Scotlands games to be broadcast on Nordic streaming platform.

[KirkieRR]

Those tinpot SFSA people got some media coverage recently in calling for terrestrial coverage of Scotland games. 

[Pocketman]

2 hours ago, 2426255 said:

Happy with that. I get that tight fisted people would rather it was on BBC or Channel 4 rather than just watching highlights or on some jumpy stream, but the production is bland and I've already reached the limits of my tolerance of Jonathan Sutherland and Liam McLeod from limited exposure to Sportscene. Viaplay did some decent pitchside and pre-match interviews even if Connie McLaughlin is generally annoying and excellent at asking the wrong questions usually about feeling/emotions.

Viaplay production values were good. I believe it was the same production company that did Scottish games when they were on BT. If however you legally stream in your football, then some will pay for Scottish football via Sky and/or some will also pay for the BT package for European games. To fork out again (if wish to do it legally) for Scottish Cup games and internationals, when other nations have the latter free to air, them most people will understand such frustrations. 

I would guess for most fans it is less about being tight-fisted and more about assessing priorities for all PTV TV & sports in the current climate. 

[Caledonian1]

3 hours ago, 2426255 said:

Happy with that. I get that tight fisted people would rather it was on BBC or Channel 4 rather than just watching highlights or on some jumpy stream, but the production is bland and I've already reached the limits of my tolerance of Jonathan Sutherland and Liam McLeod from limited exposure to Sportscene. Viaplay did some decent pitchside and pre-match interviews even if Connie McLaughlin is generally annoying and excellent at asking the wrong questions usually about feeling/emotions.

Thats incredibly unfair......I have the £59 year long deal with Viaplay but I would like to see it on terrestrial tv so that it is available to all - the poor, the unemployed, families who have more pressing priorities, all those on a pension....dont you want everyone to experience such highs as we did during the Spain victory at Hampden?

[guinness]

35 minutes ago, Caledonian1 said:

Thats incredibly unfair......I have the £59 year long deal with Viaplay but I would like to see it on terrestrial tv so that it is available to all - the poor, the unemployed, families who have more pressing priorities, all those on a pension....dont you want everyone to experience such highs as we did during the Spain victory at Hampden?

Plus the the England, Wales & Northern Ireland games are free to air. So it's just about putting everything on an even keel. 

[2426255]

44 minutes ago, Caledonian1 said:

Thats incredibly unfair......I have the £59 year long deal with Viaplay but I would like to see it on terrestrial tv so that it is available to all - the poor, the unemployed, families who have more pressing priorities, all those on a pension....dont you want everyone to experience such highs as we did during the Spain victory at Hampden?

That's commendable, well done you.

Am I bothered about if everyone can watch the Scotland games? not really, no - it's entertainment at the end of the day. If it was a black and white choice between the two and it was up to me I would choose the solution that benefits the most, so in that case: terrestrial tv. The solution chosen for us all suits me and I'm not sufficiently motivated to kick up a stink about it personally and quite happy with it.

That isn't intended to sound cold, maybe it does - but that's how I honestly feel about it otherwise I would get off my arse and do something about it. 

Edited November 29, 2023 by 2426255

[git-intae-thum]

Aye....let's keep Scotland games on a platform that only a small minority can view.....that will grow interest in the national team.

Why bother...our kids can continue watching England (or Wales or NI) after all.

[2426255]

£59/year according to @Caledonian1 (£5/month). Unemployed, I get it - everyone else? it's cheaper than a hell of a lot out there including Champions League football or clubTV or the license fee. I spent £7.99 a month and you always had the option to cancel in the months it wasn't used.

In the affordable category, great value for money. Included all the Nations League games, Ice Hockey, Rugby, Norwegian TV series, films and Crime TV. Probably a little too niche to be successful, didn't have enough positive press (that it deserved) and people aren't necessarily that interested in watching La Liga or Estonia v Poland. That's a shame because it was a fantastic product which added to the increased quality in coverage of the SNT games all for £5/month - absolute bargain.

Edited November 29, 2023 by 2426255

[The Master]

1 hour ago, guinness said:

Plus the the England, Wales & Northern Ireland games are free to air. So it's just about putting everything on an even keel. 

 Northern Ireland games aren’t free to air, and the only reason Wales games are is because of the legal requirement to provide Welsh-language commentary. 

[guinness]

55 minutes ago, The Master said:

 Northern Ireland games aren’t free to air, and the only reason Wales games are is because of the legal requirement to provide Welsh-language commentary. 

What about our 2nd language (gaelic) does that not count  

[DA Baracus]

1 hour ago, git-intae-thum said:

Aye....let's keep Scotland games on a platform that only a small minority can view.....that will grow interest in the national team.

Why bother...our kids can continue watching England (or Wales or NI) after all.

Are you aware of how the TV rights are decided?

[git-intae-thum]

3 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

Are you aware of how the TV rights are decided?

Yes....uefa sell our coverage to the highest bidder.

"Our" terrestrial services can't produce a realistic bid for Scotland games (but can for certain other home nations)

It is a shite state of affairs.

