Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Several weeks ago from what l can remember.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Thanks. Today was the first I noticed it, and I was quite surprised. It is going to start to become the norm then?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Sorry to say but in my humble opinion its here to stay.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Must be honest and say I have yet to see the numbers on BT Sport,only ones I`ve seen are on SKY Sports channels. As for how well BT are doing I have to say I am surprised they are doing so well. I agree about Michael Owen being bland and Mark Halsley being poor though.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Apparently Halsey has been pulled after a book and a newspaper column where he criticised some other refs. Which is unbelievable if true, because that's the one thing he was completely incapable of in the commentary box.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Ref Comment was one of the few interesting things on BT Sport commentary.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Not against the idea, but they got the wrong man. I give them top marks for trying to be innovative.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Yeah the idea was fine but the wrong choice. You want a ex ref who isn`t afraid to say when a ref has made an error. Full marks to BT though for giving it a go. Now BT lets see an end to the `experiment` of the score and logo at the bottom of the screen!

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

telegramsam, l agree 100% with your comment of the Logo, it go to the top of the screen like everything else.

As anyone noticed that the ' numbers ' on Sky Sports has now been moved from the bottom left of the screen, to the top right of the screen. Good idea.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

The numbers have always been at the top right on sky,only virgin customers had them at the bottom.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

What is the point of the box number showing? At first I thought it was to try and discourage streaming but if that is the reason then it seems completely pointless because its not as if any of the streamers subscribe to VM or Sky.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

It shows the box number that the stream originates from so that box can be disconnected and investigated.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

It is still completely pointless, however, since all you have to do is record it and watch the recording as live and the number disappears.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Any word on how much Premier Sports will be asking for as a monthly subscription yet?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Too much for me..... :-(

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Probably £7.99 at the very least.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

You can count me out unless its free.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Not a hope in hell of that happening.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I've watched some nhl, but not nearly enough to pay a subscription for it.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Not even watched any of it.. Nor BT sports but have been working 6 nighshifts a week since start November

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Agreed. I love ice hockey but you have to stop somewhere. The cost of watching sport on tv is getting ridiculous with the fragmentation of sports rights across different pay channels.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I wouldn't be too sure of that if you believe what prem sport said before VM got BT sports they were only looking for a fraction for wholesale so maybe, just maybe it's here to stay

Also just had a £6 price increase so looking for some return here

---------- Post added at 12:08 ---------- Previous post was at 11:37 ----------

Thanks to the person formally known as HD boy for the information on digital spy they extended now till end of February

https://my.virginmedia.com/customer-...er-sports.html

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Well if we are getting it for nothing for another couple of months then who am l to put my nose up to a freebie.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I can live with that for the NRL alone.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Premier Sports have two sports I'm pretty fond of , Ice Hockey and Rugby League sadly they do not have a HD channel meaning there offering is devalued to me.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

exactly as i feel mate. Have enjoyed watching NHL on Premier Sports the last couple of months but its costing too much these days to watch everything on every channel.

Now Premier Sports is availabe on VM we shall see what value it holds to subscribers. If take up is not that high (and i feel i wont be) that may open the door for a deal that is acceptable to both VM and Premier to either reduce the price or strike a deal to include it in another pack. Needs a HD version(as well as a better portfolio) to be seriously considered imo.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

To be fair to Premier Sports there picture quality is better than NASN if you remember them.;)

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

i do (fondly) remember NASN and prior to that Screensport.

well the picture quality is fine(and better than i expected) but these days you expect to be able to watch sports and films in particular in HD

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

same here - never watch it

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

The Bears , Eagles game has a lot hanging on it this weekend.:D

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

And hopefully the 'Monsters of the midway' will come out on top , to be honest I'm not overly confident though if I'm honest especially as its in Philly.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

For me personally they offer nothing now they no longer have non-league football,so I wouldn't subscribe at any price. Anyway I think they will eventually become part of the BT portfolio.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Some info for UFC fans on the up coming UFC Fight Pass:

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/g...sport-viewers/

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Market for TV sport to hit record £16bn in 2014 as broadcasters play hardball.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...rd-growth-2014

That's does not bode well for premium sports customers.:(

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

If tv companies such as BT can pay the sort of money they have been recently it does make you wonder just how much money they are making and where will it all lead too? They all put their prices up every year claiming rising costs when what they really mean is they want more money from us so they can outbid their rivals in the battle for sporting rights!

