Premier League to take court action to block streaming site

[Lee909]

In the 1960s, controversial Burnley F.C. Chairman Bob Lord successfully convinced fellow Football League Chairmen that televised matches on a Saturday afternoon would have a negative effect on the attendances of other football league games that were not being televised and as a result reduce their financial income. As a result The FA, Premier League and Football League do not want English matches to be televised live between 2:45pm and 5:15pm on a Saturday afternoon within the United Kingdom. Until recently, the FA Cup Final was an exception and had been broadcast on 3pm on a Saturday afternoon in May; however, in 2012, the FA Cup Final was moved to 5pm. In February 2011, Advocate General Kokott of the European Court of Justice opined that the "closed periods" did not encourage match attendance at other league games. It is, in fact, doubtful whether closed periods are capable of encouraging attendance at matches and participation in matches. Both activities have a completely different quality to the following of a live transmission on television. It has not been adequately shown to the Court that the closed periods actually encourage attendance at and participation in matches. Indeed, there is evidence to refute this claim: for example, in an investigation of the closed periods under competition law the Commission found that only 10 of 22 associations had actually adopted a closed period. No closed periods were adopted in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, or in Northern Ireland, that is to say, within the sphere of influence of English football. Advocate General Kokott of the European Court of Justice[13] To avoid this blackout, the last day of the Premier League, when all ten games must kick off simultaneously, is always played on a Sunday. Championship (second tier) last day fixtures used to be always on a Sunday at 12.30pm but are now always on a Saturday at 12.30pm. Live radio broadcasts are permitted, both nationally and locally; these may be simulcast on the internet, depending on the broadcaster. Viewers outside the UK can still watch these games live on foreign broadcasters, thus creating somewhat of a grey market within the UK with viewers able to subscribe to or watch streams of foreign channels. The Premier League and Sky maintain that, while grey market viewing of games is not illegal on the part of the viewer, it is illegal for anyone (such as a public house) to make such services openly available. This has not in the past lead to heavy fines for public houses in the United Kingdom which have shown 3pm games in their establishments. More recently, the legality of such fines has been disputed, and a number of Crown Court cases have been reported in which publicans successfully challenged the Premier League's position.[14]

[scudger99]

Who was that King who tried to stop the tide coming in a few hundred years ago ?

That's the likes of Sky Sports, the music industry etc. Look indignant in the papers, wave a few pound notes around and shut one or two big name sites down. Meanwhile in the real world, we just switch to an alternative. Or wait 20 minutes for another site or 5 to replace the ones that got closed. They shackled the likes of Kazaa and E-Donkey. Did it stop pirate downloads ? Didn't even dent it.

The fucking bell ends at the top never learn. Have no worries people, as long as we've got reliable broadband we'll have live footie.

[Baltar]

I feel more and more that the clubs should set up their own TV packages like they have done in Spain. It can create a huge imbalance in wealth between the clubs, that's a downer in terms of overall competitiveness of the league. But I want to be able to watch every Liverpool game on the telly, I don't want to pay Sky for their package because I don't really care about other clubs and I'm generally not interested in watching other teams. Right now the only way we can watch every Liverpool game barring attending the match in person is via live streaming. If they clamp down on that it's going to be a problem and frankly the club should pursue ways to legally transmit live coverage of all games. Sky need to be shoved out of the way to make that possible, which won't be easy since they practically run the Premier League.

[scudger99]

That's a good thought provoking post. When I was a kid, there was so little televised football on, I would have watched Barrow in Furness reserves if it was on tv. Now that viewing time is saturated (during the season), I can't be arsed watching much more than our boys. Match of the Day is there for the rest. But I do want to see ALL of our games live. My mood is generally not good if I miss a game - ask the wife & kids !

[clangers]

That's a good thought provoking post. When I was a kid, there was so little televised football on, I would have watched Barrow in Furness reserves if it was on tv. Now that viewing time is saturated (during the season), I can't be arsed watching much more than our boys. Match of the Day is there for the rest. But I do want to see ALL of our games live. My mood is generally not good if I miss a game - ask the wife & kids !

 

Very true, even a few years ago I would have watched any and every football match on TV. Now I tend to watch our games if I can't get to them and usually just the really big matches in the Premiership and European leagues.

