Originally Posted by 1andrew1:
“See BT's press release, some matches and the final will be FTA. Pricing and precise coverage via each platform are unknowns at this stage. Remember BT had no channels before the Summer, it now has three across three pay TV platforms. A lot can change between now and 2015 - not just with BT but with technology too. Tablets are now outselling laptops and have displaced second TVs in lots of households.
I wonder if BT will set up a multi-platform BT Sports News channel to show these matches on? Time will tell. Incidentally, the BT Sport preview channel no. 57 is no longer at least on my equipment. Unfortunate timing for such an unveiling of rights.”
Yeah, lots can indeed change, but I thought Sky's coverage of the competition was exceptionally good. Making 15 of 16 matches available live is a phenomenal proposition for the European football follower. Now, nobody knows what'll be available. What we do know, however, is that every time major rights like these change hands, the dedicated subscriber (i.e., the fan who wants all of the coverage) ends up paying more.
So, as good as competition is, we're not really seeing competition for Champions League rights. We are seeing a complete transfer of rights - a transfer that will, almost inevitably, cost the subscriber even more.
On the football front, paying £1billion for the rights will only skew the competition in favour of the English clubs as their pot becomes ever-larger in comparison to other countries where, for one reason or another, the rights are not so obscenely inflated.
Basically, I thought that the FTA viewer (such as children in families who couldn't subscribe) got a decent shake with the current deal, and the more well-off diehard got great coverage on Sky. In my view, that wasn't broken, so it's annoying that BT have decided to fix it for all of us.
On the upside, if BT Sport could provide the same level of blanket coverage as Sky - and give FTA viewers proper access - then it's possible that their channel could, in theory, provide more or less anything that the fan of the European game could want. The price point will then be key.
I'm not confident this will benefit me, personally, in any way. I'd love to be proved wrong, but I'm not really interested in elevating Jake Humprey's career at the expense of my choice or my wallet.
Archie.