Sky Sports are Taking the Piss Thread

[kenrobell]

There are already people who will stay in the pub and watch "Jeff and the Boys" rather than take in a local game. You can think its bull all you like but if Rangers/Celtic/Liverpool/whoever were playing at 3pm I'd wager you'd see a few more deciding to do that rather than go to a game, especially in shite weather. 

That’s kind of my point the bus has already been and gone to the point theirs all clubs outside the top flight are down to their most loyal supporters

[Sergeant Wilson]

12 hours ago, kenrobell said:

Here is a question the 50 million target is that across the board including overseas rights or is it just domestic right that the target was for ?

 

[VincentGuerin]

16 hours ago, kenrobell said:

I think this is bull the people that turn up in lower league at 3 o’clock will turn up at 12 or 5 aswell I don’t think Celtic or rangers affects it at all

I personally know people who are supporters of Rangers/Celtic who are regulars at lower league clubs (a couple are season ticket holders) but whose real team is the OF team. No chance they go to half as many lower league games if they can watch Rangers/Celtic at 3pm every week. Same as I know people who will go to watch lower league stuff if Hearts aren't playing at 3 on a Saturday, but would watch Hearts if possible.

It wouldn't necessarily bring football to its knees on its own, but I think forums like this where so many of us are so into fitba and so partisan about it mask the reality that many people's experience of the game is more floaty and comes and goes with different factors.

There's no question there are people who attend games now who wouldn't if the OF were always on at 3pm though. Not to mention the big English clubs.

Edited August 18, 2022 by VincentGuerin

[lubo_blaha]

I personally know people who are supporters of Rangers/Celtic who are regulars at lower league clubs (a couple are season ticket holders) but whose real team is the OF team. No chance they go to half as many lower league games if they can watch Rangers/Celtic at 3pm every week. Same as I know people who will go to watch lower league stuff if Hearts aren't playing at 3 on a Saturday, but would watch Hearts if possible.
It wouldn't necessarily bring football to its knees on its own, but I think forums like this where so many of us are so into fitba and so partisan about it mask the reality that many people's experience of the game is more floaty and comes and goes with different factors.
There's no question there are people who attend games now who wouldn't if the OF were always on at 3pm though. Not to mention the big English clubs.

Would they usually attend a lower league game after watching their “big” team at 12/12.30?

The EPL games would depend on whether England kept the 3pm blackout as well. As it stands, the big teams tend not to play at 3pm on Saturday, especially not against the other big sides. Would people in Scotland really forego attending a game to watch Man City vs Palace or Chelsea vs Southampton on tv, for example?

[VincentGuerin]

50 minutes ago, lubo_blaha said:

Would they usually attend a lower league game after watching their “big” team at 12/12.30?

 

Some do, frequently. We've all been in the pub before a game with the lunchtime game on and then gone to our 3pm. No different for these guys. Move that St Mirren - Celtic game to 3pm and you're giving them a decision to make. And Dumbarton v East Fife may not win.

One of my mates takes his boy to their local team regularly. They'll often watch Celtic on the telly first, either in the house or in the pub.

How the EPL 3pms would affect it, who knows? But many in Scotland reckon they're Liverpool or Man Utd fans, so Villa v Liverpool on tv at 3pm may well sway some away from going to a local game. And there'd be more of these big games at 3 if they could be televised.

With the EPL moving towards having a Big Seven once Newcastle get themselves together, it's quite easy envisage a series of weekends with televised/legally streamed options along the lines of:

Saturday: 12.30 Liverpool - Man Utd (plus Killie v Celtic) 3pm Arsenal - Spurs (plus Rangers v Hibs) 5.30pm Newcastle - Man City Sunday: 12.30 Brighton v Villa 4pm Everton v Chelsea

Move that collection of sides around throughout the season and a bunch of Super Mega Mad Mental Saturdays seems inevitable, with one team left over to play a big-ish Super Sunday game. Easy to see a day's fitba like that keeping a lot of people in the house or in the pub.

Edited August 18, 2022 by VincentGuerin

[accies1874]

 

Got excited when they included Aberdeen v Hibs at the end but should've known better. 

[Ranaldo Bairn]

Nothing to add about the fixtures, but just want to say that the Mitre Delta there is a thing of ineffable pristine beauty. 

[gannonball]

[the jambo-rocker]

I see emergency talks are being held because Rangers seem to be the only club reluctant to accept the new TV deal.

