Season Ticket Discussion 2024/25

[Tony Towner]

All in it's about £2.7bn per season, so your 10m would need to be 13.5m to break even. Gut says you'd lose money on your UK rights deal, but make it on overseas, but make it a hell of a lot easier in the UK to stream a decent ad, pop up, lag free feed with a VPN.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

All in it's about £2.7bn per season, so your 10m would need to be 13.5m to break even. Gut says you'd lose money on your UK rights deal, but make it on overseas, but make it a hell of a lot easier in the UK to stream a decent ad, pop up, lag free feed with a VPN.

You need way more than break even though surely.

Why would you want to expend way more effort and take on way more risk and liability for a net gain of 0%.

 

[Alan]

You are probably correct, but at that price they'd get millions signed up world wide, the finances add up and the technology is there.

Fwiw the technology is there but it isn't free; someone has to foot the bill on the broadcast equipment (I doubt the current owners would just give it away) and recurring *expensive* costs on maintaining and delivering the streams, much less customer account and financial data (though the latter they'd likely look to offload to an expensive third party).

Those costs quadruple or more if you want the delivered streams to be at a decent bitrate or in 4k resolution. 720p-ish is still largely the standard source resolution for live sporting broadcasts because 4k delivery at that scale is a proper nightmare on the budget.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Fwiw the technology is there but it isn't free; someone has to foot the bill on the broadcast equipment (I doubt the current owners would just give it away) and recurring *expensive* costs on maintaining and delivering the streams, much less customer account and financial data (though the latter they'd likely look to offload to an expensive third party).

Those costs quadruple or more if you want the delivered streams to be at a decent bitrate or in 4k resolution. 720p-ish is still largely the standard source resolution for live sporting broadcasts because 4k delivery at that scale is a proper nightmare on the budget.

Very much so.

We had that stupid fallacy when Amazon first got rights of "wow, I only pay £8 a month for Amazon Prime and this is great! Imagine if they had the rights". Well they wouldn't be charging you £8 a month for 38 rounds of games instead of 2, they do this as a loss leader right before Christmas FFS. Ignoring what a cunty company Amazon are.

There are better theoretical solutions than the current set up but it is by no means a no brainer for anyone involved. Germany is about as equitable a nation as you get for football fans in a major league and they haven't gone direct-to-customer, because it's a complete punt as it stands and the potential gains aren't brilliant in the immediate term.

 

[pagey]

OK, I got my figures wrong, just think this is the way forward for the PL. Although 10m subscibers was a low estimate, when sky alone have 8.5m subscibers in the UK.

@Alan do they do do a similar streaming service for the NFL in the states, seem to recall someone mentioning something to me in the past?

 

[Tony Towner]

OK, I got my figures wrong, just think this is the way forward for the PL.

@Alan do they do do a similar streaming service for the NFL in the states, seem to recall someone mentioning something to me in the past?

Yeah me, about an hour and a half ago

 

[pagey]

Yeah me, about an hour and a half ago

Sorry pal, in and out the forum at the minute and missed it.

 

[Alan]

OK, I got my figures wrong, just think this is the way forward for the PL. Although 10m subscibers was a low estimate, when sky alone have 8.5m subscibers in the UK.

@Alan do they do do a similar streaming service for the NFL in the states, seem to recall someone mentioning something to me in the past?

I believe NFL Sunday Ticket mostly just piggy-backs on the normal broadcasts and spits them out over the internet rather than air. From the sounds of it, this PL streaming would replace the standard broadcasts altogether? So not apples to apples.

There's also the much more difficult to grasp difference in away support. Obviously getting to an away match in the UK is a different prospect to it in the US, so I don't know how that would play into the calculus for a sort of blanket "watch anything" service for the Prem.

 

[The Bear]

I think it'll come in eventually. Maybe even as a new broadcast company made up of the major companies like Sky, TNT and the PL all together. They'll split the overheads and also charge a fortune for it so they can split the profits three ways.

That would mean they can still show selected games on their own platforms to keep their basic sports subscribers happy, as well as offering a bespoke subscription deal for each PL club's games on top.

So you'd get all the games you get now on Sky/TNT, plus your own clubs if you fork out the extra subscription. I think that could probably work.

 

[Banjo]

Did you end up renewing your membership/s in the end or did you hold firm?

Didn't buy them. If I get to away games it'll be because kind people on here (or their relatives) sort me with a STH supporter number to buy the occasional away game ticket.

