Champions League on pay TV only?

icdg

They will be released from that obligation at the end of next season, and I don't expect BT Showcase to last much longer after that.

enfant terrible

FRIENDO wrote: »

No, its on BT Showcase HD on Freeview HD devices

The regular BT channel bt sports 2 i think was clearing last night for the final in sd.

The Cush

enfant terrible wrote: »

The regular BT channel bt sports 2 i think was clearing last night for the final in sd.

http://www.a516digital.com/2017/05/free-2017-champions-and-europa-league.html

enfant terrible

The Cush wrote: »

http://www.a516digital.com/2017/05/free-2017-champions-and-europa-league.html

Yes was on BT Sports 2 sd on Sky last night

theoneeyedman

theoneeyedman wrote: »

Is it not behind a pay wall in UK already?

It is, bar the highlights which will be on ITV again next season. But from Autumn 2018 everything is on the BT platform. So in this context it will be interesting to see how the RoI rights will be handled in the future. Could Eirsport make bid for the whole package with RTE & TV3 losing out?

Maybe the finals could be made FTA as the EL final was last night on BT Sports 2 even if Eirsport does win the rights.

Just wondering, did BT2 go completely FTA last night, ie was it available on any FTA satellite receiver, not just a Sky box with an active card?

lertsnim

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Just wondering, did BT2 go completely FTA last night, ie was it available on any FTA satellite receiver, not just a Sky box with an active card?

It wasn't available on my box so must have been FTV.

lertsnim

lertsnim wrote: »

It wasn't available on my box so must have been FTV.

FTV to protect the broadcasting rights then i'm guessing.

Elmo

lertsnim wrote: »

It wasn't available on my box so must have been FTV.

on that is Eir sport ever FTA?

lertsnim

[Deleted User] wrote: »

FTV to protect the broadcasting rights then i'm guessing.

Probably. German channel Sport 1 showed it FTA across the whole of Europe though

icdg

One explanation I've heard is that rights holders regard language as a helpful barrier in protecting national rights but not for English language broadcasters. Don't know how true that is though. Germany has a long history both of free to air Broadcasting and satellite distribution (along with a historically weak pay-TV sector) but I'm not sure how Austrian and Swiss rights holders cope with same. (Maybe they don't - I am always weary of taking Wikipedia as a source, but a list of the top ten viewed channels in Austria shows PSB ORF1&2 at the top - followed entirely by a mix of German channels and Austrian commercial channels owned by German companies. Not unlike Ireland really).

dublinman1990

RTÉ2 have the Champions League final again on at 7pm this Saturday the 3rd of June which is great.

There is also a special programme of Champions League Magazine which starts at 6pm on RTÉ2.

This should feature something on the CL final & the overall best action of the tournament.

icdg

It is the syndicated UEFA programme, afaik.

munchkin_utd

Details of german champions league rights slowing tricking out and its as expected.
Free to air ZDF will have nothing and private FTA stations also not getting any games.
Sky remains the main broadcaster with DAZN proving online coverage of some extent.
So for the first time, as per the thread title, "Champions League on pay TV only" is now what Germany is facing.

In Austria national broadcaster ORF also not covering it, but for them it was a quandry as how can a public broadcaster reconcile a remit to be relevant to its national interests when no team from the country ever gets to the knock out stages, if even to the group stages in the first place. So again another country to join the list of "Champions League on pay TV only"

Small article in German. http://www.rp-online.de/sport/fussball/champions-league/champions-league-nur-noch-bei-sky-und-dazn-zdf-verliert-rechte-aid-1.6881274
I'll link the official info whenever Uefa bother to acknowledge the news

icdg

Short piece in English:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/skys-german-unit-signs-champions-league-deal-2017-06-13

That UEFA have been willing to give Sky exclusivity in Austria especially doesn't bode well for TV3 and RTE retaining rights. It shows that even in smaller markets UEFA is now willing to do a pay TV exclusive deal.

munchkin_utd

The only difference between Ireland and Austria I can see is that Sky Germany were looking for rights for the 2 countries whereas BT Sports isnt.

