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Sky to stream midweek English Football League games after new £600m TV deal

TheChosenOne

A dislike or neg rep = fat fingers
Dec 13, 2005
47,874
49,708
I reckon I would go for an exclusive Spurs package but I would also sack off all other live matches.

As a second thought I would like to eliminate certain eejit pundits from commenting on our games - such as ex Gooner
Alan Smith and ex Spurs players who also played for Liverpool - they get on my tits - you know who they are.
 

etchedchaos

Well-Known Member
Jun 1, 2006
2,670
5,278
The low fee affecting attendance argument sounds like scaremongering to me. In the US all the major sports have streaming now at a far lower price than what sky is for most people and attendances over there haven't been adversely affected.

Also, offering a streaming service at a price exceeding a season ticket sounds like a great way to turn off alot of people. The key to a streaming service is a manageable price, even the NFL version is less than £10 per game for your own team and that ignores everything else you get (Redzone, NFL Network, every other game).
 

teok

Well-Known Member
Aug 11, 2011
10,836
33,607
Once (or if) Premier League clubs can stream live from their own websites and assuming you would have to pay for it, that will open up another whole bag of worms.

How much of a supporter are you? Will you cough up and smile or continue to source from dodgy sites for free and then have the cheek to complain at how much the club spends on transfers etc etc? Is one possible scenario IMO.

Another is each club having a decent stream to begin with.

Personally, I think If it comes to the PL, Sky should have a dedicated channel for each club and you pay to watch each game seperately or buy a season ticket package for home and away games at a reduced rate.

But either way........How much a supporter are you? Talk the talk or walk the walk?

I think it's an interesting and possibly devisive issue :D

I think as with lots of things football is finally having to face up to what other industries (music/film/tv/video games) had to do decades ago.

The only way they will "beat" the pirates is if they compete on ease of use and price. This will be an incredibly tough pill for them to swallow but as all the other industries have shown they have to make the legal option more attractive than the illegal option.
 

WalkerboyUK

Well-Known Member
Jun 8, 2009
21,658
23,476
Would be interesting to see how it works if it's ever rolled out for PL games.
With this current new process, EPL clubs can choose whether or not to stream games themselves.
Therefore, under that thinking should it spread to PL, what if the smaller clubs choose not to stream??
Presumably it's the choice of the Home team whether or not to stream the game, so if for example Burnley decided against it, there would be no stream of our game at Turf Moor.
That alone makes it difficult for any club to charge a high fee to watch their games, as you might not get all of them.

I'm fully in favour of this happening though, as I generally only watch our games, through other illicit means.
 

WalkerboyUK

Well-Known Member
Jun 8, 2009
21,658
23,476
The low fee affecting attendance argument sounds like scaremongering to me. In the US all the major sports have streaming now at a far lower price than what sky is for most people and attendances over there haven't been adversely affected.

Also, offering a streaming service at a price exceeding a season ticket sounds like a great way to turn off alot of people. The key to a streaming service is a manageable price, even the NFL version is less than £10 per game for your own team and that ignores everything else you get (Redzone, NFL Network, every other game).

But each state only has one or two teams, and there really is no lower level that can be impacted in terms of attendance.
The NFL has no lower divisions.
MLB has no lower divisions.
NBA has no lower divisions.

The fear in the UK is that lower league attendances are impacted because fans may choose to watch their main bigger club than go to their local club.
As an example, Tranmere in the conference could potentially see attendances hit if people were able to watch Liverpool/Everton 3pm kick offs.
It's scare mongering without a doubt, but I do see the thinking behind it.
 

etchedchaos

Well-Known Member
Jun 1, 2006
2,670
5,278
But each state only has one or two teams, and there really is no lower level that can be impacted in terms of attendance.
The NFL has no lower divisions.
MLB has no lower divisions.
NBA has no lower divisions.

The fear in the UK is that lower league attendances are impacted because fans may choose to watch their main bigger club than go to their local club.
As an example, Tranmere in the conference could potentially see attendances hit if people were able to watch Liverpool/Everton 3pm kick offs.
It's scare mongering without a doubt, but I do see the thinking behind it.

That's the 3pm argument but watching a game live in person is much different to watching it via TV or stream. If Sky could not kill off lower league football then streaming certainly won't. All it does is give us, the viewers, the freedom to watch the matches we want instead of being forced to watch whatever game Sky/BT has lined up. Considering the 3pm rule shows absolutely no sign of changing, I fail to see how streaming will adversely affect anyone.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,957
I don't think it would kill off attendances at all. I actually hate watch us on tv. I find it far more stressful than watching it in the stadium. I wonder if a lot of fans feel this way
 

Bobbins

SC's 14th Sexiest Male 2008
May 5, 2005
21,548
45,031
Streaming is the future, and my interest in football in general wanes with each passing season, so being able to only get Spurs games would be the product I'd want. I'll keep up with other games via Final Score or live text but I rarely watch full matches between other clubs anymore as I just don't care very much. I never watch internationals with any interest at all, more out of a sense of duty to see how the Spurs lads are doing.

