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

[denphone]

Originally Posted by johnasimmons

I am a dancing queen

Indeed and some of the others strike me as tantrum Queens.

[colin25]

Originally Posted by denphone

Indeed and some of the others strike me as tantrum Queens.

Or Virgin queens

[denphone]

Originally Posted by colin25

Or Virgin queens

Well actually l see myself as thy humble servant to the masses.

[bobcf]

How will the 'first picks' system work. How is it decided who gets first pick in a particular Premier League week?

[tvtimes]

Originally Posted by bobcf

How will the 'first picks' system work. How is it decided who gets first pick in a particular Premier League week?

Can....worms.....opened.

I don't think anyone's sure at the moment. There's an awful lot of speculation

[denphone]

BT wants a broadband bounce from sport, but may have scored an own goal.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/medi...ghts-broadband

BT and BSkyB are at loggerheads. BSkyB is refusing to allow BT to advertise its new sports channels on Sky Sports, and BT has complained to Ofcom. Now leaving aside the fact that BT can (and does) advertise on any of BSkyB's other channels, and that BSkyB and BT have both previously declined advertising from direct competitors – so there is plenty of precedent for BSkyB's position – this dispute really is a storm in a teacup. What lies behind it, however, really couldn't be more serious and the key questions are all for BT.

Since no one seriously expects anyone to pay that much just for BT's sports channels – which are still no real match and certainly no substitute for Sky's – some analysts expect BT to lose in excess of £200m a year on them.

But the problem for BT is that if BSkyB retails BT Sports as part of its offer to its customers, the telecoms company gets the money but not the customers – they belong to Sky. And no customer data means no capacity to try to sell them broadband packages. Which defeats the strategic point of spending £1bn on sports rights. Which could lead investors to wonder what else BT might have done with all that cash.

[tvtimes]

Originally Posted by denphone

BT wants a broadband bounce from sport, but may have scored an own goal.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/medi...ghts-broadband

I'm lost? What has the advertising issue got to do with the wholesale issue? They're unrelated! BT is free to sell directly to Sky customers regardless of the outcome Ofcom makes in regards to SKY withholding advertising space from BT.
Plus it fails to mention the fact that Sky are being hypocritical in their complaint when they have complained about ITV doing the very same to them years back.

Lazy Journalism

Plus I am pretty sure, the point in creating a sports channel wasn't purely to nick Sky's customers details.

[BexTech]

I thought the subscription for BT Sports on satellite was being handled by BT themselves, so would have the customer details when you call them up to subscribe.

[tvtimes]

Originally Posted by BexTech

I thought the subscription for BT Sports on satellite was being handled by BT themselves, so would have the customer details when you call them up to subscribe.

They are. The article is pure bull and is poorly researched

[denphone]

A High price to pay for 20 years of sky-high profits in top flight.

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/footb...-in-top-flight

[paultrademark]

Debateable its profit when most clubs are still in massive debt due to overspending on wages

[denphone]

Originally Posted by paultrademark

Debateable its profit when most clubs are still in massive debt due to overspending on wages

Indeed as 70% of it goes on players wages and in my mind its time we had a salary cap and more consideration given to supporters.

[Doug P]

That would be a first Denphone. Clubs considering supporters went out some while ago!

[Chad]

Originally Posted by denphone

BT wants a broadband bounce from sport, but may have scored an own goal.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/medi...ghts-broadband

Interesting article.

Funny how this has cropped up yet again:

"Which brings us back to the current spat over advertising. After Ofcom's pay-TV review, BSkyB faced being compelled to wholesale its premium sports channels to BT at regulated prices. But with no obligation running the other way – on BT to wholesale to BSkyB – BT would then have been in the enviable position of promoting its YouView platform service as the only place to get all Premier League football. And that was the position last year when BT spent its £730m on football rights. But the Competition Appeals Tribunal decision to upend the Ofcom ruling means there is no obligation on BSkyB to wholesale its channels to BT at all."

This is now about the forth article I've seen in about 10 days stating SKY are under no obligation to wholesale SKY Sports.

[denphone]

Yes the next few months are going to be very interesting and one wonders what exactly we are going to be having on our screens come August with everything up in the air at the moment with regards to talks and future possible carriage agreements.