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

as I have said before prices will continue to go up and up :(

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

And there is no doubt that because of this then increasingly more customers will draw a line in the sand and say enough is enough.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Agree. At present I subscribe to both Sky sports and BT Sports but if prices rise considerably then I will be forced to choose one or the other,or even neither.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

So again I find myself in this thread stating the obvious...

Michael Owen is disliked by soo many

https://twitter.com/themichaelowen/s...81799372656640

https://twitter.com/chris_lindsay86/...82429244268544

https://twitter.com/paddypower/statu...91522687868929

theres no better finisher in the league than Chicarito :LOL: Owen defending Fabios red so the camera zooms into the cut shin.

Sort it out BT!!!!!

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

There is only one word to describe Michael Owen as a pundit and that is substandard.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Today I drawn a line in the sand I cancelled my SKY Sports subscription after 11 years and will now save about £500 pounds a year! I now going to rely on BT Sports on the XL TV pack for my sports fix:)

Finally I don't know when rights come up but BT do not want to fall into the trap of ESPN UK did and have no real summertime UK based Sport when the footie is off the screen!

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Aye its going to be an interesting few years. Especially when the next premier league rights come up. If BT sport manage to bag more rights i'd see no reason in continuing with sky sports myself.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I agree,Michael Owen is a poor pundit and BT need to find another job for him or else sack him. It isn`t just his comments that irritate me it`s his voice too that really grates on me.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BSkyB and BT rivalry could provide a cash bonanza for Richard Desmond

http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...5?view=desktop

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

News for those in the USA

Martin Tyler has been really hit and miss lately, spot on commenting on Rooney vs Cardiff btw ;)

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

This is very interesting and in my view, it would be a big leg up for BT if it were to acquire this channel. They need to develop entertainment channels to compete with Sky, and this would be a jolly good start.

A new BT channel to replace Channel 5 would have a much higher profile than Sky's Pick TV and would be an excellent showcase for any premium entertainment channels it may wish to start up on the BT platform.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

"Premier League aims to pit BSkyB against BT in early TV rights sale":

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...ghts-sale.html

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Greed , greed and more greed in my humble opinion.:(:td:

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Absolutely I could not agree more.:(

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

both BT and sky will pay more meaning prices up and up again as usual

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Unless of course BT play a clever game should they win the Premier League rights outright.

For example, they could sell the rights to certain matches to other TV channels and drive costs down. By showing Sky that their dominance is over, they may force them for future bids into joining with BT by pooling resources at a price BT thinks is better for the punters.

Who knows what will happen, but with more players, subscriptions don't have to keep going up. We just have to see who blinks first.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Agreed , fans of other sports will be forced to pay more or will be completely priced out.
Correct Dave , totally unfair for those fans of other sports
BT and its shareholders are interested in the exact same thing BSKYB and its shareholders are , improving subscriber numbers and profits end of , they are both pay tv platforms after all

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Just online to say that the Celtic game is being shown LIVE tonight from 18.25 on Premier Sports (Channel 551).

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I think BT are playing a clever game, and it would be advisable not to underestimate them. If customers view them as 'customer orientated/friendly' (which Sky certainly are not), this could win them a lot of loyalty.

This could be the strategy that restores BT's reputation.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

First off Im not getting into who'll win what , frankly I couldn't careless if I'm honest , if its BT I'll switch supplier that's the beauty of choice however have you actually read what you put ? BT sell games to other channels , so their going to pay billions for football and then sell it to other channels I'm afraid that's complete fantasyland , the only games you'll see free are the few champions league ones which were part of the deal with UEFA in my opinion.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

What I'm saying is that they can sell certain games to other channels. There are various options, including a reluctant Sky coming on board to share all the matches (thus halving the cost), which could pave the way for joint partnerships for the bidding process in the future, getting the rights for a lower price with this arrangement.

