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

[johnasimmons]

Emailed to me from Virgin Media

From 14th December 2022, BoxNation will be closing on all platforms in the UK and will no longer be available.

Following on from the closure you will no longer be charged for BoxNation, and you’ll be automatically reimbursed if you’ve been billed for it already.

Thanks,

The Virgin Media team

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by johnasimmons

Emailed to me from Virgin Media

From 14th December 2022, BoxNation will be closing on all platforms in the UK and will no longer be available.

Following on from the closure you will no longer be charged for BoxNation, and you’ll be automatically reimbursed if you’ve been billed for it already.

Thanks,

The Virgin Media team

That makes sense as Premier Sports took over the brand licence in December 2019 so Viaplay are probably seeing out a three-year contract.

Maybe the brand will re-appear on a gambling app or web site but the all-you-can-eat boxing channel TV model does not seem to work financially.

[TimeLord2018]

The first noticeable changes on BT Sport since Warner Bros. Discovery Joint Venture, Live Alpine Skiing World Cup is on BT Sport 2 on Saturday as both Eurosport channels are shown Live Sport at that time.

[Media Boy UK]

Viaplay inks IHF handball deal

https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2022...medium=twitter

[TimeLord2018]

US Open Tennis returning to Sky Sports from 2023
https://www.skygroup.sky/en-gb/artic...orts-from-2023

[1andrew1]

Something to gladden Old Boy's heart.

Google agrees NFL streaming deal as Big Tech chases sports rights

YouTube’s $14bn push into US league’s Sunday Ticket service signals threat to traditional broadcasters

Google’s YouTube has secured rights to broadcast some US National Football League matches from next season, in a landmark deal that signals how Big Tech is reshaping the market for live sports rights.

The package, which will run seven years beginning in 2023, will give the video site the exclusive rights to the “Sunday Ticket” subscription service beginning next season. The service allows US fans to watch any game shown on the biggest game day of the week.

The deal, worth more than $14bn according to a person familiar with the matter, is an additional service on top of the NFL’s current 11-year, $110bn broadcast agreement agreed last year, the most expensive live sports rights in the world.

“It’s a very loud wake-up call for traditional media companies,” said the chief executive of a longtime bidder for sports rights. “First Apple and now this . . . television, cable and satellite companies will struggle to respond”.

Sunday Ticket is a subscription service which allows viewers to pay to watch out-of-market NFL games not available on their local CBS or Fox affiliate channels, a quirk of the geographically diverse US landscape and the dense football schedule, with most games scheduled on Sunday afternoons.

https://www.ft.com/content/44953d73-...3-65661643c5fe

[epsilon]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Something to gladden Old Boy's heart.

https://www.ft.com/content/44953d73-...3-65661643c5fe

If the UK market was as massive as the US market, maybe they would do something similar here, alas it isn't.

[jfman]

Originally Posted by epsilon

If the UK market was as massive as the US market, maybe they would do something similar here, alas it isn't.

I agree on the point of the massive market - but I'll also add that it's a seven year deal.

Rights owners on this side of the pond have traditionally viewed short windows (3 years) as keeping operators on their toes, allowing them to ride the crest of the pay-tv wave as it has increased.

However I've been banging the drum for some time now that a barrier to entry for anyone is that they start from 0 customers and have to turn that around in year 3 into a profit to run the risk of being dumped because someone else comes along to blow you out the water.

If the Premier League, UEFA or anyone else wants Silicon Valley to blow the incumbents out the water it needs to give them the space to develop a product offering and customer base and generate a return for a number of years. Equally it should invite disproportionately higher bids from incumbents for the same reason - it allows them to close the door on a challenge for a longer period.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by epsilon

If the UK market was as massive as the US market, maybe they would do something similar here, alas it isn't.

Why the alas? I envisage this costing the end customer more.

[jfman]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Why the alas? I envisage this costing the end customer more.

I think he means from the perspective of those who predict it

[epsilon]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Why the alas? I envisage this costing the end customer more.

Streaming generally does end up costing the end customer more. Jfman is correct, the "alas" is indeed meant to be from the perspective of those who predict it.

[Aguero9320]

Originally Posted by jfman

I agree on the point of the massive market - but I'll also add that it's a seven year deal.

Rights owners on this side of the pond have traditionally viewed short windows (3 years) as keeping operators on their toes, allowing them to ride the crest of the pay-tv wave as it has increased.

However I've been banging the drum for some time now that a barrier to entry for anyone is that they start from 0 customers and have to turn that around in year 3 into a profit to run the risk of being dumped because someone else comes along to blow you out the water.

If the Premier League, UEFA or anyone else wants Silicon Valley to blow the incumbents out the water it needs to give them the space to develop a product offering and customer base and generate a return for a number of years. Equally it should invite disproportionately higher bids from incumbents for the same reason - it allows them to close the door on a challenge for a longer period.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney+ (ESPN) or Paramount+ became serious competition bidding for sports rights. They’re both major players in the US and ESPN still exists, showing only college sports.

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Aguero9320

I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney+ (ESPN) or Paramount+ became serious competition bidding for sports rights. They’re both major players in the US and ESPN still exists, showing only college sports.

They’ll defo be doing the sums. But unless 3 year deals or narrow geographic boundaries change the underlying economics of the business model doesn’t change.

[1andrew1]

That length of term issue is key when crucial rights like the Premier League are involved. I wonder what they will do at the next auction? Could they go for five years?

[jfman]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

That length of term issue is key when crucial rights like the Premier League are involved. I wonder what they will do at the next auction? Could they go for five years?

My sense is that the Premier League are most risk averse. At £11bn the global TV rights is the golden goose that underpins the value of the “franchises” to use the US term.

Rolling over the old contracts under the guise of COVID suggests a trepidation around the uncertainty. The fall in the value of the UK 2019-22 rights - correctly foreseen by Sky - and being unable to draw “streamers” meaningfully into the auction raises a lot of questions. As we enter a recession (for how long?) and central banks raise interest rates one could easily argue the market is more, not less, precarious.

I suspect the Premier League would want to see someone else - UEFA, Bundesliga, Serie A, etc. test out a new model first and see how the sums add up.

A broadcaster - not known - was certainly in advanced talks regarding the proposed Super League. If anyone wants to revive it’s corpse they’ll also have to tread carefully before making long term commitments.

UEFA could potentially consider Europe-wide rights to bring a streamer to the table. Even secondary rights (first/second picks in a given territory being sold as they are now). This would give a streaming service a massive market (400m+ people) and content most months of the season - a springboard from which to take on domestic leagues and cups around Europe.