West Ham reduce ticket prices after record television deal

West Ham have become the first club to announce they will reduce season ticket prices as a result of the Premier League's record television deal.

Sky and BT Sport have paid £5.13bn for live Premier League television rights for three seasons from 2016-17.

West Ham's cheapest adult season ticket that season will cost £289, down from between £620 and £940 for the 2014-15 campaign.

The 2016-17 season will be the club's first at the Olympic Stadium.

West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady said: "We have always said that the move to our magnificent new stadium would be a game changer for West Ham.

"It was a chance to increase revenue, invest in the team and improve our performance on the pitch, but without putting an extra financial burden on the supporters who already come to watch every home match.

"This announcement proves we have kept our promise."

Although the cost of season tickets at West Ham are rising for the 2015-16 season by a maximum of 5%, they will fall again for the following campaign as the new television deal begins.

The Olympic Stadium will have 19,000 more seats than the 35,016 at West Ham's current home, Upton Park.

The club is paying £2m a year to rent their new ground.

If they are still in the Premier League in 2016-17, the club say their cheapest adult season tickets will cost £289, which means fans will pay £15.20 for each of their 19 home league games.

All season tickets for under-16s will be cut to £99 - or £5.21 per match.

These banners appeared at Selhurst Park during the Crystal Palace v Arsenal match in February

Since the television deal was announced, there have been protests at a number of Premier League clubs, including Crystal Palace and Liverpool, as supporters vent their anger at the cost of watching football.

BBC Sport's Price of Football survey showed that 15 of the 20 Premier League teams offered cheaper 2014-15 season tickets than West Ham.

Manchester City had the cheapest tickets at £299.

Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters' Federation, has called for more clubs to drop ticket prices.

"Any reduction is welcome, so two cheers for West Ham for that," he told BBC Sport.

"But before we give them three cheers, we await to see what they do about price categories, what they do about away fans and what they do with ordinary admission.

"We're hopeful this is the first of many moves by the clubs to significantly reduce ticket prices. We will definitely keep up the pressure to ensure it happens.

"Now the other clubs have a year to respond, so let's see who can offer the lowest season ticket in a year's time."

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said: "West Ham's announcement is further evidence that Premier League clubs do offer stretch pricing and think about providing opportunities for families and young people when considering ticket offers for their fans."