[Gym Beglin]

If they're worried about attendances they could start by not completely fucking ripping us off on ticket prices.

 

Exactly right, the PL undermine their own argument.

 

Greed is good. For middle-aged cunts in suits who own 'the people's game'.

 

 

The 'law' on this is flimsy as fuck and could be reversed by a half-decent lawyer in the European or High Courts.

 

The people demand a better televised football service. We're offered a half-arsed service by Sky, for the money we pay, in reality. So I pay £21 a month and you make me watch Stoke as opposed to watching Liverpool? That's not a fucking service.

 

As you say Zig, going the game will always trump watching it on the telly, and the only thing that even remotely threatens that experience is the price levied on you for doing so. Bizzarely, you are 'punished' for attending games, such is the price discrepancy. If we're on twice on Sky over a month, then I've paid (in effect) £10 per game. Whereas if you turn up then you're paying £50 a game or thereabouts.

 

Sky are cunts, the PL are cunts, the FA are cunts, and BT are cunts, none of them have the 'good of the game' as a guiding principle, all of them draw a massive profit each year. And people wonder why the good people of Brazil are pissed off.

[scudger99]

It's something the club should look at. But it would mean Sky losing out financially, so there would have to be a "compromise" struck somewhere.

Considering the dodgy quality of the odd stream I've had to watch, I'd happily give the club my Sky subscription every month during the season if I got to see every game live on my TV.

[KopOut]

Here in New Zealand, Sky TV has lost the rights to the EPL - that's me fucked for this season, my Dad as well - I'm more concerned for him, as it's his Sky football coverage that's kept him going, for a while now.

 

A new outfit 'Colesium' secured the rights, and want over $200.00 fees from people, in return, showing games live ONLY on the internet. Fuck that - I'm still running XP with 64 megs of DRAM, and even if I could watch the game smoothly, I don't want to watch it at 3am on a fucking computer chair. I'd need to buy an ipad, change my data pack with the isp and then come up with over $200.00 that I don't have. On top of that I'm tied to a 12 month Sky contract.

 

My Dad has no computer, and isn't interested in owning one, or being hooked upto the net, especially since he's become aware that he would be under scrutiny ;-)

 

Looks like I'm now stuck with Wellington Phoenix.

 

Your faithfully,

 

Disgruntled Red.

[Guest San Don]

It's something the club should look at. But it would mean Sky losing out financially, so there would have to be a "compromise" struck somewhere.

Considering the dodgy quality of the odd stream I've had to watch, I'd happily give the club my Sky subscription every month during the season if I got to see every game live on my TV.

 

Due to the 'collective bargaining' of the PL, there's nothing the club can look at. Ayre tried to float the idea of clubs like Liverpool retaining their own (larger) portion of the overseas rights but was slagged off including by some fans here.

[zigackly]

Due to the 'collective bargaining' of the PL, there's nothing the club can look at. Ayre tried to float the idea of clubs like Liverpool retaining their own (larger) portion of the overseas rights but was slagged off including by some fans here.

 

From what I recall the criticism on here was to do with him shooting himself in the foot publicity-wise rather than for the idea. It's one of a number of pronouncements he made which alienated other clubs in the league.

[scudger99]

It's a crazy situation really. It's like not being allowed to televise an event in your own back garden, because some global conglomerate has the rights for it. How fucking bizarre is that ? In this day & age with all the technology and consumer choices, if enough people put pressure on it should be a viable option. The number of times Stoke or the blueshite have been on live when we've had a big game, and we can't see it unless it's on the 'net ?

I've been lucky in that most streams are pretty good & reliable, but sometimes they drop out, or there's pop-ups happening. I'll keep watching it this way if I have to, but the day must come soon when it changes.

Pay per view has possibilities, as long as they are sensible with the pricing - but what chance of that ?

[Megadrive Man]

Liverpool threaten breakaway from Premier League's TV rights deal | Football | The Guardian

 

Here is the story that has been mentioned.

 

It would need 14 out of the 20 premier league clubs to agree to it though, which will stop it ever happening.