 

[2426255]

2 hours ago, git-intae-thum said:

Aye....let's keep Scotland games on a platform that only a small minority can view.....

A small minority, good one.  It was £5/month to watch Scotland games on Viaplay. 

Edited November 29, 2023 by 2426255

[The Master]

58 minutes ago, guinness said:

What about our 2nd language (gaelic) does that not count  

It’s not an official language of the UK. Welsh is.

20 minutes ago, git-intae-thum said:

Yes....uefa sell our coverage to the highest bidder.

"Our" terrestrial services can't produce a realistic bid for Scotland games (but can for certain other home nations)

It is a shite state of affairs.

 

The English FA and UEFA have an arrangement to ensure their games go to a FTA bidder (qualifiers, at least - although Sky quickly found out there was little value in the Nations League). They can do that because they have the clout and can suck up any reduction in the settlement.

The SFA have somewhat less clout, and can’t really suck up any reduction in the settlement. 

[VictorOnopko]

9 hours ago, The Master said:

It’s not an official language of the UK. Welsh is.

The English FA and UEFA have an arrangement to ensure their games go to a FTA bidder (qualifiers, at least - although Sky quickly found out there was little value in the Nations League). They can do that because they have the clout and can suck up any reduction in the settlement.

The SFA have somewhat less clout, and can’t really suck up any reduction in the settlement. 

I'm not sure where clout comes into it -surely the SFA could also have come to the FTA arrangement with UEFA, and fairly easily, as our rights are worth a lot less?  I get that the SFA doesn't want to lose money, but the EFA have demonstrated that the SFA could have looked for a side agreement and pursued FAT broadcasts of the Scotland national team's games, in the public interest. They didn't try to do so; instead they just lazily saddled fans with yet another sports subscription to pay for.

Channel 4, which is a UK-wide state-owned broadcaster, could also have explored Scotland's games along with England's.  They could have streamed ours on the website if there were clashes.

[Skyline Drifter]

18 minutes ago, VictorOnopko said:

I'm not sure where clout comes into it -surely the SFA could also have come to the FTA arrangement with UEFA, and fairly easily, as our rights are worth a lot less?  I get that the SFA doesn't want to lose money, but the EFA have demonstrated that the SFA could have looked for a side agreement and pursued FAT broadcasts of the Scotland national team's games, in the public interest. They didn't try to do so; instead they just lazily saddled fans with yet another sports subscription to pay for.

Channel 4, which is a UK-wide state-owned broadcaster, could also have explored Scotland's games along with England's.  They could have streamed ours on the website if there were clashes.

Personally I'd much rather watch our games on Viaplay than streamed off a website. 

I think we need to remember what Scotland do in terms of UEFA selling the rights is the norm across Europe. England is the outlier here, not us and England do that because they have the clout to get a better deal doing it. We don't.  Thats commercialism, not laziness. 

[2426255]

33 minutes ago, VictorOnopko said:

I'm not sure where clout comes into it -surely the SFA could also have come to the FTA arrangement with UEFA, and fairly easily, as our rights are worth a lot less?  I get that the SFA doesn't want to lose money, but the EFA have demonstrated that the SFA could have looked for a side agreement and pursued FAT broadcasts of the Scotland national team's games, in the public interest. They didn't try to do so; instead they just lazily saddled fans with yet another sports subscription to pay for.

Channel 4, which is a UK-wide state-owned broadcaster, could also have explored Scotland's games along with England's.  They could have streamed ours on the website if there were clashes.

Perhaps The SFA explored the possibility of an FTA arrangement with BBC or Channel 4. Saying they've been lazy and didn't try is a leap - you don't have a basis for that. Perhaps they have made a choice having weighed the options and come to the conclusion that the best way to grow the game in Scotland is to sell the rights to the highest bidder to fund the facilities deficit and accept the opportunity cost of increased exposure to the Scottish public through FTA.

Quote

It's about changing facilities as, from a women and girls perspective, they’re not suitable. It's relaying surfaces, upgrading grass pitches, upgrading grass to synthetic, building new facilities and keeping existing ones open. It’s about making sure that no more pitches are closed in the country unless it really can’t be helped.

The number of players we have post-Covid has grown and the number of girls and women playing continues to increase, but the number of pitches has decreased. You can’t have more activity and fewer places to play. Those two things don’t combine, so we need to solve that problem. It’s never really been an association focus, it's historically been local authority and Scottish government. They don’t have the finances to do it, so someone needs to and we are taking it on ourselves as we know the impact it has on the game and communities.

Ian Maxwell

https://theathletic.com/5079808/2023/11/21/sfa-chief-maxwell-on-legacy-of-scotlands-euros-qualification-and-confidence-in-clarke/

I think the heart of the disappointment around no FTA is the same as what it always is - self interest, this:

33 minutes ago, VictorOnopko said:

they just lazily saddled fans with yet another sports subscription to pay for.

Folk just don't want to pay for another subscription.

Edited November 30, 2023 by 2426255

[VictorOnopko]

11 hours ago, 2426255 said:

£59/year according to @Caledonian1 (£5/month). Unemployed, I get it - everyone else? it's cheaper than a hell of a lot out there including Champions League football or clubTV or the license fee. I spent £7.99 a month and you always had the option to cancel in the months it wasn't used.

