Football/soccer in the new media age can often appear ubiquitous, dominating much of the mainstream news and current affairs agenda. The vast amounts of money paid to elite soccer players and the inability of young men to cope with this when combined with their media-fuelled celebrity status have frequently made headlines. However at the core of this process is the battle to control a game which has exploited its position as a key "content provider" for new media developments over the last decade.
Based on extensive interviews with key players in the media and soccer industries, "Football in the New Media Age analyzes the impact of media change on the soccer industry. It examines the finances of the game, the importance of rights and rights management in the industry and attempts by clubs themselves to develop their own media capacity. It also explores the key role played by soccer supporters. At the core of the book is an examination of the battle for control of the game as media, business and fans all seek to redefine the sport in the twenty first century.

Introduction: The Game 1. Football and Television: Game On? 2. The Digital Revolution: A Whole New Ball Game? 3. The European Dimension: Power and Influence in New Media Football Markets 4. Commercialising Celebrity: Player Power and Image Rights 5. Battle for Control: Football Clubs and New Media Strategy 6. A League of their Own? The Old Firm and SPL TV 7. The New World Wide Web of Football: Interactivity and the Fan Conclusion: The Only Game? The Media and Football Industry in the 21st Century

Raymond Boyle and Richard Haynes both teach in the Department of Film and Media Studies at the University of Stirling and are members of the Stirling Media Research Institute. Raymond Boyle sits on the Editorial Board of Media, Culture and Society and is co-author of Sport and National Identity in the European Media (1993) and, with Richard Haynes, of Power Play: Sport, the Media and Popular Culture (2000). Richard Haynes is the author of The Football Imagination: The Rise of Football Fanzine Culture (1995).