The Premier League vs the internet

By: Daryl | November 3rd, 2008

The Premier League and the English FA have apparently caught on to the internet streaming phenomenon. And they’re not too happy about what they see. Especially at sites like justin.tv where Premier League games are available for free as internet streams of variable quality.

So brace yourselves for the chapter two of the Premier League vs the internet. It’s a contest the Premier League will never win. Here’s why:

Remember the last time the Premier League suits got all upset about the internet? They saw Premier League goals being shared on YouTube, had a seizure and unleashed their legal attack dog NetResult to takedown as much content as possible.

NetResult did the dirty work, and Premier League highlights no longer last very long on YouTube. But unfortunately for NetResult (and fortunately for football fans) YouTube isn’t the only video hosting site in the world. So goals can still be shared and discussed amongst fans over the internet. Don’t believe me? Here’s Roman Pavlyuchenko’s winner for Spurs against Liverpool, via sapo.pt.

The Premier League are about to do the same dance over internet streams, probably with the same result. Here’s their painfully poor argument via News of the World:

“The streaming of live Premier League matches without permission is not only illegal, but also unfair on fans who have paid to go to matches or subscribed to Sky and Setanta. Their support means clubs can buy and develop the best players possible and invest in bigger, better and safer grounds.”

Which is a PR-spin-tastic way of saying that the Premier League’s TV revenues will be in danger if the streaming phenomenon continues. I know fear when I smell it.

So what are the Premier League going to do? They’ll likely have NetResult take down the more popular sites like justin.tv, and then pull their hair out in frustration as other sites pop up to replace it. Rinse and repeat. If the Premier League keeps treating the internet like the enemy, it’s going to lose.

Some Related Stories:

Category: English Premier League

« 4 Games, 3 Draws: How Things Stand in the MLS Playoffs | Home | 10 Things We Learned in the Premier League »

The Offside RSS Feeds

Josh

In a society fueled by capitalism, why not go for the cheapest, most convenient route? I used to listen to League games on Arsenal TV, but then I found streams and I haven't missed a game all year. If they find a way to keep me from watching games, I'm not going to be as big of a fan. Also, because I love Arsenal so much, I've bought licensed clothing, so we're STILL more or less giving them money because of the interest in the sport brought on by streams.
Mustafa

I have Fox soccer channel, and as such, I can only watch the matches that they have pre-selected... so, while some weeks I get to watch my beloved Spurs, or a Chelsea-Man Utd match, some weeks we are left with "Bolton vs. Fulham", which sends me straight to my PC to stream the Spurs' match, and much like Laurie, Abby, and Johonna, I wouldn't mind paying a little extra for a high-quality stream with the English announcers...

Also, no one wants to be sitting at their desk watching a match on a 17 inch screen... we only watch the matches on streams or the highlights from these foreign websites because we don't get to watch them on the TV (or we're too damn cheap to buy the channels on which the matches are shown)
Jim

Back in 2002 a whole host of Football League clubs did a block deal with a company called Premium TV to provide official club websites. Those sites include a "World" subscriber option - for £35 a year you get access to exclusive interview and news content, plus post-match highlights and analysis and live match commentary for each League game, home and away.

Sounds cheap - and it is. Cheap however tends to come with issues. The live commentary varies dramatically in terms of quality, with buffering and dropping a major problem, as well as being up to 90 seconds behind the live action broadcast on the radio. Highlights used to be downloadable but no longer are. And for the same lame DRM reasons, it's only available if you are running Windows and IE. Mac/Unix users are completely disenfranchised.

How much the clubs got for selling these rights is a closely guarded secret. What is a matter of record is the length of time they were sold for. Twenty-five years. League clubs, my own included, are tied into a sub-standard, closed-platform product with no prospect of being able to renegotiate new media rights until 2026. Unsurprisingly, most Premiership clubs preferred to sort themselves out on a club-by-club basis....which is why there is no collective Premiership deal for new media, unless you count whatever it is sky.com offer.
Rick

NBA.com just introduced league pass broadband for 99 dollars(85 until november 11). national games are blacked out but all games are archived for later viewing. Why can't the EPL or La Liga do this? for 90 dollars a season or so, i put the money down.
Laurie

b) guarenteed its not going to fall over after 20 minutes

You obviously haven't watched my Setanta broadband stream recently. :-)

Johonna, Setanta broadband is available in Seattle for something like $150 a year. I've subscribed for two years but am undecided about renewing. They do have France games semi-frequently, but not always live. But I'm lucky to get one Ligue 1 game a week. The focus is mostly EPL, which really doesn't interest me.

I wish there were a site for only Ligue 1 games. I'd willingly pay for that.
Rob

"Its unfair to those who have subscribed to Setanta"

- Well no, they're a) guarenteed a stream, b) guarenteed its not going to fall over after 20 minutes c) guarenteed good quality.

I don't complain about any of those things when its free, because its free, its the risk you take. But the assumption that its the same watching a blocky stream as watching it on your telly at home is silly.

Not to mention the fact that not everyone lives somewhere where every game is broadcast.
Abby

Seriously, Johonna. I would pay good money for reliable, high-quality Bundesliga streams. They don't show enough on TV and never my team- can't this be a source of revenue too?
Johonna

This so annoys me! I dont have Sky or Setanta as an option. I would subscribe to something if I could, but here in Seattle, Washington, it is just not available.

I just dont get why the EPL and Ligue 1 and Serie A and the Bundesliga dont get on the internet bandwagon and have their own subscription streaming sites? I used SerieA.tv last year and it was freakin' awesome. I would much rather pay for a reliable, high-quality stream than try to watch an iffy pirate one for free.