Will you be watching the England game tonight?

[Fourteenth Eye]

The Mail's bit about the coverage was bizarre, they blamed it all on ITV and the BBC when Setanta were demanding a stupid amount for the coverage.

Its a bit riddiculous really.
The fact that there is not a highlights show on either channel either sucks

 

[bristolseagull]

link to watching online?

 

[Scoffers]

Watching Setanta at home, set to record on Sky+ too just in case I get home late from London.

 

[Screaming J]

I refuse to be held to ransom by satellite broadcasters for large amounts of cash just to watch England games if they aren't on free channels, so no.

I think all England games ought to go in the same free access category as the Cup Final. If that means less revenue for the FA then so be it.

 

[Rookie]

hoping the trusty justin.tv shows it, not the best way to watch but not got sultuna and will not be paying for it ever, sky does the job for me

 

[Seagull73]

Let's be frank - not many people being able to watch it is probably a blessing in disguise.

Time and time again we get our hopes up with England, only to have them savagely ripped apart by these overpaid prima-donnas. There should be a rule that says 'once you earn over 40k-a-week, you can no longer play for England'. Or something...!

So no I won't be watching as I refuse to pay for the shite that is Setanta, and for the fact that the football England serve up is always so disappointing.

 

[itszamora]

Don't have setanta and will be out, so no I shall not be watching.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

I think that FIFA/UEFA should claim the rights to the matches played in the qualifying tournaments, then feed some of the money back to the individual FA's. Then broadcasters could buy packages of rights for the games, not just the home games.

I would normally go to the Sussex in Hove to watch the game if it wasn't on BBC ITV etc but they've got rid of Sky. Anywhere else decent (with cheapish beer) in Hove when it will be on?

 

[British Bulldog]

I shall watch the game at home but thats only because Virgin gave us Satanta as part of our package when we lost some of the Sky channels, I certainly would'nt pay extra for it.

 

[bhafc99]

Haven't got Sultana, and as Jock pubs won't be showing it, that's me stuffed.

Could sit in front of a PC and watch a unreliable feed over the internet I suppose, but that sounds a completely joyless effort. Not what football is supposed to be about.

C*nts.

 

[SI 4 BHA]

Incorrect.
The FA have no sway on who buys Englands away games. Its down to the broadcasters to negotiate with the host nations FA as to who buys the rights to televise the game live. This palava is (for once) not something that can be laid at the FA's door. Setanta simply outbid Sky / BBC / ITV for the Andorra game (to the tune of £5m I believe).

As an aside, Setanta also wanted over a million quid to sell the highlights for the Andorra game - something none of the terrestrial broadcasters were prepared to pay.

If that's the case, and broadcasters have to negotiate with each individual host, how come Sky/BBC/ITV didn't manage to get any of the away games or are some of the later games still up for grabs? No idea who we play away last in the group but as we will almost certainly need to win it to qualify, why sell the rights now, surely the host would prefer a bidding war shortly before the game. I can understand Sky not being too interested in Andorra, but surely they would have tried to get the Croatia match and they have the financial muscle to outbid Setanta.

Something doesn't add up here. Are you sure the FA doesn't act as some kind of middleman putting together a package of matches as they have direct contact with each of the host nations. Or are England just so crap now, non of the other broadcasters give a damn so they didn't bid.

 

[maffew]

Have just upgraded my Virgin to XL so I can watch it at home as skint and it makes it cheaper than a night at the pub

Robbed
what a mug. Not much choice though (other than not watching it)

 

[Tooting Gull]

Unfortunately I won't be, wouldn't pay extra for Setanta and so will listen on the radio.

But I do think the issue is a bit more complicated than just blaming Setanta. Others could have bid for the rights in the first place - and those broadcasters could have met the £1m asking price for highlights.

BBC have just splashed out between £160m and £200m for F1 rights from next year, so it's not like there's no money, it's all about priorities.

Is £200m spent on F1 the right thing to do with finite funds? Would it have been better spent on picking up football rights over the same period, a sport followed by far more people?

Ideally you'd like to see all sport on terrestrial but that isn't going to happen.

 

[Zesh Rehman]

Wont watch, not bothered about seeing us lose.

 

[Chicken Run]

At home with my girlfiend although only coz i get it free with Virgin xl wouldnt pay for it!

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

just moved house so don't have setanta (yet)


probably go down the pub so atleast i can get drunk watching that shower of shit

 

[Storer68]

If that's the case, and broadcasters have to negotiate with each individual host, how come Sky/BBC/ITV didn't manage to get any of the away games or are some of the later games still up for grabs? No idea who we play away last in the group but as we will almost certainly need to win it to qualify, why sell the rights now, surely the host would prefer a bidding war shortly before the game. I can understand Sky not being too interested in Andorra, but surely they would have tried to get the Croatia match and they have the financial muscle to outbid Setanta.

Something doesn't add up here. Are you sure the FA doesn't act as some kind of middleman putting together a package of matches as they have direct contact with each of the host nations. Or are England just so crap now, non of the other broadcasters give a damn so they didn't bid.

Threat to terrestrial TV coverage of England qualifiersOwen Gibson The Guardian, Thursday September 4 2008
Article history

It is highly unlikely that either of Fabio Capello's first two World Cup qualifying matches will be shown on free-to-air television, after Setanta accused broadcasting rivals of "emotional blackmail" in a row over the rights to highlights of the games. In what is believed to be a first for such important ties, neither the away game in Barcelona against Andorra on Saturday nor next Wednesday's crucial game against Croatia in Zagreb will be shown on terrestrial television at all.

Setanta has exclusive rights to the matches after securing them from the relevant governing bodies, but traditionally pay-TV operators holding the live rights have negotiated a deal with either the BBC or ITV to show highlights.

ITV and BBC insiders have accused Setanta of failing to offer the highlights at a realistic price in the hope of forcing viewers to subscribe to its pay-TV service. But yesterday Setanta's director of sport, Trevor East, said only one bid had been lodged from either broadcaster and they were attempting to whip up public outrage to secure the rights at a discount.

"It's emotional blackmail. One of them hasn't even made an offer. They are using their position to leverage valuable rights out of us for a fraction of their value. The only offer we have received is substantially lower than either of them have paid for a Champions League qualifier," he said.

It is understood that the BBC, believed to have paid a six-figure sum to show live coverage of the second leg of Arsenal's Champions League qualifier against FC Twente, has made an offer for the highlights but that ITV has not, believing Setanta's valuation to be unrealistic.

The FA has no jurisdiction over away games but officials are understood to be concerned that there will be no free-to-air outlet. Setanta and ITV are partners in the £425m four-year deal for England home games and the FA Cup.

Previously, when a deciding match has only been available on pay-TV, Sky has allowed a terrestrial broadcaster to show highlights or full coverage later in the day. But Setanta executives argue that the principle applies only to deciding games, not to all matches in a campaign

 

[The Oldman]

Try and find it on the web if not R5.

BTW Sentanta want £1 million from ITV or BBC to allow them to show highights tonight. That is just for tonight according to the BBC sports chief.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Setanta with Radio5 sound.