General : Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)

[jfman]

In addition to the plentiful amount of space already identified by forum members the BT Sport 4K frequency has space for three HD channels.

[alwaysabear]

I watched Eleven sports on facebook last night as I have a family connection to Valladolid, on average there was only just over 300 people watching during the whole game.
I cannot see the suites at La Liga being very impressed.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by alwaysabear

I watched Eleven sports on facebook last night as I have a family connection to Valladolid, on average there was only just over 300 people watching during the whole game.
I cannot see the suites at La Liga being very impressed.

No surprise as whoever made that decision quite clearly has not got a clue.

[vincerooney]

Originally Posted by denphone

No surprise as whoever made that decision quite clearly has not got a clue.

Its really going to damage the brand of la liga in the UK. La liga was a really popular league here. Kids buying shirts with Messi on the back. People randomly supporting a spanish team to watch over the weekend like sevilla or villareal.

Where can people really watch these games now? Most people have sky sports over BT Sports. Where will the kids watch the teams now? Learn about the different clubs and the different players? Be motivated to take a game in on a spanish holiday. Buy merchandise etc.

Basically la liga have destroyed their brand awareness with the younger generation which will have a noticeable impact in the next few years. Theyve gone for quick money from eleven sports rather than the smaller amount which in turn would make them more money with brand awareness in the longer run.

It was a horrible decision and one i hope really bites them in the coming years

[jfman]

http://www.digitalbitrate.com/dtv.ph...&sec=0&lang=en

Screen grab of the duplicate Premier Sports 2.

[cityfan247]

Sports is big business and they are run by people who only think of how much money they can generate. They dont give a toss about the fans. We are simply punters to them ..to be milked until we are dry.

I am sure La Liga got great exposure through Sky Sports. (Would be even greater on a free to air channel of course!). But no they sign the rights over to a small player like Eleven Sports purely down to dosh. They dont care if you cant watch it in HD on your big screen tv. Its so short sighted.

The NHL did the same things few years ago when it signed over the rights to Premier Sports. Cut it's exposure overnight but i dont think they were bothered.
The thing is as so few people in the UK can watch (ok I accept with the arrival of FreeSports there is limited access to more people now)

The NFL, NBA and even MLB are gaining popularity in the UK with games being scheduled over here. BT and Sky show plenty of games. The NHL is very much the poor relation these days. The NHL big wigs have only themselves to blame.

I subscribe to MLB. TV (which is terrific btw) I can watch games in HD quality on my TV. But this season each week they show a game exclusively on Facebook. The game is blacked out on MLB.Tv so you can only watch it on your phone or tablet unless you have a device that lets you stream it on telly.

Yes the facebook coverage is free and opens coverage up to more people

Again no thought for the fans.

[alwaysabear]

Originally Posted by cityfan247

Sports is big business and they are run by people who only think of how much money they can generate. They dont give a toss about the fans. We are simply punters to them ..to be milked until we are dry.

I am sure La Liga got great exposure through Sky Sports. (Would be even greater on a free to air channel of course!). But no they sign the rights over to a small player like Eleven Sports purely down to dosh. They dont care if you cant watch it in HD on your big screen tv. Its so short sighted.

The NHL did the same things few years ago when it signed over the rights to Premier Sports. Cut it's exposure overnight but i dont think they were bothered.
The thing is as so few people in the UK can watch (ok I accept with the arrival of FreeSports there is limited access to more people now)

The NFL, NBA and even MLB are gaining popularity in the UK with games being scheduled over here. BT and Sky show plenty of games. The NHL is very much the poor relation these days. The NHL big wigs have only themselves to blame.

I subscribe to MLB. TV (which is terrific btw) I can watch games in HD quality on my TV. But this season each week they show a game exclusively on Facebook. The game is blacked out on MLB.Tv so you can only watch it on your phone or tablet unless you have a device that lets you stream it on telly.

Yes the facebook coverage is free and opens coverage up to more people

Again no thought for the fans.

I used to love watching Hockey night in Canada with Don Cherry on ESPN then as you say the idiot at the top the NHL ruined everything.
I am a big fan of American Sports especially NFL and I am concerned as Sky's exclusive rights come to an end next summer. I am just hoping the NFL understand their audience in the UK and don't make the same mistake as La Liga and Serie A.

[cityfan247]

Originally Posted by alwaysabear

I used to love watching Hockey night in Canada with Don Cherry on ESPN then as you say the idiot at the top the NHL ruined everything.
I am a big fan of American Sports especially NFL and I am concerned as Sky's exclusive rights come to an end next summer. I am just hoping the NFL understand their audience in the UK and don't make the same mistake as La Liga and Serie A.

I agree Bear. I shall watching what the NFL does closely. They have (with the help of Sky mainly but also other likes of C4 and the BBC) built up the fanbase to the point London hosts 3 or 4 regular season games a season and there is talk that a London team could exist in the future.

