[Albion] No more blanket TV coverage

Bozza · Jul 13, 2020

Although the last 92 fixtures in the 2019-20 Premier League campaign had to take place behind closed doors, at least all of them will be shown live on television.

However, The Athletic has learned that this was a one-off move in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Premier League will go back to its normal UK broadcast model next season, even though top-flight stadiums are expected to remain at least partially shut in the coming months.

UK broadcast rights are divided between Sky Sports and BT Sport, with Amazon set to show 20 matches during the 2020-21 season. The BBC has shown four matches of the resumed 2019-20 season but will return to showing highlights when the current campaign ends.

The development will deny huge numbers the chance to watch games either inside grounds or in real-time on TV and come as a particular blow to fans who have decided against renewing their season tickets, either because of health concerns or uncertainty over how many matches they can attend.

The decision also raises understandable fears of a rise in the illegal streaming, which according to one study cost Premier League clubs around £1 million of revenue per fixture in 2018-19.

More >>> https://theathletic.com/1922323/ (Athletic paywall)

Green Cross Code Man · Jul 13, 2020

Rubbish decision that they will regret. I have loved being able to watch our games. Surely will only encourage more streaming from less ethical sources.

Maybe the club could charge for showing its matches?

Taybha · Jul 13, 2020

Good , I've missed so many say yes to the dress episodes , I need to catch up .

albionfan37 · Jul 13, 2020

That’s pretty scandalous and a decision they will most definitely regret

Neville's Breakfast · Jul 13, 2020

Green Cross Code Man said:
Rubbish decision that they will regret. I have loved being able to watch our games. Surely will only encourage more streaming from less ethical sources.

Maybe the club could charge for showing its matches?

I would imagine charging per game is what this decision is all about. For Sky and BT subscribers we have had something extra for free for a short while (live football every day) but it is a marketing operation to get us to pay later on. It looks like it will be the club we will be paying.

BBassic · Jul 13, 2020

They're mad, genuinely mad.

I've thought a few times that if Sky / BT offered a £20 a month football subscription for the length of time that the stadiums remain closed they'd rake it in.

As others have said all this will do is drive people back to streaming the games.

Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ · Jul 13, 2020

I don't understand why in this day and age the Premier League don't just stream the games themselves. How hard can it be? Do away with the broadcasters and rake in even more money for themselves.

dwayne · Jul 13, 2020

This must be part of the negotiation tactics. Genuinely no point in having football anymore if you can't watch the bloody games legally.

Idiotic.

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highflyer · Jul 13, 2020

Bozza said:
The decision also raises understandable fears of a rise in the illegal streaming, which according to one study cost Premier League clubs around £1 million of revenue per fixture in 2018-19.)

Well I suspect that's rubbish. They have no way of knowing how many of those streaming would have paid for if somehow streaming was successfully closed down (it won't be).

I certainly wouldn't. If I can't get a decent stream I listen on the radio.

They need to think differently in my view. Think how to keep football alive as a locally supported, spectator sport for the many. Keep the fan base that includes the millions (billions globally) who are about to get hammered by a major recession. People who will be struggling financially, but who need football more than ever as a distraction from the current and future sh*tstorm.

But no, it's all about keeping the short term profits flowing, the stupid salaries and the lavish corporate hospitality. And sod the supporters.

The greedy greedy f*ckers.

Guinness Boy · Jul 13, 2020

I don't have an Athletic subscription so cannot see the whole thing but a few thoughts occurred.

1) This is probably contractual. The TV money must be based on a certain number of games for a certain number of broadcasters. With Covid on the decline it's harder to claim special circumstances.
2) If the football is behind closed doors then you'd hope there was an option for STHs to stream legally via username and password.
3) Might be a bit of Covid hedging going on here. If we're not quite clear then football will only be on in pubs and social clubs at specific times and with specific teams. Something like we have today in October is going to turn pubs into germ factories. Indoors. On the other hand if we're clear then it's a bit of pressure on the powers that be to get people back into stadia.