But, at the same time it does show that the UK deal wasn't a one off and Uefa will go pay tv only should they get a premium price. With pressure from some clubs to consider a breakaway european super league, UEFA dont really have a lot of choice.

And from a germany perspective, I saw a lot of comments recently in the german press that the last team in the Premier League got more in prize money for their ineptitude than Real Madrid for winning the champions league.
There's an increasing awareness on the continent that the champions league is risking loosing its status as the premier competition unless more cash is generated..... which leaves UEFA having to go down the pay-tv only route in more and more countries .

Just as a side issue of what little champions league might be left on free tv in Europe, I see its not listed as a designated sporting event of importance in Ireland. Has anyone a link to a list of what events are listed across Europe ? (I searched and came up with nothing)

icdg

I don't think there's a complete list.

Irish list is here:
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2003/si/99/made/en/print

UK list is here:
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0029/35948/ofcom_code_on_sport.pdf

Badabing

Interesting to see if Eir/BT get all rights in ROI or if they do a deal with Tv3 for example for 1 fta match a week.

ziggyman17

Badabing wrote: »

Interesting to see if Eir/BT get all rights in ROI or if they do a deal with Tv3 for example for 1 fta match a week.

I do not think Eir would have a big enough viewership to pull off a deal like that, BT are only with Eir because Eir bought Setanta out, I can see Virgin striking up a deal with BT when their contract with Eir comes up for renewal...

Elmo

I don't see why Sky, BT or eir would ever have to do a deal with a FTA channel. With the execption of eir both Sky and BT have FTA channels (PICK, CHALLENGE, BT SHOWCASE and so on) which they could use. It wouldn't be difficult for eir to set up a FTA channel in Ireland.

Though both Sky and BT would have to make a better effort of their FTA channels neither should be doing worse in audience than Channel 5.

The Cush

http://www.uefa.org/MultimediaFiles/Download/Publications/uefaorg/Marketing/01/62/45/02/1624502_DOWNLOAD.pdf

I see from the UEFA document that the tender for Germany, Austria and Switzerland were issued on the same day, 6 March. I guess they submitted a combined bid for both countries.

Wasn't this seen/discussed as one of their objectives when they came under the one umbrella a few years ago, the possibility of pan European bids for sports packages in markets in which they operate, UK/IRL, Ger/Aus and Italy.

icdg

UEFA don't care anymore about FTA or the viewership. The terms of their new deal with BT (under which BT will be released from their obligation to show a number of games on BT showcase) shows that all UEFA now care about is the size of the cheque the highest bidder is prepared to write.

icdg

The Cush wrote: »

http://www.uefa.org/MultimediaFiles/Download/Publications/uefaorg/Marketing/01/62/45/02/1624502_DOWNLOAD.pdf

I see from the UEFA document that the tender for Germany, Austria and Switzerland were issued on the same day, 6 March. I guess they submitted a combined bid for both countries.

Wasn't this seen/discussed as one of their objectives when they came under the one umbrella a few years ago, the possibility of pan European bids for sports packages in markets in which they operate, UK/IRL, Ger/Aus and Italy.

Sky Germany and Austria already were the one operation. Sky Austria is no more independent from Sky Germany than Sky Ireland is from Sky UK (that is to say, not at all).

The Cush

icdg wrote: »

Sky Germany and Austria already were the one operation. Sky Austria is no more independent from Sky Germany than Sky Ireland is from Sky UK (that is to say, not at all).

Yes, I was aware of that but UEFA issued separate tenders for both countries. Surprising that they didn't do the same for the RoI media rights when they issued the UK tender.

Regarding the pan-European bid I mentioned earlier, the discussion at the time IIRC was they might have bid for all 5 markets in one go but I guess UEFA aren't interested in such a bidding process.

munchkin_utd

just to go back to what Champions league games must be shown in Germany by law which sortof becomes important now that all is behind a paywall, theres only a need to show the final when theres a german team in it. Otherwise, no obligation to show a single game.