The NFL has lead the way for American Sports in the UK which has been followed by the NBA and now even baseball with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees coming to London in 2019.

What happens if someone like Eleven Sports wins the rights. If the product is not accessible to that many all that they have worked for would be lost.

The days of sports on free to air channels is ever dwindling as £££££ rules. Simply the way it is.

Monopolies are usually seen as bad things. But since the likes of BT Sports and then Premier Sports and now streaming services like Eleven Sports now rival Sky Sports it has been bad news for consumers. The cost of all these different services is simply prohibitive to most.

[Chloé Palmas]

I watched a few of the NFL games in London....a franchise just isn't viable for all the reasons that people have mentioned over the years. It just can't happen.

I think that it is going the other way btw...the days of sports costing a premium rate are dwindling and more and more is available in unique setting format. (Apps etc).

[vincerooney]

Originally Posted by Chloé Palmas

I watched a few of the NFL games in London....a franchise just isn't viable for all the reasons that people have mentioned over the years. It just can't happen.

I think that it is going the other way btw...the days of sports costing a premium rate are dwindling and more and more is available in unique setting format. (Apps etc).

I'd love to hear your reasons why but its probably not on topic! I thought London would be a good place for a team purely to tap into the European market. The only problem would be the airplane journey times but apparently a way around it would be for the london based team to play two home games in a row and the away time having a bye the following week.

But you're right about the cost of sports sky rocketing. I remember then sky sports was the place to watch EVERYTHING and then Ofcom said it was bad for the customer so forced us all to pay for Setanta etc. One of the most stupidest decisions ever.

I think we're heading to a change though. The 3pm tv ban is likely to be axed soon as money talks. A season ticket to watch your club on tv is likely to launch and then its anyone's guess what happens but i'd imagine it'll become a case of "the richer teams get richer" and the premier league ceases to offer any competition

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by alwaysabear

I watched Eleven sports on facebook last night as I have a family connection to Valladolid, on average there was only just over 300 people watching during the whole game.
I cannot see the suites at La Liga being very impressed.

There were a lot of complaints about the quality of their first broadcast too, which won't have helped them.

As long as they are getting the money from the highest bidder for the rights, I doubt that they would care. Sport in general seems to be all about the money today, with no consideration for the fans.

[Chloé Palmas]

Originally Posted by vincerooney

I'd love to hear your reasons why but its probably not on topic! I thought London would be a good place for a team purely to tap into the European market. The only problem would be the airplane journey times but apparently a way around it would be for the london based team to play two home games in a row and the away time having a bye the following week.

But you're right about the cost of sports sky rocketing. I remember then sky sports was the place to watch EVERYTHING and then Ofcom said it was bad for the customer so forced us all to pay for Setanta etc. One of the most stupidest decisions ever.

I think we're heading to a change though. The 3pm tv ban is likely to be axed soon as money talks. A season ticket to watch your club on tv is likely to launch and then its anyone's guess what happens but i'd imagine it'll become a case of "the richer teams get richer" and the premier league ceases to offer any competition

Oh Setanta sports....what a nightmare.

In regards to the London franchise I am not sure but we may be able to start another thread on it / not sure.

The franchises will have to cave on content though - TV's now are all app enabled so it is so easy to get something like the ESPN player app and watch every CF game that you want instead of using BT sport - it costs round the same anyway.

It is just that now BT's stupidity on programing will go, the issues of something running over is no longer an issue and you can also watch on the go / on a hand held device etc.

[jfman]

Can we possibly keep this on topic? I wouldn't like my facts about the Virgin HFC network to get lost in a discussion about Spanish football which, given the distribution of Sky Sports subscribers between Sky/Virgin, will affect a very tiny number of people likely to read the thread.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by vincerooney

I'd love to hear your reasons why but its probably not on topic! I thought London would be a good place for a team purely to tap into the European market. The only problem would be the airplane journey times but apparently a way around it would be for the london based team to play two home games in a row and the away time having a bye the following week.

But you're right about the cost of sports sky rocketing. I remember then sky sports was the place to watch EVERYTHING and then Ofcom said it was bad for the customer so forced us all to pay for Setanta etc. One of the most stupidest decisions ever.

I think we're heading to a change though. The 3pm tv ban is likely to be axed soon as money talks. A season ticket to watch your club on tv is likely to launch and then its anyone's guess what happens but i'd imagine it'll become a case of "the richer teams get richer" and the premier league ceases to offer any competition

And I can remember when Sky Sports was free! It was then on offer for £2.99 a month for six months I think, before going up to £5.99.

This was the same price for pubs too in those days...

[jfman]

And none of this has anything to do with what may/may not be coming soon to Virgin Media.