The whole idea of competition is that it drives prices down. Let's see how this works in the area of Sport TV. One thing is for sure, ever higher prices is going to get an ever lower share of the audience. Something's got to give.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

No company can win the Premier League rights outright as the rights are not sold that way. BT's shareholders would also expect any investment in Premier League rights to be maximised; if BT did not its share price would suffer and the directors would be replaced and the company possibly taklen over.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Two companies colluding on prices? I think the regulator would hand out big fines if that happened.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I'm led to believe that once they realised that they had overpaid and been left with the scraps from this rights round bt did seriously consider reselling some of what they had, before they decided to use it to drive broadband subs, something that was never on the cards until that point.

I'm not really sure how clever our strategic bt are being, it just looks to me like they're chucking all their money in andthen playing the hand they get dealt.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

The whole idea of holding auctions, which is what most sports rights sales are, is to drive up prices, not drive them down.

Market competition that drives prices down occurs when two products or services can easily be substituted for one another eg petrol from Esso or Shell. However, this is not the case in sports rights as they are sold on an exclusive basis so offerings from Sky, Eurosport and BT Sport are not easy to substitute for each other.

However, if BT acquires more Premiership rights in the next auction, then it may become more easy for more people to substitute BT Sport for Sky Sports and price competition may then occur.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Just like to say Andrew excellent post as usual , I'm interested to know do you think at some point in the future we could see streaming services bidding for key sporting rights ?

I'm thinking along the lines of Apple , Google etc bundling a free apple TV device with annual or monthly season tickets to help bring more people onboard to their own eco system and help with selling companion products such as iPad/iPhone etc.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Hi Muppetman, thanks for the compliment :)

I don't pretend to be an expert in this field and each sport is different. In terms of something like the Premier League, I can't see the League wanting to be tied to one hardware or software manufacturer for the majority of its matches. That is one factor which has helped ensure BT Sport is on Virgin; the League wanted it to be on as many platforms as possible. And if you just ended up with two rights owners for lots of territories then it's quite risky for the sports rights owners.

I could see companies like Apple and Google interested in lesser rights, eg goal clips, highlights etc but at the moment they're quite US-focussed; Apple TV doesn't even have the UK catch-up services. And even then you get into the debate about who owns the customer relationship - the device manufacturer or the mobile network!

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

It wouldn't be 'collusion', it would be a joint bid.

---------- Post added at 12:54 ---------- Previous post was at 12:49 ----------

Yes, Andrew, you are right. However, prices cannot go much higher owing to customer resistance, and an auction can only produce bids that people are prepared to make. In the end, if Sky and BT get together and make a bid at a lower level, this will be good for everyone.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

It's an interesting prospect, similar to the joint bid by Channel 5 and ESPN for the Europa League rights a few years back:

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/sep/01/uefa-europa-league-espn

Is there a minimum bid requirement for the Premiership rights? If no other broadcaster showed interest, and SKY and BT did make a joint bid, what would stop them from making a silly offer i.e. half of what they currently pay for the rights? That might force the Premer League to launch their own football channel, which would be available on all TV platforms. A standardised subscription fee accross the board regarless of who your TV provider is. All fixtures shown on just 1 channel, if that would be allowed. No need to subscribe to both SKY and BT to catch all the action.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

The rights are sold on an exclusive basis and all the rights are never sold to one broadcaster. So even if BT Sport-Sky Sports combined, another competing broadcaster like BeIN Sport would be around to bid up the rights and acquire at least one package.
What you are probably seeking is a non-exclusive rights sale so that more than one broadcaster can show the same matches. That does not raise the same level of income for the sports rights owners so would have to be legislated for by Government.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

at one point BBC had 10 championship games as season, does anyone know if that was a one off or a special that season that they had to show 10 of free to air ,

and to "appease" the wider audience would the premier league consider anything like that?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Exactly right. A minimum bid requirement set too high would not be much cop if it didn't produce the bids.

