Sports Extra (TNT/Premier)

robwen

Are Eir showing any GAA club games this year,?Think they had a good few live round this time last year

Dindane

Digifriendly wrote: »

Since I subscribed to Premier Sports about a month ago Eir Sports 1 has been 'in the clear' including all their Pro 14 coverage. It gives me alternative commentary to that on Premier Sports 1 when matches are simulcast. Also enjoy seeing how Tommy Bowe is performing as a presenter and Eir sports panel as distinct from Premier Sports panel.

The same thing is happening in the ROI, with Premier Sports 1 and 2 coming through on "Extra Channels", along with FreeSports.

Tigerandahalf

Dindane wrote: »

The same thing is happening in the ROI, with Premier Sports 1 and 2 coming through on "Extra Channels", along with FreeSports.

They are only in SD though.

Dindane

robwen wrote: »

Are Eir showing any GAA club games this year,?Think they had a good few live round this time last year

It may have been dropped. They've had tons of lay-offs.

icdg

Deal was supposed to run for five years. Then again, their major acquisition of the Pro14 now dominates their weekend schedules.

ashdale5

So BT/Eir have lost UFC, NBA and GAA and are still increasing their subscription fees?

IsMiseJoe

ashdale5 wrote: »

So BT/Eir have lost UFC, NBA and GAA and are still increasing their subscription fees?

Eir are overloading on Rugby, their weekend schedule is a nightmare now.

I'm only subscribed for the football on BT. I won't pay more than 15.99 for it - when they won't offer me that anymore I'm gone.

icdg

To be clear, there’s no suggestion that they’ve dropped their GAA Allianz League coverage at this point. This is stricly the club championships (which they only got rights to last year) we’re talking about.

icdg

NBA now confirmed gone - returning to Sky Sports for four year deal.

icdg

And for those missing the club GAA - it’s apparently not gone, Na Piarsaigh v Doon (Limerick SHC final) on Eir Sport 1 on Saturday.

joe_99

Any word on Eir retaining BT sport contract. Don't think I'll sign up for an annual contract without certainty. Can't see Eir sports surviving without BT tie in.

Tigerandahalf

joe_99 wrote: »

Any word on Eir retaining BT sport contract. Don't think I'll sign up for an annual contract without certainty. Can't see Eir sports surviving without BT tie in.

They'll survive with the Pro14 rugby.
It will be interesting to see what approach BT take here. Will they take the money from eir, vodafone, virgin or will they just let anyone in Ireland sign upto their app.

In the long term I can't see broadband providers like eir being allowed to hog the rights for their own subscribers. They may be forced to make it available to everyone.

It would be a disaster for many if a streaming only company got the rights.

BT has lost ufc, italian and spanish soccer so maybe less demand for it.

The Champions League rights are also up for renewal in 2019 in the UK, so no guarantee they will remain on BT. I'd be very surprised if some live games don't go back to fta in the UK.

Huge need for a single streaming app that would allow you to subscribe to as many or as little as you want. Maybe google itself will lead the way.

icdg

Very early to be talking Champions League rights when we’re two months into a new three year deal.

joe_99

It will be difficult to survive on Pro 14 rights. Price will need to drop below €10.

The Champions League and Champions Cup on BT are the main reasons I signed up to Eir sports.

Tigerandahalf

joe_99 wrote: »

It will be difficult to survive on Pro 14 rights. Price will need to drop below €10

They don't even charge that at the moment. Eir sports are free if you are subscribred to their broadband.

In the UK Premier Sports (have the UK tv rights) is £10 p/m.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/sky-sports-plot-bid-regain-13199645

The above article has me confused. As icdg says the deal with BT is until 2021 but it then says that the rights are up for auction in 2019.

BT have also laid off a lot of staff and they seem to be reducing their portfolio of rights.

joe_99

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

They don't even charge that at the moment. Eir sports are free if you are subscribred to their broadband.

In the UK Premier Sports (have the UK tv rights) is £10 p/m.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/sky-sports-plot-bid-regain-13199645

The above article has me confused. As icdg says the deal with BT is until 2021 but it then says that the rights are up for auction in 2019.

BT have also laid off a lot of staff and they seem to be reducing their portfolio of rights.

Eir will only be offering eir sports free with broadband. They will find it very hard to attract new broadband subs with just Pro 14. They will get very few non eir broadband subs.

muffler

When does the current arrangement between Eir and BT end?

joe_99

muffler wrote: »

When does the current arrangement between Eir and BT end?

