Have I missed something - not a single one of tonight's replays appears to be available on live TV anywhere.
Well, that's because both ITV and ESPN have decided to show replays that can only be played tomorrow. It happens. Had QPR not gone to a replay, not a single one of Saturday's Premier League games would have been on live TV anywhere.
Well, that's because both ITV and ESPN have decided to show replays that can only be played tomorrow. It happens. Had QPR not gone to a replay, not a single one of Saturday's Premier League games would have been on live TV anywhere.
Thankfully the QPR game is on various streaming sites & 1 of my computers is already wired up to my TV. So will get my footie fix tonight.
ITV and ESPN seem to have made the right choices, been flicking through a few around the web and some absolutely awful games so far in some even emptier stadiums!
Brentford will play Chelsea and Stoke will play Manchester City in two of the live fourth round games. Still waiting on the other two dependent on replays, won't know them fully until tomorrow (although Blackpool vs. Fulham will be decided tonight).
*snoretumbleweedsnore* Sounds about as exciting as a game between Luton and Tamworth. Shocking choice. Should've been Brighton v Swansea/Arsenal (Arsenal as it turns out).
Sounds about as exciting as a game between Luton and Tamworth.
Less. At least that would be a fixture not already on TV twice a year!! ITV and ESPN only get a hardcore audience of 3-4 million people watching their matches anyway, and they're the people who'd watch anything. so why would not picking Man United make any difference?!
It would be if it was say Man Utd v Liverpool, but Man Utd v Fulham sounds bleh. It's not a tie that's going to make people think "that sounds like an interesting/exciting tie, I'll make sure I watch it". For the FA Cup 4th round, with at least 1 (and possibly more) ties that are better for TV/the whole point of the cup, it's a shocking choice.
Macclesfield v Wigan and Brighton v Arsenal appeal to me alot more with it being the cup. Even Brighton v Swansea would interest me more, and for that matter so would Bolton v Everton, because it's the cup, it's about the lower league team being at home to a higher league team, not a big PL team at home to a middling PL team.
I sometimes think for ITV they feel they need to show the BIG northern clubs the the London ones.
So Round 3 - Man Utd (and replay) and Newcastle
Round 4 - Man City and Liverpool
Round 5 last 16, eight games...depending who is in Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea should be on at least one pick.
Same with Champions League, the North West clubs seem to be on ITV more than the London ones.
Same each year. ITV Home of Northern Football.
It was actually funny hearing ITV commentators at last years Champions League Final. They wee drooling over Bayern...Chelsea winning was, I felt an annoyance to them.
Is not the reason for always showing Man U the fact that the broadcaster is guaranteed an audience, split either side by the Man U fans across the country who love to see their team on TV and the rest of the country who tunes in hoping to see Man U fall on their ar$e by being dumped out of the cup by a smaller team? All teams are smaller than Man U, once you get past the obvious.
Is not the reason for always showing Man U the fact that the broadcaster is guaranteed an audience, split either side by the Man U fans across the country who love to see their team on TV and the rest of the country who tunes in hoping to see Man U fall on their ar$e by being dumped out of the cup by a smaller team? All teams are smaller than Man U, once you get past the obvious.
The problem is, are people going to tune in to watch Man Utd-Fulham. The average football fan who doesn't like United must have the intelligence to know it'll be a 1-0 or 2-0 breeze for them, with little in the way of competitiveness or excitement. No-one will watch solely because they might lose, because they won't.
I guess for ESPN it's a case that they already have that subscriber base who may tune in, simply because they have that channel, and they might scrape an extra few pennies out of people desperate to watch this titanic clash.
I sometimes think for ITV they feel they need to show the BIG northern clubs the the London ones.
So Round 3 - Man Utd (and replay) and Newcastle
Round 4 - Man City and Liverpool
Round 5 last 16, eight games...depending who is in Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea should be on at least one pick.
Same with Champions League, the North West clubs seem to be on ITV more than the London ones.
Remember that it's not just ITV that favours northern clubs: All broadcasters do it, and for very good reason. People in the north are more likely to watch football.
Will the Millwall vs. Aston Villa match be shown anywhere at all as it is on Friday? I remember last time the Liverpool v Oldham match on a Friday was shown?
