Sentanta has gone

[Easy 10]

This could be very interesting the next time the Premier League packages go up for auction again though, because ESPN will have a LOT more financial clout than the likes of Setanta ever had (who only picked up the scraps from the table last time). Sky may not have it all their own way next time the bidding starts - now that ESPN has a foothold in the market, I reckon next time its up for grabs, Sky could well end up losing a LOT more than the 46 games they had to give up this time round.

 

[surrey jim]

but how much is it going to cost?

hopefully virgin will have it free as they did with Setanta. Im having it installed tommorow and dont fancy extra costs!

 

[Easy 10]

As well you know Easy, NSC is the EVERYTHING help-desk.

Indeed.
Where else could you go to find such comprehensive advice such as "have you tried switching it off and on again ?"

 

[surrey jim]

This could be very interesting the next time the Premier League packages go up for auction again though, because ESPN will have a LOT more financial clout than the likes of Setanta ever had (who only picked up the scraps from the table last time). Sky may not have it all their own way next time the bidding starts - now that ESPN has a foothold in the market, I reckon next time its up for grabs, Sky could well end up losing a LOT more than the 46 games they had to give up this time round.

and so the games go to the highest bidder the money goes to the PL the teams get more and it becomes even harder to break into the top flight

 

[Rookie]

This could be very interesting the next time the Premier League packages go up for auction again though, because ESPN will have a LOT more financial clout than the likes of Setanta ever had (who only picked up the scraps from the table last time). Sky may not have it all their own way next time the bidding starts - now that ESPN has a foothold in the market, I reckon next time its up for grabs, Sky could well end up losing a LOT more than the 46 games they had to give up this time round.

Come 2013 sure things will be different clubs will be pushing for their own rights I would imagine. Much more money for certain clubs to make. Find it very strange that ESPN got 46 games this season knowing that will drop by half next season who will be willing to pay the same money for half the games

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

hopefully virgin will have it free as they did with Setanta. Im having it installed tommorow and dont fancy extra costs!

Setanta did a deal with Virgin to have it on their platform and the revenue split wasn't favourable to Setanta. The cost was factored into the top tier package so in a way it wasn't really free , you pay Virgin £XX a month and Setanta take a small cut on a wholesale basis.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Come 2013 sure things will be different clubs will be pushing for their own rights I would imagine. Much more money for certain clubs to make. Find it very strange that ESPN got 46 games this season knowing that will drop by half next season who will be willing to pay the same money for half the games

By the following season ESPN will have built up a bouquet of channels so a sports package will include additional sports.

 

[Arthur]

It wouldnt work though IMO, they cannot rely on people deciding on the day (or a few days before) whether or not they will pay to watch an game.

Maybe not, however I did shell out (albeit when I was very hungover) for a prem plus season ticket a couple of years back. Maybe it was just my still drunken logic but £8 for 1 game didn't seem as good a deal as £50 until the end of the season.

Given that allot of the games were Saturday tea time I think probably the 8 quid vibe would have been a better option.

 

[Lush]

And I quite liked there "3 Lions Over the Cliff" effort

Me too, except when it was followed by a 'we don't give a stuff' England performance, which made all that growling and snarling look a bit laughable.

 

[Simster]

I suspect the problem was that they were competing with the Sky juggernaught, a company that had used Premiership football as a battering ram to persuade people to stump up with a monthly subscription, but then included every other major sport in their portfolio.

Suddenly, once Setanta came on board demanding more subscription money, prospective punters were thinking "I'm already paying £40 a month for sport, I'm not paying even more". This left Setanta with only the sports fans who were both specifically-football fans and unwilling to pay Sky's hefty subscription fee.

ESPN's arrival has to be good news. They're likely to try and compete with other sports as well and they have Disney's financial muscle to finance the marketing strategy.

 

[Easy 10]

ESPN's arrival has to be good news. They're likely to try and compete with other sports as well and they have Disney's financial muscle to finance the marketing strategy.