In the affordable category, great value for money. Included all the Nations League games, Ice Hockey, Rugby, Norwegian TV series, films and Crime TV. Probably a little too niche to be successful, didn't have enough positive press (that it deserved) and people aren't necessarily that interested in watching La Liga or Estonia v Poland. That's a shame because it was a fantastic product which added to the increased quality in coverage of the SNT games all for £5/month - absolute bargain.

 

State pensioners? And have you heard of the cost of living crisis at all?  You are correct that Viaplay wasn't expensive for most, but some/many folk don't have any disposable income.

6 minutes ago, 2426255 said:

Perhaps The SFA explored the possibility of an FTA arrangement with BBC or Channel 4. Saying they've been lazy and didn't try is a leap - you don't have a basis for that. Perhaps they have made a choice having weighed the options and come to the conclusion that the best way to grow the game in Scotland is to sell the rights to the highest bidder to fund the facilities legacy and accept the opportunity cost of increased exposure to the Scottish public.

https://theathletic.com/5079808/2023/11/21/sfa-chief-maxwell-on-legacy-of-scotlands-euros-qualification-and-confidence-in-clarke/

Perhaps they did. However, in that case, for PR reasons alone I think they would have told us they had explored it or tried their best but it wasn't possible. I don't remember hearing anything like that come out.

I understand the need to generate money to support the game. There are many ways to do that and TV rights are just one.  I also strongly believe that Scotland games should be on FTA TV for everyone in the country to watch - and although I understand how the deals are done, and that sport is mainly broadcast on subscription these days, it sticks in my craw that you can watch England (and Wales) games up here on FTA, but not our own - a ludicrous state of affairs.

[2426255]

55 minutes ago, VictorOnopko said:

Perhaps they did. However, in that case, for PR reasons alone I think they would have told us they had explored it or tried their best but it wasn't possible. I don't remember hearing anything like that come out.

Has anything been released publicly from the SFA yet regarding the deal? I haven't seen anything and I don't think the deal has been finalised yet. So maybe give them a chance to?

55 minutes ago, VictorOnopko said:

I understand the need to generate money to support the game. There are many ways to do that and TV rights are just one.  I also strongly believe that Scotland games should be on FTA TV for everyone in the country to watch - and although I understand how the deals are done, and that sport is mainly broadcast on subscription these days, it sticks in my craw that you can watch England (and Wales) games up here on FTA, but not our own - a ludicrous state of affairs.

Look at the state of the National game in England and compare it to Scotland. As a result of the Premier League the English and by extension Welsh teams have excellent facilities and their game is in excellent condition from top to bottom.

The circumstances of the SFA aren't the same so they have more reason to seek the highest bidder. If they weren't doing that you'd have to question them from a business perspective. It has been stated by Ian Maxwell that we have too many players and not enough pitches. We don't need more players, we need more facilities!  - it's an obvious justification for what we're seeing. 

The pro FTA arguments boil down to self-interest in my opinion, folk not seeing beyond their own nose and their own individual expense.

Edited November 30, 2023 by 2426255

[Skyline Drifter]

On 30/11/2023 at 08:58, VictorOnopko said:

State pensioners? And have you heard of the cost of living crisis at all?  You are correct that Viaplay wasn't expensive for most, but some/many folk don't have any disposable income.

And one of the sacrifices of lacking disposable income is the loss of 'luxuries'. The right to watch Scotland play live isn't a basic human right. Hell if you're more than 25 years old you should be able to remember campaigns when NO Scotland games were live at all unless we made the World Cup Finals or Euros.

Pretty much every major sporting right has been sold to subscription broadcasters now. Outwith the Government's "protected event" list there can't be much of any importance that's still on terrestrial tv. I don't really get the indignation about our games being on Viaplay. Particularly as I don't really recall the same indignation when they were all on Sky, which is FAR more expensive to have. Maybe I just missed it but I think that has much to do with Sky being largely seen as a "normal" expense these days and Viaplay is a frustrating annual charge on top. It's ultimately not that expensive though. I took it out because of the Scotland games and would cancel it if Scotland's games move away from it but for £70 per year or whatever it is I get all Scotland's away games (home ones are irrelevant as I'm at the game), and as a bonus get other nations qualifiers and some Viaplay Cup ties that at least interest me. It's probably working out at a fiver a game.

The voices of dissent here are largely because England and Wales games ARE available free, not because ours aren't, and there are niche legislative reasons why Welsh games are. If about 25% of us want to start speaking Gaelic regularly maybe we'd get the same.

Edited December 3, 2023 by Skyline Drifter

[2426255]

16 minutes ago, VictorOnopko said:

State pensioners? And have you heard of the cost of living crisis at all?  You are correct that Viaplay wasn't expensive for most, but some/many folk don't have any disposable income.

a TV License is disposable income and you need that to watch Scotland games live even with FTA at about £13/month. Viaplay is (an additional) £5/month? I don't see a strong argument for making it free to air and it's understandable that it isn't. I don't think people want to see that, but that's fine.