I'm actually really fucked off at all the club's (mine especially) for just letting this go ahead without even looking to undertake a proper in-depth competitive tendering process here. It doesn't scream a process that has been thought through here or even considered.

I get the cost of living isn't exactly pretty for a lot of clubs but I find incredibly naive that with the amount of time currently left on the live contract that we haven’t even considered putting the TV deal (which doesn't scream that big an increase, if anything due to inflation costs less) out for tender, and especially when you consider the changing landscape of sports streaming in general.

Someone on Reddit pointed the straw man arguments that we can't do this due to infrastructure, costs and lack of resources to even undertake it ourselves but Sky outsource this to production companies, so why the f**k can't we do it?

[The Master]

It looks like the SPFL are wanting to change the rules to force the Sky deal through. This needs a vote of all 42 clubs  

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11182775/SPFL-attempt-force-new-30million-year-broadcasting-contract-Sky-Sports.html

Irrespective of the motives at Ibrox, they’re right that the Sky deal is bad for the game. We need to get in touch with our clubs expressing our views in the hope it creates enough momentum against this as it did in 2012. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by The Master

[Clown Job]

That is absolutely wild they’re not putting the rights out to tender, nor that the nee agreement doesn’t guarantee Sky will show the game they have the rights for. 

[tamba_trio]

Sorta to do with Sky, I noticed today that the AFL just signed a new TV deal. Not with Sky, obviously, with Foxtel (Australian Sky). 

I mention because I'm new to the AFL thing and I looked into it's history a bit. In 1999, their TV deal was about 16 million pounds a year. Back then, the SPL were getting 11 milion a year. Not overly different, is my point. 

This latest AFL deal is worth about 400 million pounds a season. Every game is shown live, with the big games also shown on free TV (about 3 games a week).

Meanwhile, the SPFL gets under 30 million per season. And we actually get less non-Old Firm games live than we did back in the late 90s. Even the free to air highlights are much worse. 

With all the subscription channels about now (who are all desperate for sport), it's hard to believe we wouldn't even try to get something better. 

[TheScarf]

To be fair, Australia has 5 times the population of Scotland and Aussie Rules will have a much bigger TV audience there than Scottish football does here.

[Willie adie]

So hold on the SPFL can just override voting results as it suits them, ?

Well who would have thought it

[SJFCtheTeamForMe]

I'm not overly familiar with how these deals work. Certainly no more than your average fan. Few thoughts though. 

SURELY prior to going though a costly tender process the SPFL will have a rough idea how much other channels could have within budgets/have an interest in the rights/what they're likely to bid. 

If another broadcaster was genuinely interested without question the minute they heard about the potential sky deal they'd be in contact with the SPFL making them aware of their interest even if it was an "off the record" type offer and conversation. If that happened and it was worth more money, this sky TV deal wouldn't be going anywhere - that's a certainty.

I can't see them simply pushing forward with this deal without at least having a reasonable understanding of what the likelihood of other bids are and their potential financial level. 

In the same way you don't just simply go through a costly tender process without some level of confidence that another offer will come in higher than what's already on the table. Otherwise it's a waste of time, resources and potentially results in the eventual deal being lower than what's already being offered. 

I know the SPFL aren't the most savvy organisation sometimes but it's not as simple as they've jumped at the offer without at least some due diligence going into it. Other club directors WILL have asked about this. Some of these people are very successful business men.

There was also articles this morning suggesting Rangers were doing this, because they wanted an apology over the Cinch fall out was there not? 

Edited September 6, 2022 by SJFCtheTeamForMe

[Charles Stiles]

Anything Sevco do is to be as destructive to Scottish football as possible through revenge for them being 'demoted' in 2012 when they died. That it might just be correct occasionally is in the broken clock category, which is quite apt given their calendar hasn't worked since 1690. 

[craigkillie]

So hold on the SPFL can just override voting results as it suits them, ?
Well who would have thought it

No, they can hold a democratic vote to change the rules, and if enough clubs vote for it then it will pass.

[Clown Job]

 

[Lionsof67]

TV deal is not good enough, Norway and Sweden get double that.

[kenrobell]

TV deal is not good enough, Norway and Sweden get double that.

They also sell every game we don’t clubs trying to get best deal without damaging season ticket sales merch sales if we sign deal at 80 games for 38 million ….. sky won’t show the 80 they will grab the extra to stop another broadcaster picking it up can see it being 50 games they show for 38 million is not bad money if you look at it that way plus they are giving clubs the option to ppv games