Not so sure its a good thing really. It all depends how much football ESPN end up grabbing off Sky. It doesn't matter too much at the moment just with those 46 games (I rarely bothered with the Saturday 5.15 jobbie anyway). But if they end up in the future getting, say, half the football packages between them next time, then I'm certainly not going to be subscribing to both Sky and ESPN, unless both the subscription costs are slashed (which, lets face it, would never happen even if they are competing with each other for viewers).

What could end up happening is that these two major broadcasters carve up all the football between them, meaning I'll have to choose ONE of them, depending on what other sports they are also covering - but ultimately, I'll get less football for my money because I will not subscribe to both.

 

[Simster]

Not so sure its a good thing really. It all depends how much football ESPN end up grabbing off Sky. It doesn't matter too much at the moment just with those 46 games (I rarely bothered with the Saturday 5.15 jobbie anyway). But if they end up in the future getting, say, half the football packages between them next time, then I'm certainly not going to be subscribing to both Sky and ESPN, unless both the subscription costs are slashed (which, lets face it, would never happen even if they are competing with each other for viewers).

What could end up happening is that these two major broadcasters carve up all the football between them, meaning I'll have to choose ONE of them, depending on what other sports they are also covering - but ultimately, I'll get less football for my money because I will not subscribe to both.

If that happens, you'll end up choosing the cheapest. Both channels would need to find other sources of income in order to drive down consumer costs, so in the long run it might be sufficiently cheap that you choose to subscribe to both.

 

[Rookie]

And they have gone, nice little montage at the end

 

[clapham_gull]

This could be very interesting the next time the Premier League packages go up for auction again though, because ESPN will have a LOT more financial clout than the likes of Setanta ever had (who only picked up the scraps from the table last time). Sky may not have it all their own way next time the bidding starts - now that ESPN has a foothold in the market, I reckon next time its up for grabs, Sky could well end up losing a LOT more than the 46 games they had to give up this time round.

I'd imagine it will be more of a carve up between the two.

They already have a close relationship. ESPN will need Sky to sort out their subscriptons and Disney already provide Sky with a lot of programming.

 

[Easy 10]

If that happens, you'll end up choosing the cheapest. Both channels would need to find other sources of income in order to drive down consumer costs, so in the long run it might be sufficiently cheap that you choose to subscribe to both.

I won't necessarily end up choosing the cheapest. I'll go with whichever one offers up the best all-round package in addition to the football. Away from football I find the biggest draw to be the golf majors, the Ryder Cup and the Ashes. If ESPN come along trying to hawk rounders, mens netball, and ice-skating with fights along with their Prem coverage, then they can POKE it.

 

[HG201]

The channels have now been removed from my box

 

[Billy the Fish]

I can't see how this is a good thing. At least Setanta offered the chance for those who don't have satellite tv to watch football. ESPN having is the same SKY having every game because you need a sky dish to get the channel. As far as I can make out ESPN are in bed with sky which probably means they won't go into direct competition by showing it on freeview or cable.

 

[clapham_gull]

I can't see how this is a good thing. At least Setanta offered the chance for those who don't have satellite tv to watch football. ESPN having is the same SKY having every game because you need a sky dish to get the channel. As far as I can make out ESPN are in bed with sky which probably means they won't go into direct competition by showing it on freeview or cable.

They are in talks regarding the other platforms. Sky are being careful what they are seen to do at the moment, since there is some Office of Fair Trading Report (or something like that) waiting to report on subscription TV. That's the rumoured reason they didn't fork out for the one Setanta packages they were entitled to bid for.

But yes, they do already have a relationship with each other and ESPN aren't going to try and blow SKY out of the water or vise versa.

That's probably to our benefit to be honest, because when that happens the non Sky platform does tend to get blown out of the water.

Personally - I'd like to see it all go pay per view. That way you can pick and choose which match you want to buy, without having to sign up for a monthly subscription.

 

[BHAFC4EVER]

Looks like ESPN might be getting UFC aswell! Come on :yahoo:

 

[shaun_rc]

The attitude of some on here to Setanta's demise - i.e. being pleased - has f***ed me off. The main thing is that the new options are unlikely to be on Freeview. That has cut live football off from quite a lot of people, who will now need a Sky dish or cable. Not always that easy, and Sky is really expensive in comparison...