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    The future of sports broadcasting

    After a number of years where the Irish rights to the Champions League were shared between RTE and Virgin Media (the latter would broadcast some games FTA, and put the others on their platform-exclusive channel), VM have now withdrawn from the next contract, and been replaced by the sports app, LiveScore. The strangest aspect is that all games will be free, with the viewer merely needing to Chromecast their match of choice from their device to a smart TV. Is this a trial measure to test out larger markets for similar experiments?

    #2
    Possibly.

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      #3
      You're lucky. There's virtually no free-to-air football left in Germany. with the exception of the Europa League. Even the 3. Liga's on pay-TV.

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        #4
        Originally posted by Discordant Resonance View Post
        with the viewer merely needing to Chromecast their match of choice from their device to a smart TV.
        Come again?

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          #5
          If you've got a Chromecast (streaming device) plugged into your TV (or a TV with a built-in Chromecast, which some now have), you'll be able watch the matches live on your TV for nothing.

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            #6
            In plain English, if you subscribe to any streaming service, a Chromecast essentially beams the transmission from your phone/tablet to your TV, by physically connecting both.

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              #7
              Eee, the modern world...

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                #8
                It's the best device I've bought in years. It effectively turns my phone into a remote control, and I have a screen on my mobile phone with all the apps that I know I can cast from, and it seems to work much better than the native YouTube/Prime/Netflix (etc) apps that are baked into my TV.

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                  #9
                  LiveScore have had Serie A, some of La Liga and the Eredivisie free to watch on the app for the past year or so, which has been OK on occasion, although I've never been brave enough to ChromeCast it for fear of the consequences of interrupting Mrs D's 247th viewing of an old Morse episode.

                  They seem to be evolving from a simple scores app into a gambling app, judging by the way they bombard me with invitations to bet on the outcome (they don't know me, as if I haven't already bet on the outcome), so that will be their angle. I can see other gambling companies taking this approach and bidding for the smaller leagues - subscribers are harder to find and retain than punters.

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                    #10
                    With LiveScore's Serie A coverage they often don't have the biggest games, with those still being reserved for the big TV broadcasters. Guessing that might be the case with their Champions League coverage too?

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                      #11
                      From the article, they're supposed to be showing all 137 games from the groups and knockout stages.

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by Discordant Resonance View Post
                        In plain English, if you subscribe to any streaming service, a Chromecast essentially beams the transmission from your phone/tablet to your TV, by physically connecting both.
                        It's not a phone-to-TV stream though; rather it takes over the stream directly, leaving your phone to act as a remote control.

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                          #13
                          Would it also take over the stream from a PC?

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                            #14
                            Should be effortless if the stream is in Chrome, and possible if it is not

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Stumpy Pepys View Post
                              You're lucky. There's virtually no free-to-air football left in Germany. with the exception of the Europa League. Even the 3. Liga's on pay-TV.
                              I'm eternally frustrated that Magenta Sports refuses to allow me to subscribe for their hockey content. Need a German address for subscription and before they introduced this requirement, they were very fussy about german bank accounts for method of payment.

                              Long term the idea of television channels is over. We'll see service providers like Sky and Virgin stop being broadcasters. People will pay for a basic broadband and set top box contract and then subscribe to individual content providers. Want TV shows? You'll pay Amazon, Netflix or the networks like HBO or CBS. Want sports? NFL App. NHL app. Individual sports league apps. Why go through a middle man when the technology moving predominantly to video of demand will allow content producers to sell directly to the audience?

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                                #16
                                Broadcasting will be replaced by Narrowcasting - this is basically happening in UK lower league football with iFollow etc. You will be able to buy a 'pass' to see all the games by the club you care about.

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                                  #17
                                  Originally posted by Gangster Octopus View Post
                                  Eee, the modern world...
                                  I don't know what they're on about either, but don't worry, they'll have it in Rotherham by 2030. It should have made its way to Lincolnshire about a decade later, hot on the heels of disco and roller-skates.

                                  It sounds like the kind of thing I'd buy, everyone assuring me how amazingly simple it is, and then I'd not be able to make it work. Incompatibility issues - mainly my incompatibility with new technology.

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                                    #18
                                    I got it to work ( admittedly after being shown how) , and if I can do it anyone can.

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                                      #19
                                      Originally posted by BallochSonsFan View Post
                                      Long term the idea of television channels is over. We'll see service providers like Sky and Virgin stop being broadcasters. People will pay for a basic broadband and set top box contract and then subscribe to individual content providers. Want TV shows? You'll pay Amazon, Netflix or the networks like HBO or CBS. Want sports? NFL App. NHL app. Individual sports league apps. Why go through a middle man when the technology moving predominantly to video of demand will allow content producers to sell directly to the audience?
                                      I've got the NRL pass and will be getting the ESPN player for college football in the autumn. If there was a UK RL equivalent I'd buy that too (there might well be on the back of the new but reduced TV deal). If Sky had a separate RL channel subscription I would pay for it but there's no way I'm subscribing to Sky Sports as a whole.

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                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View Post
                                        Broadcasting will be replaced by Narrowcasting - this is basically happening in UK lower league football with iFollow etc. You will be able to buy a 'pass' to see all the games by the club you care about.
                                        This can't be far off, particularly after the success of iFollow during lockdown. The Saturday 3-5pm embargo would have to go to enable it, but I can see it happening.

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                                          #21
                                          Originally posted by BallochSonsFan View Post

                                          I'm eternally frustrated that Magenta Sports refuses to allow me to subscribe for their hockey content. Need a German address for subscription and before they introduced this requirement, they were very fussy about german bank accounts for method of payment.

                                          Long term the idea of television channels is over. We'll see service providers like Sky and Virgin stop being broadcasters. People will pay for a basic broadband and set top box contract and then subscribe to individual content providers. Want TV shows? You'll pay Amazon, Netflix or the networks like HBO or CBS. Want sports? NFL App. NHL app. Individual sports league apps. Why go through a middle man when the technology moving predominantly to video of demand will allow content producers to sell directly to the audience?
                                          I'm not sure that telly channels are a thing of the past yet, as far too much online content is still geolocked. I've seen countless ESPN+ articles that I'd like to have read or watched over the past two years that I can't access as you can't subscribe if you live in the UK.

                                          Until the content providers actually sort their shit out in this regard, they'll lose revenue and drive would-be customers back towards satellite TV, or to piracy and torrents.

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                                            #22
                                            There is a fundamental problem with a platform like ESPN+ that ties live sport to which rights are sold on a geographic basis and journalism, which needs to have as broad a potential audience (paying or otherwise) as possible.

                                            ESPN are particularly hampered in this respect, because Disney (their corporate parent) have made billions out of restricting access to their content.

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                                              #23
                                              How many clubs are owned by gamblers/gambling companies?

                                              the amount that are sponsored in the Uk is horrendous.

                                              And every club has their favoured gambling opportunity.

                                              There was a reason why those links were frowned on 70 odd years ago.

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                                                #24
                                                Several other major European leagues bar such sponsorship, let alone ownership

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                                                  #25
                                                  Haven't all these sports benefited from their games being on FTA? How will rugby league find new viewers if you have to buy in to that first experience?

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