[RedKnight]

Closing down First Row won't matter a jot, it's just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. That, in 2013, people are still unable to watch an away match featuring their team that isn't on TV is extremely archaic. If the Premier League wanted to they could offer an internet subscription with blackout rules, if the fixture isn't 95% sold out by 5pm the day before then it can't be shown on the subscription. The argument that supporters of lower league teams won't go because a big game is on would be circumvented because you'd be paying an extra sub on top of the TV games. Plus if you're a lower league fan and you bin going to watch your own team to watch Man Utd vs. Arsenal then you're a knobhead.

[milky]

First Napstar, then Piratebay, Megaupload and now this. They really are shutting down all illegal activity on the web.

 

You've gotta hand it to them.

[scudger99]

For as much of a numpty as he is portrayed to be, Ayre is right about a couple of things. There is an audience out there - how many Liverpool fans would pay the right price to watch live LFC games on tv ? I'd guess enough to make somebody a tidy profit.

And it will have to happen eventually. We already have an LFC channel on Sky, how much of a jump is it to have subscription/pay per view terms to watch all available live games ?

Consumer pressure helps, but the lure of the buck is what will eventually usher it in.

[Baltar]

Liverpool threaten breakaway from Premier League's TV rights deal | Football | The Guardian

 

Here is the story that has been mentioned.

 

It would need 14 out of the 20 premier league clubs to agree to it though, which will stop it ever happening.

The majority of clubs won't go for it so it will not get 14/20 votes. The big clubs will benefit, the rest won't so individual TV deals won't happen.

I understand the argument that it will create a wealth imbalance between the clubs (as if that doesn't already exist) but as a Liverpool fan I feel I should have the right to watch all of our games IF the game is being broadcasted somewhere. And all of our games ARE broadcasted to some place or another, hence why we watch them via web streams so the technology is already there, now we just need some effort by the club to get these games made available legally. Easier said than done, though.

[MOGLET]

First Napstar, then Piratebay, Megaupload and now this. They really are shutting down all illegal activity on the web.

 

You've gotta hand it to them.

 

 

 

As long as there is a requirement, there will always be some Indonesian hacker out there who will create a streaming website to watch a game.

Even if the times are out by a few minutes, a match is a match, if you cant get to it, you can watch it one way or another.

 

They can threaten all they like, they will never be able to stop them all, after all, as JC once said, how do you turn the internet off?

 

You cant, so stop worrying about it.

[Guest San Don]

 

They can threaten all they like, they will never be able to stop them all, after all, as JC once said, how do you turn the internet off?

 

 

Have you not seen Revolution yet?

[scudger99]

Weren't they Prince's band ? Have they got a football streaming site or summat ?

[Gym Beglin]

Why does it take 14 clubs to make a deal go through?

Why not 11?

 

I know...because it's 14, fuck off.

 

I'd love for us to breakaway from that set of shite, and I'd sell a kidney to subscribe to a channel to watch all our games live, in HD, on my massive telly, without pop-ups and a stuttering stream. The associated costs would be minimal as well, no big fancy expensive guests, no fucking arrows and floating heads on a tactics board, no montages, just a couple of blokes in a studio, definitely no women.

[TheBitch]

They can threaten all they like' date=' they will never be able to stop them all, after all, as JC once said, how do you turn the internet off?

 

[/quote']

 

[MajesticSuarez]

I'm in Ireland, it doesn't affect me.

[VladimirIlyich]

For as much of a numpty as he is portrayed to be' date=' Ayre is right about a couple of things. There is an audience out there - how many Liverpool fans would pay the right price to watch live LFC games on tv ? I'd guess enough to make somebody a tidy profit.

And it will have to happen eventually. We already have an LFC channel on Sky, how much of a jump is it to have subscription/pay per view terms to watch all available live games ?

Consumer pressure helps, but the lure of the buck is what will eventually usher it in.[/quote']

 

Why is it up to our great leader to promote change? Does he really have that much influence?

[RedKnight]

I'm in Ireland, it doesn't affect me.

 

Yeah but you're in Ireland. So there's that.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

First Napstar, then Piratebay, Megaupload and now this. They really are shutting down all illegal activity on the web.

 

You've gotta hand it to them.

 

You do. They've totally stopped illegal activity. There's almost nowhere to get absolutely anything you like by clicking a button. Almost.