Expires mid 2019. Unlikely to be renewed I reckon.

dulpit

joe_99 wrote: »

Expires mid 2019. Unlikely to be renewed I reckon.

Based on what? A lot of people seem to be suggesting this, but on what basis?

Tigerandahalf

dulpit wrote: »

Based on what? A lot of people seem to be suggesting this, but on what basis?

It depens on who goes for it.
Will vodafone/siro enter the market to compete against eir?
Then you have virgin who could put bt sports on their app for non broadband subscribers. That would be very bad for people with poor broadband.

It all depends on the competition for the rights.
Virgin already have rights to the Champions League and Nations League and have some live rugby with Champions Cup and the 6Nations, so may not be bothered about BT.

The big problem for Virgin is that a lof its bought rights are fta on the uk satellite system or free to eir broadband subscribers.

icdg

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

The above article has me confused. As icdg says the deal with BT is until 2021 but it then says that the rights are up for auction in 2019.

The two are not irreconcilable. BT was awarded the contract that has just stated in March 2017, meaning that the RFT could well have went out very late in 2016.

As who will get the BT rights, I would think eir favourites to secure a renewal, but wouldn’t rule out BT moving to wholesaling their own rights, now that they’ve a deal in place to do it with Sky in the UK (beginning next year, oddly enough), I don’t see why they shouldn’t cut out the middleman.

dulpit

icdg wrote: »

The two are not irreconcilable. BT was awarded the contract that has just stated in March 2017, meaning that the RFT could well have went out very late in 2016.

As who will get the BT rights, I would think eir favourites to secure a renewal, but wouldn’t rule out BT moving to wholesaling their own rights, now that they’ve a deal in place to do it with Sky in the UK (beginning next year, oddly enough), I don’t see why they shouldn’t cut out the middleman.

I would have thought BT on their own becomes less of a sell when compared to Eir/BT bundle. Eir fills the gaps with the likes of Pro 14, GAA etc that makes it a more compelling sell.

Elmo

dulpit wrote: »

I would have thought BT on their own becomes less of a sell when compared to Eir/BT bundle. Eir fills the gaps with the likes of Pro 14, GAA etc that makes it a more compelling sell.

Would have though eir was less of a selling point on its own, don't think it makes much of a difference to BT, they may well want to do a deal with Virgin Media in Ireland.

joe_99

BT lost a big market of virgin customers when eir pulled the plug. I doubt they would have been too happy about that.

Tigerandahalf

joe_99 wrote: »

BT lost a big market of virgin customers when eir pulled the plug. I doubt they would have been too happy about that.

They couldn't care less. Eir were still paying them the same money. Maybe advertising but I would say it is aimed at UK market only.

flazio

Availability of Eir versus availability of Virgin plays a factor here as well. Eir broadband (which Vodafone and Sky piggyback on) reaches far more towns than Virgin, so in order to appear on more TV screens they have to stick with Eir.

joe_99

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

They couldn't care less. Eir were still paying them the same money. Maybe advertising but I would say it is aimed at UK market only.

It was not a flat fee contract. I understand they were also getting a slice of the incremental subs not on the eir platform. For example if BT had 50k subs on the Sky and Virgin platforms not all this revenue went to eir.

joe_99

flazio wrote: »

Availability of Eir versus availability of Virgin plays a factor here as well. Eir broadband (which Vodafone and Sky piggyback on) reaches far more towns than Virgin, so in order to appear on more TV screens they have to stick with Eir.

They are not mutually exclusive. Sky Sports is on the eir, Vodafone, Virgin and Sky platforms. They reach way more homes than BT sport's can with eir.

icdg

If anything the lack of eir Sport on Virgin only hurt Virgin. Part of the reason they are leading on Champions League football on VM Sport is they see it as plugging a gap that they are missing with BT Sport. They tried offering me a deal for their TV service a while back and I told them that without BT Sport they could offer it to me for free and I still wouldn’t take it. It still doesn’t change the fact that the eir and BT pack now has all club rugby and if that’s important to you then Virgin isn’t an option.

Worth nothing that the eir/BT pack is available on Vodafone and satellite.

IsMiseJoe

I rang Eir last week because I just got Sky multiroom and wanted to add the BT channels to my new box.

I didn't realise there would be a charge (€3 per month). After a bit of chat, they added it for free for 12 months.