Comments on: The Premier League vs the internet

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:48:32 +0000

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.

By: Mustafa

Mustafa — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:49:20 +0000

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)

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:55:32 +0000

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.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:14:18 +0000

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.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:50:17 +0000

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.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:16:07 +0000

“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.

By: Abby

Abby — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:15:38 +0000

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?

By: alessio

alessio — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 01:21:49 +0000

I’d like to write a post sometime about how the EPL and Serie A and all of them are doing everything wrong.

The NFL (sorry brits) is the example. Maybe not the “international game” but the marketing and media power in the United States is incredible. It’s Monday Night Football tonight, on ESPN (a cable network, not general broadcast) yet anyone can go on NFL.com and watch 5, yes, not 1, but 5 different cameras of the broadcast. Check their website, you can find highlights of damn near any game. Not to mention their channel on YouTube.

By: Johonna

Johonna — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:45:05 +0000

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.