Unfortunately, I can't see Sky and BT making a silly offer because this would put them in peril of another company coming in to snap up the rights. But certainly, I would have thought there was room to reduce the price paid to more acceptable and sustainable levels.

How this is managed in practice is another matter. The two companies could decide between them to show all the matches, or they could divide the spoils between them. They could even decide to sell some of the matches to other TV channels if the Premiership rules allowed it.

One way or the other, something has to give, because prices cannot simply keep spiralling in an upward direction. Customers simply won't pay the exorbitant prices at which the subscriptions would have to be fixed in order to pay for itself.

I know some of you don't see it, but you must agree that there is a price beyond which people won't pay, so a solution will have to be found.

---------- Post added at 13:21 ---------- Previous post was at 13:17 ----------

I know there are some matches that would be picked up by a different broadcaster in line with the rules. I was really thinking about the main package.

In respect of that main package, BT and Sky Sports could submit a joint bid. That is what I meant.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

There are lots of packages and if BT Sport-Sky merged/jointly bid (even if the League let them which I doubt) another company would step into their shoes so nothing much would change.

At the moment there's not a public backlash against prices for pay-TV sports and sales are healthy. This may change in the future but rights have risen despite the recession and there's currently no pressure on the Premier League to alter the way they sell their rights.

---------- Post added at 13:42 ---------- Previous post was at 13:40 ----------

At the moment there's no pressure on the Premier League to do so. Unless this changes, it will just carry on with its current arrangements as they maximise revenue and that's what its management are paid to do.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

If you read previous posts on here, a backlash is certainly what is stirring. There is not much more room to increase prices.

As for another company stepping in, they are not going to step in if they have to pay an astronomical price because they won't get their money back. It's up to the bidders to judge the position and to bid accordingly. I am only trying to point out that the only way is not necessarily up.

I don't need to remind anyone here that BT have got more money than Sky. In the end, we are in their hands IMO.

I don't think there are any rules that say a joint bid cannot be made, are there? Consortium bids aren't disallowed in other areas of the commercial world. Was this your assumption, Andrew, or do you know this for a fact?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Hi Old Boy. I think when Sky Sports revenues decline then the tipping point will have been reached. Forum postings can sometimes be a future indicator and other times not. Time will tell but Deloitte's recent report only points to higher and higher rights costs.
The Premier League rights are exclusive; a joint bid by definition would not be as I understand it.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

The reason Sky & BT, imo, pay so much for the rights to football, whether it's the EPL or CL, is down to the fact that players are paid obscene amounts of money, if the clubs didn't get the income from the TV companies via the football associations, then they would only be able to offer players a reasonable salary to play football, it's ridiculous that some of them are on £150k per week plus! Reducing the amount paid to players would have the effect of the TV companies having to pay a reasonable amount to show these games live, this would have the knock on effect of reducing bills to people who want to pay to watch live football.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I agree that the salaries are ridiculous but feel you have cause and effect the wrong way round. Murdoch called sports rights the battering ram to open people's doors to signing up for pay TV services. Sports rights; in particular the Premier League; are vital to a successful pay TV business which is why Sky and BT have paid so much. This money has flooded into the Premier League helping it buy some of the best players in the world and pay them handsomely and some!

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Sadly you have hit the nail on the head but sadly again Max l cannot see anything changing anytime soon.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I don't think that's true at all, TV companies will pay whatever they think is sensible value for the rights regardless of how much players get paid. Capping wages would however make Premiership football less attractive for the top end players, making it boring to watch and thus lowering the value to the TV companies, which would drive the end user cost down. But who wants that?

