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Fifa loses free-to-air World Cup TV battle







Colossal Squid

Returning video tapes
Feb 11, 2010
4,906
Under the sea
Good. There's precious little good sport left on free to air TV. Stealing the World Cup and European Championships from us would have been a pisstake
 


albionite

Well-known member
May 20, 2009
2,753
It is good it is remaining on free tv but to be fair sky do better coverage than bbc and itv.

It does tell you all you need to know that fifa have no interest on getting as many people as they can to see and enjoy the greatest game on earth, just how much money is in it for them.
 


The Large One

Who's Next?
Jul 7, 2003
52,343
97.2FM
It is good it is remaining on free tv but to be fair sky do better coverage than bbc and itv.

It does tell you all you need to know that fifa have no interest on getting as many people as they can to see and enjoy the greatest game on earth, just how much money is in it for them.

Highly subjective.

Personally, I find Sky pretty insufferable, especially its blow-wave SSN Channel.
 


beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,302
Fifa earned a minimum of $2bn in TV and media rights deals for the South Africa 2010 World Cup, and Uefa makes hundreds of millions of dollars from the sale of its TV rights to the European Championships.

and what exactly do they do with this money? it cant all go on junkets shirely? Its hardly going to imrpove football by ringfencing who can watch it. in fact it should have a stated aim to always make the tournements on free to air, to allow the great possible number of viewers.
 






Sheebo

Well-known member
Jul 13, 2003
29,287
I believe the Home Ashes decision is due this year - ie Home Ashes matches may be moved back to free to air...
 


tinycowboy

Well-known member
Aug 9, 2008
4,002
Canterbury
I hate FIFA, but I'm aware that some of this hatred may come from the fact that our English media make it their business to bash them whenever possible. Anyway, needless to say, I LOVE this news - bad luck FIFA, looks like our quaint belief in preserving important sporting occasions for the enjoyment of all and not just those who want to/can afford to have Sky has legal status, unlike your tawdry money-grabbing, revenue-maximising attempts to shaft us. The Law has spoken and Justice has been done.
 




brakespear

Doctor Worm
Feb 24, 2009
12,326
Sleeping on the roof
I believe the Home Ashes decision is due this year - ie Home Ashes matches may be moved back to free to air...
That would be utterly fantastic if they came back to free-to-view, but I can't see it happening :( Nothing I miss more on TV than live cricket.
 


ropey9

Active member
Feb 25, 2009
181
It is good it is remaining on free tv but to be fair sky do better coverage than bbc and itv.

It does tell you all you need to know that fifa have no interest on getting as many people as they can to see and enjoy the greatest game on earth, just how much money is in it for them.

But sky wouldn't be doing the coverage just picking up a feed, like the BBC / ITV do.
 


Sheebo

Well-known member
Jul 13, 2003
29,287
That would be utterly fantastic if they came back to free-to-view, but I can't see it happening :( Nothing I miss more on TV than live cricket.

I googled it the other day as I remember them saying it was gonna happend. This was in 2009. Since then they've delayed the decision. We'll see....
 








spring hall convert

Well-known member
Nov 3, 2009
9,608
Brighton
I believe the Home Ashes decision is due this year - ie Home Ashes matches may be moved back to free to air...

I didn't know about this. It's amazing to think how far cricket coverage has moved on since it was last on the BEEB, first with C4 and then Sky. Any broadcaster taking this on would have huge shoes to fill.

I genuinely think they should make the domestic 20/20 free to air. I doubt it gets great viewing figures for Sky & it would be a good opportunity to get the kids into cricket, showing the most user friendly version of the game.
 




Colossal Squid

Returning video tapes
Feb 11, 2010
4,906
Under the sea
That would be utterly fantastic if they came back to free-to-view, but I can't see it happening :( Nothing I miss more on TV than live cricket.

Spot on.

The trouble is that whilst I can easily go down the sports pub to catch the odd 90 minutes of a football match I want to see, it just isn't practical for test match cricket to turn up at the pub on day one and keep going until the game is over. I need to be able to watch it at home and at work, not just down the pub.
 


Official Old Man

Uckfield Seagull
Aug 27, 2011
8,544
Brighton
I googled it the other day as I remember them saying it was gonna happend. This was in 2009. Since then they've delayed the decision. We'll see....
I'm sure it was pre 2009, maybe Germany 2006 and thus mentioned in 2003, that a German PPV channel had purchased the world rights and to sell them on only Sky in the UK could afford them. All changed by the time it came about though.
Regarding the Ashes on terrestrial TV. Look at the Open on BBC right now. OK they are throwing everything at it with live coverage all day on BBC2 but my wife is moaning she has lost some of her progs. No other broadcaster can cover any all day sport without a dedicated channel. That said, why not put the golf on the red button? Doesn't everyone now have digital?
 


halbpro

Well-known member
Jan 25, 2012
2,862
Brighton
I'm sure it was pre 2009, maybe Germany 2006 and thus mentioned in 2003, that a German PPV channel had purchased the world rights and to sell them on only Sky in the UK could afford them. All changed by the time it came about though.
Regarding the Ashes on terrestrial TV. Look at the Open on BBC right now. OK they are throwing everything at it with live coverage all day on BBC2 but my wife is moaning she has lost some of her progs. No other broadcaster can cover any all day sport without a dedicated channel. That said, why not put the golf on the red button? Doesn't everyone now have digital?

Yes, you have to have digital now. Just waiting for the BBC to catch up to this fact.
 


Oct 25, 2003
23,964
at times channel 4's cricket coverage could be infuriating. Apart from the ashes they didn't seem terribly fussed and would quite often interrupt coverage for horse racing/how clean is your garden in the attic/whatever. This was before everyone had digital and i remember them often farming out cricket coverage to one of their digital channels for an hour here and there.

Because of the length of cricket it's very difficult for a terrestrial channel to do it justice as they have to sacrifice their entire schedule for 5 days at a time (of course, we all know that daytime tv is shit anyway). Sky do a very good job of cricket imo
 






melias shoes

Well-known member
Oct 14, 2010
4,830
It is good it is remaining on free tv but to be fair sky do better coverage than bbc and itv.

It does tell you all you need to know that fifa have no interest on getting as many people as they can to see and enjoy the greatest game on earth, just how much money is in it for them.

Disagree with you there. I hate Sky's coverage. I would never pay to watch it. It's great that it stays free to watch. Hard luck fifa 'you money grabbing,couldn't care if you can't afford to watch football even on your TVs pieces of shit'.:rant:
 


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