On another news site its mentioned that the odd game may get shown on Sky Sport news which is unscrambled in Germany, but thats not even confirmed by sky yet.

icdg

Early reports that Sky have also won exclusive rights in Italy.

http://www.euronews.com/2017/06/14/sky-set-to-win-italian-uefa-champions-league-soccer-broadcasting-rights-source

Clitheroekid

http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2017/06/13/sky-and-perform-group-secure-champions-league-in-germany/

dublinman1990

Facebook have signed a deal with FOX Sports in the USA to live stream certain exclusive Champions League games from September.

The games on Facebook will be geo-blocked to USA audiences only.

https://www.whathifi.com/news/facebook-to-live-stream-champions-league-football

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-27/facebook-to-stream-live-champions-league-soccer-in-deal-with-fox

Johnboy1951

dublinman1990 wrote: »

Facebook have signed a deal with FOX Sports in the USA to live stream certain exclusive Champions League games from September.

The games on Facebook will be geo-blocked to USA audiences only.

https://www.whathifi.com/news/facebook-to-live-stream-champions-league-football

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-27/facebook-to-stream-live-champions-league-soccer-in-deal-with-fox

NBCUniversal is to allow viewers stream live Premier League matches without a cable subscription. Instead, viewers can pay $50 for a Premier League Pass, which will give them access to 130 live matches.

Now that is something worth the payment!

icdg

Remember the market it's being offered in...

NUTZZ

icdg wrote: »

Remember the market it's being offered in...

And the timezone...

Drag00n79

NBC had all 380 EPL games live if you had the channel on cable, so there are a lot of unhappy footy fans in the US now.

iseegirls

Has it been revealed yet about the Irish rights for Champions League? I assume the current deal ends at the end of this season?

The Cush

iseegirls wrote: »

Has it been revealed yet about the Irish rights for Champions League? I assume the current deal ends at the end of this season?

Looks like the Irish tender hasn't been issued yet - www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Publications/uefaorg/Marketing/01/62/45/02/1624502_DOWNLOAD.pdf

FRIENDO

In the UK BT showcase has finished on freeview, with BT's new rights they no longer have to show FTA Champions league or Europa league.
Last game was shown 31st of March.

FRIENDO

FRIENDO wrote: »

In the UK BT showcase has finished on freeview, with BT's new rights they no longer have to show FTA Champions league or Europa league.
Last game was shown 31st of March.

Are there any indications of possible sub-licensing deals being done with ITV & Ch4? There was speculation about this when these rights were awarded to BT in 2017.

jester77

Free TV for Champions League is no more in Germany as well from next season. Sky and DAZN now have the rights.

FRIENDO

According to a516 digital, in April BT got the new rights with no stipulation to show FTA.

As far as I know BT may still show some Champion's league games online for UK viewers.

No mention of ITV/C4 on rights.

I lost BT showcase on freeview since it went HD, I don't have a DVB-T2 receiver.
I believe it's just showing a promotional loop now. It's not showing it's normal Saturday football score show either I believe.

icdg

The Cush wrote: »

Looks like the Irish tender hasn't been issued yet - www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Publications/uefaorg/Marketing/01/62/45/02/1624502_DOWNLOAD.pdf

It’s bizzare, the new rights period is just four months away and I’m struggling to see another European country that hasn’t at least gone to tender. In fact as I recall Ireland was on a previously issued list that said the tender was issuing before Christmas but obviously that didn’t happen.

As for the UK deal (which also covers Ireland on a non exclusive basis) BT are, as of the start of next season, no longer committed to making any UEFA club football free to view other than the finals of both competitions.

The Cush

icdg wrote: »

It’s bizzare, the new rights period is just four months away and I’m struggling to see another European country that hasn’t at least gone to tender. In fact as I recall Ireland was on a previously issued list that said the tender was issuing before Christmas but obviously that didn’t happen.