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Wages are lower in Germany (albeit not capped) but it's a pretty decent product even though on the basis of money it's less attractive than the Premier League for the top end players.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

:shocked: :D

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

German players and fans appear (rightly) to root for the national team though. The players clearly get paid enough to make a decent living.
Why should the German FA care if they cannot attract the likes Clint Dempsey, when clubs can probably pick players of a similar standard of quality for a fraction of the wages and who want to work hard and try to earn a call up for their country. They must be very happy with their tournament placings, and how promising their future currently looks.
England have always been average even before the PL started, but the PL is really limiting our future growth. The FA don't help help matters much either, the Germans will happily let their under 21's play in the under 21 tournaments and learn to play internationally naturally, where as we just chuck teenagers into a team of players (who do not know how to win important games) against seasoned international players in the hope they show some promise for the future.
The FA really need to try and gain some form of control over the PL, (or at least let the youngsters develop at under 21 level) even if it will be incredibly difficult.

Rant over.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Could tech peeps tell me why that whole pitch thing is good?

It seems to me that you can see the whole pitch but nothing in any detail.

If that is so would rather stick with the pics we currently get.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Wholeheartedly agree. I was countering the suggestion that lower wages means boring football which nobody wants. Germany shows that doesn't need to be the case. The two Champions League semi finals last year showed that it is German teams, not Spanish, who are playing the best football, and the final showed that it's also German teams who are winning trophies. Yet their top earners are on two thirds of the money earned by ours. At the same time their fans can watch top flight football (with a free travel card to get there) for about a tenner and even drink beer in sight of the pitch.

The Premier League has been good solely for the Premier League, everything else - and to stay on topic, that includes people who want to watch football on tv - has suffered.

---------- Post added at 08:16 ---------- Previous post was at 08:16 ----------

That was my first thought.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Could not agree more the FA have overseen this mess. They are supposed to be the controlling body of football in this Country ,it seems to me the Premier League say jump and they do. The FA needs to assert its authority.:(

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

The German revolution all started when Jurgen Klinsmann took charge of the national side in 2004. He worked with the German FA to ensure that all the clubs from the national team down to grass roots all played and coached in a similar style so that players would easily slip into club or national team. It's paid off big style with the success of both the German national team and club teams in the last few years.

You also look around the top European Leagues and the top teams are filled with great players from that country. The top Premier League teams are filled with many foreign players which, whilst is great to see them play in this country, only continues to hurt the English national team.

Unfortunately with the Premier League pretty much it's own entity and ruling the roost, nothing much will change whilst the cash keeps rolling in. At some stage, the FA need to grow some balls as alwaysabear has pointed out otherwise the English national team will (unfortunately) probably never see any success.

Being somewhat biased as you'll see from my avatar, I'd also like to see a lot more Football League games on TV. Whilst there is not always the glitz and glamour of the Premier League or Champions League, there are some excellent games in the Football League. Maybe Sky could look at this to fill the hole they'll have without the Champions League.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

It's recent enough for you to remember that the Premier League isn't really that glitzy or glamorous once you're there! Fully agree that there are some good, and more importantly competitive, matches in the Football League - but don't wish for it to be covered more comprehensively on tv. I'm looking forward to next season so I can go back to having 90% 3pm Saturday kick offs!

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BT Sport greenlights WRC

Broadcastnow is reporting that Live TV coverage of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) is to return after rights holders struck a deal with BT Sport.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

BT Sport has signed a deal to show exclusively live coverage of the 26 stages of the FIA World Rally Championships (WRC), starting with the opening event of the 2014 season, the famous Rallye Monte Carlo, on Wednesday January 15.
The BT Sport WRC programming will run across BT Sport’s three channels, BT Sport 1 and 2, and ESPN. Coverage will include a preview and a review show for each rally and a daily highlights show.

http://sport.bt.com/moresporthub/mor...11363865891893

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Wonder whether we'll see a wholesale deal between Sky Sports and BT Sport , people in the city seem to be suggesting its a possibility.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/...s-vodafone-fox

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

100% agree with this statement. The FA have no control whatsoever over english football. All they can do is create panels to look at why we're failing, any suggestions the panel create won't be implemented as it'll impact the premier league too much.

