[newaccountfool]

Not all pubs cant accept hundreds of people within there premises. And large crowds are only attracted for big games which are few and far between.

[mikeash]

If showing games can't bring in an extra 700£/month then it hardly seems worth showing them to begin with.

I can't blame pub owners for wanting to save money wherever they can. But I don't see this as being particularly expensive for the context.

[mod]

(American) pub owner here.

700£/month would be an absolutely massive expense in my place, and there's essentially no chance we could afford it. We don't get much draw for sporting events, even the Superbowl or what have you.

That doesn't mean that everyone in the place during the Superbowl doesn't want it on, though.

So although it couldn't possibly pay for itself at my place, not having it would also cost us quite a lot when there are big games.

[newaccountfool]

I can see this being the problem for most small pubs in the UK as well. The UK is full of small local pubs that work on very small margins.