The problem is, are people going to tune in to watch Man Utd-Fulham. The average football fan who doesn't like United must have the intelligence to know it'll be a 1-0 or 2-0 breeze for them, with little in the way of competitiveness or excitement. No-one will watch solely because they might lose, because they won't.
I guess for ESPN it's a case that they already have that subscriber base who may tune in, simply because they have that channel, and they might scrape an extra few pennies out of people desperate to watch this titanic clash.
Actually it is true. Even fans who don't like Manchester United watch their matches in the hope that they lose.
Will the Millwall vs. Aston Villa match be shown anywhere at all as it is on Friday? I remember last time the Liverpool v Oldham match on a Friday was shown?
The problem is, are people going to tune in to watch Man Utd-Fulham. The average football fan who doesn't like United must have the intelligence to know it'll be a 1-0 or 2-0 breeze for them, with little in the way of competitiveness or excitement. No-one will watch solely because they might lose, because they won't.
I guess for ESPN it's a case that they already have that subscriber base who may tune in, simply because they have that channel, and they might scrape an extra few pennies out of people desperate to watch this titanic clash.
And it will probably be, in all likeliness, the only time ESPN will show live an FA Cup tie involving Man Utd.
Comments
Well, that's because both ITV and ESPN have decided to show replays that can only be played tomorrow. It happens. Had QPR not gone to a replay, not a single one of Saturday's Premier League games would have been on live TV anywhere.
Will ITV still show extended highlights of it then?
So they can show highlights from the Man U match !!!
Tomorrow on ITV from 10:50pm to 12:05am
Thankfully the QPR game is on various streaming sites & 1 of my computers is already wired up to my TV. So will get my footie fix tonight.
Idman TV if you got access to it, an Azerbaijan channel.
The Magic of the Cup!
Leeds v Spurs (obvious TV pick whoever won tonight)
Macclesfield v Wigan (probably wouldn't have been a bad TV pick apart from them both being small teams in terms of ratings)
Brentford v Chelsea (obvious TV pick whoever won tonight)
QPR v MK Dons (meh)
Bolton v Everton (meh, could've been an ok TV tie I guess)
Hull v Barnsley (meh)
Stoke v Man City (reasonably obvious TV pick, as it should be decent, but obviously could've been top end Championship v top end PL)
Man Utd/West Ham v Fulham (sorry, but shouldn't have been chosen regardless of if Man Utd win tomorrow or not)
Macclesfield v Wigan and Brighton v Arsenal appeal to me alot more with it being the cup. Even Brighton v Swansea would interest me more, and for that matter so would Bolton v Everton, because it's the cup, it's about the lower league team being at home to a higher league team, not a big PL team at home to a middling PL team.
So Round 3 - Man Utd (and replay) and Newcastle
Round 4 - Man City and Liverpool
Round 5 last 16, eight games...depending who is in Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea should be on at least one pick.
Same with Champions League, the North West clubs seem to be on ITV more than the London ones.
Same each year. ITV Home of Northern Football.
It was actually funny hearing ITV commentators at last years Champions League Final. They wee drooling over Bayern...Chelsea winning was, I felt an annoyance to them.
The problem is, are people going to tune in to watch Man Utd-Fulham. The average football fan who doesn't like United must have the intelligence to know it'll be a 1-0 or 2-0 breeze for them, with little in the way of competitiveness or excitement. No-one will watch solely because they might lose, because they won't.
I guess for ESPN it's a case that they already have that subscriber base who may tune in, simply because they have that channel, and they might scrape an extra few pennies out of people desperate to watch this titanic clash.
Remember that it's not just ITV that favours northern clubs: All broadcasters do it, and for very good reason. People in the north are more likely to watch football.
http://www.leightonbuzzardonline.co.uk/sport/football/luton-town-fc/town-s-tv-snub-is-a-massive-error-1-4685698
A bit deluded I feel.
Actually it is true. Even fans who don't like Manchester United watch their matches in the hope that they lose.
And of course they MIGHT lose.
Not in the UK it wasn't.
Liverpool v Oldham was on ESPN.
And it will probably be, in all likeliness, the only time ESPN will show live an FA Cup tie involving Man Utd.
Not on ESPN in the UK. Why would they have chosen a Premier League side at home to a League 1 side?