I actually find lower league football much more interesting these days and spend more time keeping up with the Championship and lower leagues than the PL, and try and get to my local team at least a few times a season.

For me, attendance wouldn't be effected - I only go to a handful of Spurs games a season, and only attend my local team if Spurs aren't playing. I watch Spurs games on Sky or BT with my family round my parents' house and non-televised games I stream.

So a way to get Spurs games on a reliable legitimate stream or dedicated channel is an ideal solution for me. I don't personally think attendances would be effected for us, but I can see smaller clubs suffering in terms of their away support when they're having to travel a long way.
 

Lilbaz

Just call me Baz
Apr 1, 2005
41,363
74,893
The low fee affecting attendance argument sounds like scaremongering to me. In the US all the major sports have streaming now at a far lower price than what sky is for most people and attendances over there haven't been adversely affected.

Also, offering a streaming service at a price exceeding a season ticket sounds like a great way to turn off alot of people. The key to a streaming service is a manageable price, even the NFL version is less than £10 per game for your own team and that ignores everything else you get (Redzone, NFL Network, every other game).

What is the population of america and how many teams are there? What is the average salary of someone who attends in comparrison to the cost of a ticket? What is the cost of streaming in comparrison to the price of a ticket?

It's not as simple as saying it works in america it will work here.
 

werty

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2005
25,074
26,310
I think MLB has seen a decline in attendance since their season pass thing was introduced. Not sure about the NFL, but I know that teams often buy their own tickets to make sure the games aren't blacked-out, so getting real numbers would be near impossible. We're only two weeks into the new season and some games have had dreadful attendances.
 

mightyspur

Now with lovely smooth balls
Aug 21, 2014
9,760
27,014
The simple answer is to ensure a percentage of the fee paid is fed down to lower league clubs. This is untapped revenue for all PL clubs so they can easily distribute it to all clubs
 

WalkerboyUK

Well-Known Member
Jun 8, 2009
21,658
23,476
I think MLB has seen a decline in attendance since their season pass thing was introduced. Not sure about the NFL, but I know that teams often buy their own tickets to make sure the games aren't blacked-out, so getting real numbers would be near impossible. We're only two weeks into the new season and some games have had dreadful attendances.

MLB attendances constantly fluctuate because there are so many games in a season, meaning they often play games at 1pm during the week, which is when a lot of people are at work/school.
Weekend attendances are often pretty high.

In the NFL, Tampa v Chicago attendance was really poor on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Atlanta United set an MLS attendance record on Saturday for their game against Orlando - 70,425!!!!
 

werty

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2005
25,074
26,310
MLB attendances constantly fluctuate because there are so many games in a season, meaning they often play games at 1pm during the week, which is when a lot of people are at work/school.
Weekend attendances are often pretty high.

In the NFL, Tampa v Chicago attendance was really poor on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Atlanta United set an MLS attendance record on Saturday for their game against Orlando - 70,425!!!!
That's always been the case for MLB games before the season pass thing though. Since their season pass came in the attendances have gone down, or so I've heard people say.

Chargers vs Dolphins couldn't sell out a 30,000 seater stadium, and about half of those were west coast Dolphins fans. Rams vs Redskins, and Rams v Colts the week before, looked like the 90th minute of a West Ham home game last season. There looked to be a lot of empty seats in the Falcons - Packers game Sunday night, and that was between two of the best and most exciting teams. There were other games too.

I'm not sure how much it has to do with the NFL Gamepass, but it gives the people an excuse not to go games when they can watch any game they want, or multiple games at the same time, from the comfort of their couch. It could easily happen over here too.
 

WalkerboyUK

Well-Known Member
Jun 8, 2009
21,658
23,476
Rams v Colts was because LA is no longer really a football city.
They've lost the franchise a few times, yet they still try and take it back there.

https://withthefirstpick.com/2017/09/14/nfl-attendance/

As this article points out, a game these days is taking longer and longer to get through because of the amount of commercial breaks (and the length of them).
Every time the ball goes dead, it's another commercial break, which completely ruptures what little flow there is in the game.
NFL is fucked because Goodell has taken away the fun element from it. Can't even celebrate scoring a touchdown these days!
 

tototoner

Staying Alert
Mar 21, 2004
29,387
34,059
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/amazon-google-sky-premier-league-11206082?2

Amazon and Google eye Premier League TV rights as Sky face being left behind in English football's digital revolution

Live streaming Premier League matches looks to be the next frontier when the next TV rights auction rolls around

Sky's dominance of Premier League TV rights in England has been long and profitable, but it is now under serious threat as the world's biggest digital media companies prepare to muscle and take over.

