24/25 Sky TV Coverage

[ram59]

Sky have just announced a new Sky Sports+ channel for next season, meaning that lg1 and lg2 clubs are guaranteed a minimum of 20 live games and Championship teams a minimum of 24 live games.

For most of us who can't get to away games, it will be a welcome option, but is it likely to have an adverse affect gates overall?

Reading more into the announcement, EVERY EFL game will be streamed live on the opening weekend of the season, obviously the 3pm Saturday KO time is no longer protected from tv coverage. Hopefully this will mean fewer KO times changed for tv coverage.

Edited May 8 by ram59
Further information

[Rich3478]

Just now, ram59 said:

Sky have just announced a new Sky Sports+ channel for next season, meaning that lg1 and lg2 clubs are guaranteed a minimum of 20 live games and Championship teams a minimum of 24 live games.

For most of us who can't get to away games, it will be a welcome option, but is it likely to have an adverse affect gates overall?

Is more the impact on 3pm Saturday games the issue for me. Like the familiarity of going to the game about 1, having a beer, then coming out and meeting friends down the pub for the late kick off and checking all the scores.

the blackout doesn’t seem fit for purpose anymore, is just denying clubs money from streaming rather than helping attendances. If people want to watch 3pm games then they can do it easily enough.

Will see how it pans out in the new season but getting away from 90% of games played at the same time feels wrong somehow.

[ThePrisoner]

Sky Sports+ is just streaming the games that were on the EFL iFollow/Rams TV. 
 

The 3pm blackout is still in place so don’t understand how they’re doing the entire weekend as an opening day? Assuming cause no other football is on that day? or the entire opening day is not at 3pm. 

[RadioactiveWaste]

4 minutes ago, ThePrisoner said:

Sky Sports+ is just streaming the games that were on the EFL iFollow/Rams TV. 
 

The 3pm blackout is still in place so don’t understand how they’re doing the entire weekend as an opening day? Assuming cause no other football is on that day? or the entire opening day is not at 3pm. 

There'll probably have everyone 12.30ko on the opening day except for Friday and Sunday for the games they decide to irritate fans with.

As someone snookered by distance and rarely gets to matches these days,I should be all over this extra coverage but I hate what it's doing to the game overall. I certainly won't be paying sky for it where as I didn't mind giving ramstv the occasional tenner.

Hopefully the ramstv international coverage is still available and I may discover a new enthusiasm for flights abroad.

I think this is probably the last big rights deal with sky that the EFL will be able to pull. The subscription sports TV model is not what it was 20 years ago and it strikes me as sky are trying to kill off club streaming to get everyone watching their very expensive premier League games.

I think in a few years the clubs will rebel against this and do their own streaming - which is what Mel Morris was arguing for, but at the time he didn't have enough support (and picking fights with the league whilst also making all the other clubs hate him, wasn't savvy)

Edited May 8 by RadioactiveWaste

[Srg]

20 minutes ago, ThePrisoner said:

Sky Sports+ is just streaming the games that were on the EFL iFollow/Rams TV. 
 

The 3pm blackout is still in place so don’t understand how they’re doing the entire weekend as an opening day? Assuming cause no other football is on that day? or the entire opening day is not at 3pm. 

Premier League won't have started then, so plausible it will be the only football.

[Rich3478]

22 minutes ago, ThePrisoner said:

Sky Sports+ is just streaming the games that were on the EFL iFollow/Rams TV. 
 

The 3pm blackout is still in place so don’t understand how they’re doing the entire weekend as an opening day? Assuming cause no other football is on that day? or the entire opening day is not at 3pm. 

Yeah I imagine none of the games shown during the blackout window.

its very different from rams tv also, read that 3 championship games a week be played at 12:30 each week. Is a one in four chance will be each team. That differs get really from this season.

[rad1919]

The 3.00pm blackout is still in place so expect most of our home games to be obscure days and times. They're not going to move the "flagship" Premier League spots so most likely Friday evenings and Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes which I expect will annoy most and spell the end of matchday rituals. Such a shame.

[Rich3478]

5 minutes ago, rad1919 said:

The 3.00pm blackout is still in place so expect most of our home games to be obscure days and times. They're not going to move the "flagship" Premier League spots so most likely Friday evenings and Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes which I expect will annoy most and spell the end of matchday rituals. Such a shame.

Do you think is a deliberate ploy to make the blackout the bad party rather than sky? Leading to it being scrapped and then sky just stream everything

[Srg]

2 minutes ago, Rich3478 said:

Do you think is a deliberate ploy to make the blackout the bad party rather than sky? Leading to it being scrapped and then sky just stream everything

Always has been the bad party. It should just go on % of ticket sales. If ticket sales are good, it can be on TV. If they're not, then the game isn't on.

[rad1919]

23 minutes ago, Rich3478 said:

Do you think is a deliberate ploy to make the blackout the bad party rather than sky? Leading to it being scrapped and then sky just stream everything

There has to be sweet spot somewhere where you could sell match day tickets much cheaper to almost guarantee a full house every week (so no justification for 3.00pm Saturday blackout) whilst still making the games available to stream at the same time to make up the deficit.

The blackout was introduced in the 1960's yet still remains in place despite an almost unimaginable evolution in the way the audience can consume sports coverage. Why do we still have to adhere to 60 year old legislation when there are so many more viable solutions?

Live football at 3.00pm on a Saturday is a totally different experience to a Monday night or Sunday bloody lunchtime.

[NottsRam]

So is this the end for Ramstv altogether?  

[Day]

If stadiums become empty, football clubs only have themselves to blame.