Last time round the Irish media rights were tendered the previous Oct (2014) for the 2015-18 cycle.

In addition to the Rep. Ireland there are 6 other countries yet to be tendered incl. Russia according to that almost 2 month old UEFA press release. The tender may have gone out since it was published. For the same period in 2015 there were 10 tenders issued with the last going out in early May.

Even for those countries that had invitations to tenders issued already quite a few yet to finalise contracts.

In addition the successful bid for the Irish media rights for the Nations League is yet to be announced.

kooga

iseegirls wrote: »

Has it been revealed yet about the Irish rights for Champions League? I assume the current deal ends at the end of this season?

Rte have Tuesday night
Tv3 have Wednesday night CL plus Thursday Europa League

lertsnim

I wonder if the Europa League rights are non exclusive or will BT Sport have to be blocked.

Edit: I see TV3 have all Champions League games on both nights, excluding the RTÉ game as well as all Europa League games.

I can most of these being Virgin Media exclusive.

iseegirls

Wasn't expecting that. First time TV3 will have exclusivity over the CL finals since they started sharing rights with RTE.

Eir Sports is the biggest loser in this one.

Great to see Europa League return free to air though.

lertsnim

iseegirls wrote: »

Eir Sports is the biggest loser in this one.

Virgin Media will be giving them the two fingers with this after their spat a couple of years ago.

political analyst

kooga wrote: »

Rte have Tuesday night
Tv3 have Wednesday night CL plus Thursday Europa League

Wouldn't RTÉ have save themselves some money if they had decided not to bid for the rights of any of the CL matches?

icdg

So TV3’s press release:
https://www.tv3.ie/news_sub_page.php?locID=1.2.888

TV3 get all Wednesday night games, second choice on Tuesday night, the final, the Super Cup, and exclusive rights to the Europa League.

RTE get first choice on Tuesday night.

It’s a massive gain for TV3 coming on the heels of their Six Nations and European Rugby Cup deals.

Eir are out, in their own right, though it’s not quite so bad because they can still broadcast BT’s coverage (according to this earlier announcement from Team, anyway:http://www.team.ch/news/uk-and-roi-media-rights-deal-champions-league-and-europa-league/ ).

iseegirls

lertsnim wrote: »

Virgin Media will be giving them the two fingers with this after their spat a couple of years ago.

I still think they would like the FTA Irish Rugby World Cup rights. Still no mention of them.

But yes, this leaves Eir Sports rights very bare.

kooga

iseegirls wrote: »

I still think they would like the FTA Irish Rugby World Cup rights. Still no mention of them.

But yes, this leaves Eir Sports rights very bare.

swings and roundabouts eir have the pro 14 from next year

icdg

Not really. Assuming the previous Team announcement I linked to is correct (and they are the ones who sell the rights on UEFA’s behalf), and assuming the eir-BT deal is renewed, then eir subscribers will still have access to everything they presently do. True, Europa League exclusivity is gone, and eir won’t be presenting anything in their own right any more.

The latter might be actually favourable to eir though because they no longer have any expenses related to acquiring rights or production, and it gives Premier Sports the airtime back.

Elmo

This sounds to me that Virgin are just taking on the Pay portion from eirSports and the move of FTA coverage on TV3 to Wednesday Nights and over to Tuesday Nights to RTÉ2.

eir might retain their deal with BT Sport but nothing to stop Virgin doing a deal with BT Sport directly when the eir contract runs out.

As I said in the other tread could be that all eirSports games go on Virgin onDemand or that when TV3 re-brand that we see a virgin Sports channel on Pay Platforms.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2018/0515/963640-rte-to-broadcast-champions-league-for-next-3-seasons/

EdEd

Ten Pin wrote: »

Ryle says it's great news, does he realise that RTE have lost the final rounds and Wednesday night games? He'd garner more respect if he just told us what he really thinks or else say nothing

RTE kind of have to say something about it as they have bought the rights to a major sporting competition. He's not going to say it was terrible now is he?