pete 2,499 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 SPL revive plans for television channel 10 years after idea was first mooted Jan 27 2011 SPL chiefs are set to revisit the controversial idea of setting up their own television channel. The league have appointed IMG Media for consultations over the potential establishment of an SPL TV station, reviving a decade-old plan. IMG Media, who were selected from a bidding process involving more than 20 companies, will advise the SPL board over the next six months, providing a full evaluation on the prospect of a channel. SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: "A number of other European football leagues have gone down this route or are currently exploring this option. "It is vital that the SPL fully understands the risks and rewards from an own-channel solution, as part of our ongoing efforts to improve Scottish football. "The concept represents an opportunity for us to shape a unique channel for fans of Scottish football and we look forward to working with supporter groups to hear their views." The idea was originally proposed by Doncaster's predecessor, Roger Mitchell. However, Mitchell's plan did not gain the required 11-to-one majority at a meeting in April 2002 when Celtic and Rangers abstained. The Old Firm claimed Mitchell's idea involved too much business risk and lacked substance, and the chief executive was eventually forced to stand down. The SPL is currently subject to a five-year �£65m joint broadcast deal offered from BSkyB and ESPN, which ends in the summer of 2014. But the clubs have the option of terminating the deal at the end of next season. The demise of Setanta in 2009 sparked financial problems for most of the SPL clubs, as they lost a contract worth twice as much money as the TV deal they now have. Whats your thoughts guys, can this work. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totti 0 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) I think there's two key problems. 1. The standard of football is poor and even the old firm now are not what they were. Old firm derbies lack the interest they previously had. There are no Larssons, Fergusons, De Boers etc now and the games can be boring. Put simply, until Scottish football considerably improves it will be difficult to get enough viewers to attract a good enough tv deal. 2. Our game lacks any business intelligence or marketing creativity. We need intelligent business people to somehow make this a brand and generate interest. Instead we have an array of confusion and cluelessness. Silly reports and devolution resulting in going back to a 10 team league. The old firm are the only way Scottish football can become remotely interesting in terms of TV deals IMO. Non OF fans seem to think the answer is to make the strong weaker and the weak stronger but then you'd end up with a nation of weak teams. The old firm have to get back to what they were! Edited January 27, 2011 by Totti 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 1 more step backwards for the SPL...we're surely losing steps to fall back onto. Would there be a huge demand to watch Hamilton v St Mirren or Kilmarnock v St johnstone?? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy 0 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) Let clubs sell their own TV rights with their chosen media company. Instead of looking for illegal streams would it not be better for the club to sell the right for every game to the fans on either pay per view or monthly subscription. Edited January 28, 2011 by Stimpy 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) Let clubs sell their own TV rights with their chosen media company. Instead of looking for illegal streams would it not be better for the club to sell the right for every game to the fans on either pay per view or monthly subscription. Yep. I have paid for a season's online subscription to watch Gers games through the official site - and the stream is pretty good too. Edited January 28, 2011 by Zappa fixing messed up quotes 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy 0 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) Let clubs sell their own TV rights with their chosen media company. Instead of looking for illegal streams would it not be better for the club to sell the right for every game to the fans on either pay per view or monthly subscription. Yep. I have paid for a season's online subscription to watch Gers games through the official site - and the stream is pretty good too. I assume there's rules in play that prevents us in the UK from watching it? The club has released an app where you can watch the games from your iphone, but again, why market it to us UK based bears when it means nothing to us. Edited January 28, 2011 by Zappa fixing messed up quotes 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) I assume there's rules in play that prevents us in the UK from watching it? The club has released an app where you can watch the games from your iphone, but again, why market it to us UK based bears when it means nothing to us. Yeah, you can only watch if outside UK. I have tried it whilst in UK and been prevented from doing so. Edited January 28, 2011 by Zappa fixing messed up quotes 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I think it's a very good move for the SPL and we should have done it 10 years ago and would have less money problems now. We're never going to get much from Sky when it's just part of a package for the English Premiership - most of Scottish subscriptions will just go to pay that foreign league. We were getting double what we're getting now from Setanta, and they must have been making a profit before they stupidly tried to compete with Sky for the way overpriced English games.o A sensibly priced subscription with comprehensive coverage should attract a load of Scots who like a bargain (!) and can dump their 45 quid a month Sky subscriptions for something like a tenner a month. It will at least get people like me back as I'm not willing to pay 650 odd quid a year for the football on telly plus a load of stuff I'll never watch. When you think about it, the risk is lower than for an external company, as if the subscription take-up rate is slow to start with, instead of going out of business due to not being able to make the payments to the clubs, they just get less money... As for the quality of the product, we're talking about football fans here - while people are paying for season tickets, you're going to get people paying for the armchair view, especially when it potentially saves them a lot of money. It's the quality of the programming that will count and that's where an SPL owned company can produce. Instead of only aiming at the OF fans, everyone else can be better catered for. I think what we need is two live games a week say on a Saturday at 12:30 and 5:30 - one OF away game and a non-OF game. There needs to be extended, 30 minutes highlights (remember those?) of EVERY game plus an update program for EVERY team, so every SPL club fan can follow their team in a satisfying way. That could attract up to a 50% bigger audience than Setanta. Shame it won't be for another couple of years. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) Yeah, you can only watch if outside UK. I have tried it whilst in UK and been prevented from doing so. Craig could you not ask for an in log code before you left Bermuda? Edited January 28, 2011 by Zappa fixing messed up quotes 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) Craig could you not ask for an in log code before you left Bermuda? WTF is that pete ? Edited January 28, 2011 by Zappa fixing messed up quotes 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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