Scudamore runs english football. He's in the business of making money for himself and his organisation. He is not interested in the english national team or promoting english young footballers as it wont "put bums in seats" then he's selling the game abroad. He wants the top players to attract the top sale rights as he's in a business not a sport.

Foreign owners won't get involved in anything to improve english football as they're in the club owning business to make money. Totally different to german football again. There can be no foreign owners in the bundesliga. German owners are united in their loyalty to the german national team and the development of young german players even if it impacts their first team for a few years. It's a healthy environment for development rather than the corrupt, money hungry, greed of the premier league.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Who knows what the future holds as two years ago there was no BT Sports so who can predict the next few years confidently.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

This Summer's WC may well be the tipping point -the current England team is awful and 3 bad hidings may well see uproar and groundswell for change.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

From some maybe......:D

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

It's been called for before though. I can't remember after which tournament it was (possibly 06) where the FA said there would be a root and branch investigation. I don't recall seeing much of an outcome from that "investigation". If there was an outcome, it is not really working yet.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I cannot see there being any major change unless the FA assert their authority over the Premier League and literally change the face of English football.
The FA need to change so much at grass roots, for many years I was involved in Junior football until about 7 years ago, where there was so much emphasis on speed and power. The small kids who had the technical skills were pushed to the back of the que, because it was all winning and not learning how pay the game with style and technique. From what I see and hear nothing much has changed.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Vodafone and BSkyB 'in partnership talks' to rival BT

This story doesn't seem to be going away.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...-rival-BT.html

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

well sky was always going to fight back MM

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

They will have to because BT don`t look as though they will go away as other `rivals` have done in the past.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Indeed, interesting times ahead. I wonder how (or if) BT and EE will respond.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Indeed rivals must be wary as Sky has a track record of once a few tanks land on their lawn they tend to send in a full tank division in reply.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Which ever way these two go it will be us the consumer who pays. Competition within sports rights does nothing for the consumer, all it will achieve is higher prices for us.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

I found this quite interesting:

http://advanced-television.com/2014/...ut-sky-global/

Credit Suisse, in a report to clients, suggests that while the English Premier League contracts are still up in the air the market can relax about any prospects of a ‘super-merger’ between BSkyB, Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia. The original thought came from a report from UBS a few days ago.

Indeed, the Credit Suisse media team says that the idea currently is somewhat far-fetched, and “it makes little sense to expect any Merger or Acquisition activity ahead of the Premier League auction, scheduled for next winter.

Nevertheless, the market is still nervous about BSkyB and speculation that a wealthy heavy-hitter such as Vodafone could come in and steal the asset away from Rupert Murdoch’s clutches. UBS also mentioned O2 as being a possible suitor for Sky’s broadcasting portfolio.

Of course, the reverse scenario is also true. A revitalised BSkyB, helped by increased profitability from products such as Adsmart, Sky Go, NowTV and the other established Sky revenue centres (Sky+, Multiroom, etc) could still be an attractive prospect even ahead of the EPL auction.

One pundit suggested that Sky Europe, comprising BSkyB, Sky-D and Sky-Italia could itself buy (targeting O2, Telefonica or Vodafone) or create a cellular product and become a true Quad-Play prospect – and on a European scale, and could then begin to call the negotiating shots for sports, movies and traditional TV content.

To those readers who believe this is all wishful thinking then simply go back a few years (to 2001) when ‘Sky Global’ was a planned umbrella company (headed by Chase Carey). At the time it was suggested that Lachlan Murdoch could run the business (which at the time included a 22 per cent stake that BSkyB held in Kirch Group’s Premiere World). The Sky Global idea at the time was to add BSkyB, Star TV, Foxtel and Sky Latin America. That potential mix has changed somewhat, but “never say never” is our advice in any plans that involve Rupert Murdoch.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

To those readers who say this is all wishful thinking go back a few years to something that didn't happen then, either.

Re: ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news
 

Sorry to sound thick Andy but could you explain ?

Upon reading posts back would I be right in assuming your referring to the failed BSKYB takeover by News Corp due to the hacking scandal ?