Using borrowed VEO cameras, GoPros, smartphones and free editing software, their small team tells stories from under-fives to senior squads — capturing the full heartbeat of the club. Despite the limited kit, the impact is undeniable: every post, clip, or livestream brings fans closer and pushes ticket sales that much higher.
Appleby adds: “We have learned that we need to invest in both equipment and personnel if we want to get better at it, because giving it as an ad-hoc project to someone else doesn’t work as well. It needs real focus and effort.”
At the opposite end of the pyramid, City’s Head of First Team Content, John De Caux, underscores the importance of cultural integration in their approach. His production team doesn’t just film; they play a role in the ecosystem. “I think the crucial thing now is we’re seen by management as backroom staff rather than as a content team,” he says. “Just as they have specialist medics and specialist chefs, they see us as specialist videographers.”
The result is not just compelling footage, but trust — the cornerstone of effective storytelling. For top-tier clubs, content drives global fanbase growth and commercial returns. For smaller clubs, it’s the difference between fading into irrelevance and staying alive.
As expectations rise and competition intensifies across all divisions, DTC content is no longer a nice-to-have — it’s mission-critical. Whether it’s in front of 55,000 fans at the Etihad or 500 at Red Industries Stadium, one thing is clear: the broadcast game has changed forever, and football is all in.