Tennis' ATP World Tour have sold their rights recently to Amazon, rather than Sky in a £50million deal, and there is genuine feeling that the company is now set to move for the Premier League when the next TV rights auction roll around.
Those rights, for three-year packages beginning with the 2019-2020 season, are set to be up for offer later this year.

And with the Premier League increasingly tempting the likes of Amazon, Google and Facebook, the financial bubble in which England's top clubs are engulfed shows little sign of bursting just yet.

Sky are currently paying £11million per match, but they cannot match the financial muscle of Amazon, who purchased Whole Foods for $13.7bn in August and are in an arms race with Apple and Google to become the world's first $1trillion company.

Amazon Prime has become a major winner since the streaming service was unveiled, and continues to battle Netflixto become the most dominant service on the planet. Offering Premier League football live, as well as other PL-related shows in a similar manner to NFL Game Pass, is seen as a potentially major and decisive difference-maker - much like it was for Sky in the early '90s.

With a cash pile few can match, Amazon have been making public noises about the moves they're making and "starting to bring live sports to our Prime members all over the world."

Google are also viewed as potential bidders for the English territory rights, having shown interest before, and are increasingly well placed to buy rights and show them via YouTube.

However, there are suggestions that Google are eyeing not just the English rights, but are actively seeking a deal with the Premier League to buy ALL global packages, completely dominating the landscape.

The Premier League are understood to have little interest in one package encompassing all rights, and are keen to continue doing it by territory, meaning if Google did purchase certain rights, matches would be shown in one territory while being geo-blocked elsewhere.

Yet, the Premier League are well aware that traditional broadcasters are losing subscribers - in 2016, ESPN were losing up to 10,000 US subscribers every day - and multi-platform distribution is likely to be the way forward. As Ofcom made clear in its recent study on changing viewing habits, 63 per cent said they used BBC iPlayer regularly. Certainly, Richard Scudamore has been saying as much.

"We envisage anybody really being able to come along and bid for those rights," he told the Times last month. "We would need distribution criteria and to make sure it was readily available across platforms and everything else but as long as it was widely available and distributed properly we wouldn't rule them out."

For Scudamore, there is also however the threat of something of a hostile takeover, with Google or Amazon purchasing all rights across the planet, strong-arming their way into a position where they in effect have total control over the Premier League, or, should they wish, Amazon.

In terms of the English rights, Sky remain confident of continuing their 25-plus year association with the Premier League. But the likelihood that they have to fork out an increased amount again, as more potential suitors show their hand, has substantially increased.

Should those suitors go all in, Sky, despite their relationship with the league, may well be left facing the beginning of the end.

BT, who own two of the seven packages, could also be squeezed out, while the Premier League have intensified their crackdown on the illegal streaming of matches in recent months, against free Kodi and Mobdro apps.

The High Court has passed a "blocking order" in favour of the organisation that will force internet service providers to shut down any server being used to broadcast a game.

“The protection of our copyright, and the investment made by our broadcast partners, is hugely important to the Premier League and the future health of English football," declared Kevin Plumb, the Premier League's director of legal services, when the announcement was made back in July.

The order covers the 2017-18 season and has been described as a "game-changer" in the fight against online piracy, as bosses at the organisation work vehemently to protect rights currently levelled at £5.1 billion.

Netflix meanwhile have contacted a number of clubs, including Liverpool and Chelsea, about possible pre-season documentaries.

Both La Liga and Major League Soccer have already made the move into legal online streaming, having both paired with Facebook.

MLS announced a deal back in Marchfor at least 22 games from the 2017 regular season to be broadcast on the social media channel.

That meant matches produced with mobile devices in mind - featuring Facebook-specific commentators and features allowing viewers to engage directly with the commentary team during games - as MLS bid to drive up their social media presence and engagement with supporters, as the league aims to continue its growth.

Facebook have now also made a bid to show cricket's Indian Premier League

That followed Twitter , who in 2016 took to live streaming the Thursday night game in NFL, only for Amazon themselves to take over those duties for the season which began two weeks ago.

Upon that announcement, Jeff Blackburn, Senior Vice President, Business Development & Entertainment at Amazon declared: "Our focus is on bringing customers the best premium video programming, when and how they want to watch it. Streaming Thursday Night Football on Prime Video is a great step for us toward that vision, and offers tremendous new value for Prime members around the world."

Certainly, that digital revolution shows no sign of stopping. The Premier League will either join up - whether through choice or through force - or risk being left behind.
 
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