 

[Johnny75]

I believe NFL Sunday Ticket mostly just piggy-backs on the normal broadcasts and spits them out over the internet rather than air. From the sounds of it, this PL streaming would replace the standard broadcasts altogether? So not apples to apples.

There's also the much more difficult to grasp difference in away support. Obviously getting to an away match in the UK is a different prospect to it in the US, so I don't know how that would play into the calculus for a sort of blanket "watch anything" service for the Prem.

There is a complete misunderstanding from nearly everybody on what a stream is.

A steam is a broadcast, currently all broadcasts are done by 2 companies. IMG and WBD (Warner Brothers Discovery).

The PL would subcontract either of those 2 companies to produce their content as they don't have the infrastructure in place to produce it themselves. Currently SKY, NBC, Apple and others subcontract either of those two companies to do this job.

If the PL did decide to do this on their own with their own subscribers then they'd replace the broadcasters.

I think this may well be the next play for the PL but it will end badly for them.

 

[The Bear]

Just as an addition to the above conversation and how possible a steaming setup for the PL is, Sky have partnered up with the EFL next season to show over 1000 games through their new Sky Sports Plus:


"The scale of Sky Sports+ will be evident from the opening weekend of the 2024/25 EFL season, with every game from across all three divisions - the Championship, League One and League Two - streamed live, a first in broadcasting history.

Sky Sports+ comes at the start of a new long-term and landmark partnership with the EFL, with more than 1,000 EFL games a season featuring every team more than 20 times, and every Championship club on at least 24 occasions."


So it's definitely possible for a company like Sky it seems.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

They've been doing it for midweek Championship games for some time but the quality is some way short of a normal TV broadcast and it'll remain so on this new offering. Better than nothing (especially if it's your team) but simply wouldn't fly as something you'd pay extra for or as the fundamental basis for a subscription.

 

[Quirkafleeg]

Sky stated 'SKY SPORTS PLUS IS FREE OF CHARGE BLAH BLAH BLAH'. Guess what my bill rockets from £119 just paid for July to £157 for August, oh look at that football season starts in fucking August doesn't it.

 

[The Bear]

Sky stated 'SKY SPORTS PLUS IS FREE OF CHARGE BLAH BLAH BLAH'. Guess what my bill rockets from £119 just paid for July to £157 for August, oh look at that football season starts in fucking August doesn't it.

That's way too much. Sounds like you're well overdue switching suppliers.

 

[Kenny]

That's way too much. Sounds like you're well overdue switching suppliers.

What are the options if you can only have Sky, other than saying you are leaving and hope they offer you a better deal?

 

[The Bear]

What are the options if you can only have Sky, other than saying you are leaving and hope they offer you a better deal?

Ditch it altogether and get a NowTV streaming box which still has Sky Sports and their other channels on it.

Then wait for Sky to come back to you with a much reduced offer, which they always do once you've waited the 30 days notice and have officially cancelled.

 

[Johnny75]

Just as an addition to the above conversation and how possible a steaming setup for the PL is, Sky have partnered up with the EFL next season to show over 1000 games through their new Sky Sports Plus:


"The scale of Sky Sports+ will be evident from the opening weekend of the 2024/25 EFL season, with every game from across all three divisions - the Championship, League One and League Two - streamed live, a first in broadcasting history.

Sky Sports+ comes at the start of a new long-term and landmark partnership with the EFL, with more than 1,000 EFL games a season featuring every team more than 20 times, and every Championship club on at least 24 occasions."


So it's definitely possible for a company like Sky it seems.

FFS Sky do not produce those games IMG do.

Sky are the broadcaster.

Those games are already broadcast on ifollow

 

[Tom Hark]

FFS Sky do not produce those games IMG do.

Sky are the broadcaster.

Those games are already broadcast on ifollow

"From 2024/25, a new rights agreement between the EFL and Sky Sports comes into effect, making Sky Sports the home of the EFL.

With over 1,000 EFL fixtures live on Sky Sports via Sky and NOW each season, iFollow/club streaming services will cease to offer domestic live video coverage of EFL matches and streamed games can be watched on the Sky Sports+ service."

https://www.efl.com/how-to-watch/ifollow-and-streaming/

 

[ROVERT47]

I always give them a call when my subscription goes up tell them it’s far too much but if you can give me a new contract at a far more reasonable price I’ll remain a customer.