It starts from the top, the clubs that are paying over a quarter a million a week for one player.

The knock on effect which has seen clubs outside the top flight losing millions each season.

Clubs which don’t have the mega TV deals and up the ticket prices making the game unaffordable.

This is ultimately what will see grounds empty when more fans can no longer justify the cost.

Covid should have been the reset football needed, it’s a massive missed opportunity.

Mbappe leaving PSG in the summer will set a new bar as to what players can earn, as average players start becoming millionaires after a months work.

It’s broken and it’s nothing to do with the 3pm blackout. 

[Srg]

5 minutes ago, NottsRam said:

So is this the end for Ramstv altogether?  

No, as RamsTV was always aimed at the overseas fans, and that hasn't changed.

[NottsRam]

8 minutes ago, Srg said:

No, as RamsTV was always aimed at the overseas fans, and that hasn't changed.

ok, thanks Srg

[secretsquirrel]

I think Sky are planning to make Thursday evening a regular live game in this deal

[Rich3478]

36 minutes ago, rad1919 said:

There has to be sweet spot somewhere where you could sell match day tickets much cheaper to almost guarantee a full house every week (so no justification for 3.00pm Saturday blackout) whilst still making the games available to stream at the same time to make up the deficit.

The blackout was introduced in the 1960's yet still remains in place despite an almost unimaginable evolution in the way the audience can consume sports coverage. Why do we still have to adhere to 60 year old legislation when there are so many more viable solutions?

Live football at 3.00pm on a Saturday is a totally different experience to a Monday night or Sunday bloody lunchtime.

Agree, I think the ideal for fans is that all games available to stream but majority played at 3pm Saturday. This isn’t possible currently.

Am I write in thinking that there is no blackout in most european countries and had little to no impact on attendances?

[Simmo’s left foot]

21 minutes ago, Day said:

If stadiums become empty, football clubs only have themselves to blame.

It starts from the top, the clubs that are paying over a quarter a million a week for one player.

The knock on effect which has seen clubs outside the top flight losing millions each season.

Clubs which don’t have the mega TV deals and up the ticket prices making the game unaffordable.

This is ultimately what will see grounds empty when more fans can no longer justify the cost.

Covid should have been the reset football needed, it’s a massive missed opportunity.

Mbappe leaving PSG in the summer will set a new bar as to what players can earn, as average players start becoming millionaires after a months work.

It’s broken and it’s nothing to do with the 3pm blackout. 

Very well said. The clubs want the TV money, to pay ever increasing fees, commissions and wages. So they have rolled over and sold out to SKY.

Its got to stop, a simple wage cap, points deducted if any trading loss declared, and no more parachute payments. Ditch the sky deal completely, and start again. 

I won't subscribe to SKY as a matter of principle. I've also really enjoyed watching football at 3pm most saturdays either at Pride Park or on Rams TV for away games.

[TomTom92]

As a fan that trundles to a handful of matches per season the increased TV coverage benefits me. Plus as a man that has limited hobbies, the more days footballs on the better.

However trying not to be selfish i do think the 3pm blackout needs to be scrapped. 

I know there's arguments about lower league teams losing out but I reckon it would be worth a trial even for a season.

[ram59]

Personally, I think that the 3pm blackout should apply only to Premier games. I can see that Orient v Birmingham needs protecting from Arsenal v Man City but not from Derby v Blackburn. I think that more people are likely watch Orient v Birmingham on tv, if the KO is changed to a Friday night, whereas fans will more likely stick with attending the game on the traditional Saturday afternoon KO.

If you cancel the 3pm blackout in the EFL, then games can stay at 3pm as most fans want, even though they are televised.

[CBX1985]

2 hours ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

There'll probably have everyone 12.30ko on the opening day except for Friday and Sunday for the games they decide to irritate fans with.

As someone snookered by distance and rarely gets to matches these days,I should be all over this extra coverage but I hate what it's doing to the game overall. I certainly won't be paying sky for it where as I didn't mind giving ramstv the occasional tenner.

Hopefully the ramstv international coverage is still available and I may discover a new enthusiasm for flights abroad.

I think this is probably the last big rights deal with sky that the EFL will be able to pull. The subscription sports TV model is not what it was 20 years ago and it strikes me as sky are trying to kill off club streaming to get everyone watching their very expensive premier League games.

I think in a few years the clubs will rebel against this and do their own streaming - which is what Mel Morris was arguing for, but at the time he didn't have enough support (and picking fights with the league whilst also making all the other clubs hate him, wasn't savvy)

As I explained in a different thread, the model for streaming games is just not there.  It probably never will be as it is the one area normal TV has a distinct, and almost impossible to penetrate competitive advantage.  MM either did not understand this or did and was trying to frighten the horses at Sky to give clubs more.

Basic example.

Sky are giving us £9m for next season.  This will be £195,652 per match whether broadcast or not.  This will be VAT free to DCFC.

To match that, at £10 per game (assuming each is broadcast) we would need 19,562 domestic subscribers.  However, we would only receive £8 in £10 due to tax.  Therefore, to break even we would need 24,456 people to pay for each match home and away to break even.

Home matches would clearly have lower subscriber numbers as you might as well go if you are going to charge.  Therefore, on any reasonable analysis to simply match Sky money we would need as many people watching EVERY game on TV (irrespective of home crowd) as were attending.  We would then need to pay for the production (which would need to have very good values to justify the subscriber needs), which Sky take care of.  

Sky do this by economic aggregation.  The overall number of subscribers is so high that individual payments (to clubs) are relatively low (but high to them).  We would never have this luxury and can never realistically over come the sheer weight of the numbers I outline.