Alba Badger · Jul 13, 2020

I think they will give you an option (If you have a season ticket or if you are willing to pay a premium) to watch your clubs games on their websites. If clubs don't they will have to pay back A LOT of season ticket money for at least half the games next season. (Unless a vaccine can be found)

jamie the seagull · Jul 13, 2020

Premier League Plan is to start next season in September with full capacity (no away fans).
Stage 5 instructions on way to clubs this week.
Test events due in stadia in August (preseason friendlies?) with reduced capacity to test out the stage 5 processes.
If there are no issues then we are back to normal from September so TV agreements can do same.
This was revealed over the weekend by Karen Brady (West Ham).

Bozza · Jul 13, 2020

highflyer said:
Well I suspect that's rubbish. They have no way of knowing how many of those streaming would have paid for if somehow streaming was successfully closed down (it won't be).

I certainly wouldn't. If I can't get a decent stream I listen on the radio.

They need to think differently in my view. Think how to keep football alive as a locally supported, spectator sport for the many. Keep the fan base that includes the millions (billions globally) who are about to get hammered by a major recession. People who will be struggling financially, but who need football more than ever as a distraction from the current and future sh*tstorm.

But no, it's all about keeping the short term profits flowing, the stupid salaries and the lavish corporate hospitality. And sod the supporters.

The greedy greedy f*ckers.

Yeah, I thought that too. If UK viewers have no legitimate way of watching a game, the Premier League is not losing anything, since there is no paid option available. People aren't choosing dodgy stream over paid, they are choosing dodgy stream over nothing.

I completely understand the rationale behind no live Saturday 3pm games in normal times, due to the desire to encourage people to attend games right down the footballing pyramid, but if we are going to have a continued period of BCD games or restricted capacities, surely it makes both commercial and practical sense to offer a paid TV option for all fixtures...

AlbionBro · Jul 13, 2020

Green Cross Code Man said:
Rubbish decision that they will regret. I have loved being able to watch our games. Surely will only encourage more streaming from less ethical sources.

Maybe the club could charge for showing its matches?

How much would they charge? Would it be away matches only?

elwheelio · Jul 13, 2020

This approach to football on TV seems so archaic to me. Like the TV companies are trying to cling on to how it used to be, when they held all the cards and people couldn't do anything but pay up to watch the game. Times have changed, people can and will find other places to watch the games or, longer term, may just not bother (the viewership trend is in steep decline over the past few years). The approach reminds me of the record companies that ignored music downloading and thought it was a fad that would soon disappear. Eventually I am sure that a "Netflix for football" or something similar will exist and we'll all laugh at how in the old days you couldn't watch your team every week.

Green Cross Code Man · Jul 13, 2020

AlbionBro said:
How much would they charge? Would it be away matches only?

Don't know about charges but surely the club could show home matches as home fans are possibly not able to see the games in person anymore?

Marty___Mcfly · Jul 13, 2020

Sounds like a strong indicator that they expect fans back in the stadiums come September.

nicko31 · Jul 13, 2020

Back to watching it for free instead of paying for it, I tried...

nicko31 · Jul 13, 2020

Marty___Mcfly said:
Sounds like a strong indicator that they expect fans back in the stadiums come September.

Not full houses though..

happypig · Jul 13, 2020

Bozza said:
Although the last 92 fixtures in the 2019-20 Premier League campaign had to take place behind closed doors, at least all of them will be shown live on television.

However, The Athletic has learned that this was a one-off move in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Premier League will go back to its normal UK broadcast model next season, even though top-flight stadiums are expected to remain at least partially shut in the coming months.

UK broadcast rights are divided between Sky Sports and BT Sport, with Amazon set to show 20 matches during the 2020-21 season. The BBC has shown four matches of the resumed 2019-20 season but will return to showing highlights when the current campaign ends.

The development will deny huge numbers the chance to watch games either inside grounds or in real-time on TV and come as a particular blow to fans who have decided against renewing their season tickets, either because of health concerns or uncertainty over how many matches they can attend.

The decision also raises understandable fears of a rise in the illegal streaming, which according to one study cost Premier League clubs around £1 million of revenue per fixture in 2018-19.

More >>> https://theathletic.com/1922323/ (Athletic paywall)

Before I retired I was told by a director that BT had blocked ALL illegal streams since before Christmas. I thought it best not to mention that I, and many others, hadn't missed any game I'd wanted to see.

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