Setanta close to meltdown.

[pete 2,499]

Yep it's time the SPL took over the TV and COMPLETELY overhauled the way we show football. Get 3 SPL channels (one HD) on there that show three games a week live with full replays of the other games, 30 minute highlights of every game, 15 minutes analysis of every game as well as a one hour program which shows 5 minutes of every game.

 

Put in a 30 minute preview of every game and a one hour weekly magazine programme for every team and a results program on the Saturday. Also a daily one hour daily news show covering all teams and take on the Real Radio phone in.

 

Bring in Cup games, Scotland games, friendlies, U21 and aU19 games, interviews, SFL highlights, goals and news etc, etc, etc - and with decent presenters, commentators and pundits, along with a pin-sharp picture it could be unmissable, especially if it's exclusive.

 

You could pad it out with EPL highlights and news as well as a European round up and maybe take up the cheap deals on live European games.

 

Much of the stuff could be repeated during the week to fill the schedule and allow people 2nd and third chances to watch stuff.

 

They could aim for 400k subscribers at �£200 a year (more than Setanta but better quantity and quality, and less than Sky) and you bring in 80M with perhaps 20M in costs, leaving 60M split between 12 clubs.

 

I'd pay more to be able to watch better coverage of two thirds of Rangers games and every Scotland game plus 30 minute highlights if I miss it. And I'm sure many fans of other SPL clubs would be willing to pay for seeing two thirds of their games plus extended highlights and Scotland games. They would no longer feel like second class citizens when it comes to their club on TV.

 

An HD channel would be a big selling point, bringing everything up to date and allowing us to watch the game with a great picture for a change.

 

Surely with over 150k people attending games, there must be about 300k willing to pay to watch them on the telly in Scotland and a further 100k in England?

 

There is the question of whether it would affect attendances but the live coverage from Setanta has hardly dented it.

 

Agree on most things but i feel they should not go on the subscribers trail. I think the Dutch system of of letting digital tv,internet companies take the marketing would be a better option. The profit margin would be smaller but so would the risks. It would also mean you do not need to employ people to do marketing and subscription services which brings high costs with it.

[Gribz 791]

This is a foreign agreement Gribz i am talking about how the national system works. Foreign game rights are owned by a commercial firm here but they are also now turning from a 40 euro subscribe to offering all the big providers a 10 euro deal. People will possibly pay 10 euro's but few will pay 40 euro's.

 

Yeah Pete, i was just making the point that the SPL can cash on from overseas games also where the BBC didnt from selling off foreign rights.

 

We should be looking at the Dutch system for most things, they are a small country who have produced wonderful footballers for the last 30-40 years. There system is miles ahead of the UK. I remember being on a train from Amsterdam to Rotterdam and couldnt believe the amount of quality football pitches - and they were all being used - despite very cold temps.

[Tannochsidebear 2,403]

That is a good thought Calscot, but the production costs of such a set-up would be astronomical.

 

There are also a lot of fans who would not open their curtains to watch another SPL game other than their own team's (like me), so would not be the slightest bit interested in such extensive coverage.

 

Out of the coverage you mention above, I would probably watch the 30 min preview of our upcoming game, the 15 min post-game analysis of our game (as long as the pundits were reputable), and on the odd occassion I might watch the 90 min re-run if we had a great victory (OF game etc).

 

Would I pay �£200 for that, no chance.

 

Would any St Mirren fans pay �£200 for that profile of their team, perhaps but as we know there are not so many of them. Same goes for the other provincial clubs. That leaves you with the big 4/5 clubs, with only really 2 of them bringing any kind of marketable support.

 

You are therefore paying out a helluva lot of money to show all the St Mirren and Falkirk magazine shows, re-runs, previews, for very little audience or income. That is a loss.

 

 

I feel the only answer is for Sky to negotiate a tv deal with the SPL, and to incorporate the SPL coverage into its Sports package. Their professional coverage is a class above anything we have had either before or since they were last involved, and while it may not be as lucrative as Setanta's supposed package, the truth is Setanta cannot even pay the old contract off, so the new contract was no more viable than if Gersnet had made the offer.

 

You cant trust the GAA loving scum, thats for sure, and we should never have gotten into bed with them in the first place, and I will be delighted to hear today the expected news that Crocker, Booth, Hartson, Delahunt and the rest of their biased setup have lost their jobs.

[pete 2,499]

Yeah Pete, i was just making the point that the SPL can cash on from overseas games also where the BBC didnt from selling off foreign rights.

 

We should be looking at the Dutch system for most things, they are a small country who have produced wonderful footballers for the last 30-40 years. There system is miles ahead of the UK. I remember being on a train from Amsterdam to Rotterdam and couldnt believe the amount of quality football pitches - and they were all being used - despite very cold temps.

 

I have a piece coming next week giving an insight into the Dutch game at the grass roots. No doubt those who go into the Gersnet writers section will be familiar with it.(or not:))

[Zappa 0]

Agree on most things but i feel they should not go on the subscribers trail. I think the Dutch system of of letting digital tv,internet companies take the marketing would be a better option. The profit margin would be smaller but so would the risks. It would also mean you do not need to employ people to do marketing and subscription services which brings high costs with it.

 

The subscribers method is probably the only way to generate some serious money for Scottish football though Pete. The major drawback is more likely to be the initial set-up costs because marketing and subscription services costs could more or less be covered by commercial subscribers paying vastly more than private customers. There's over 5000 pubs in Scotland, most of whom would be paying at least �£100 per month, possibly as much as �£1500 per year - peanuts for pubs. If Calscot's figures are even remotely attainable, then you're looking at generating significantly more than the �£120m over 4 years that Setanta wangled. Even if the running costs were �£10m more than Cal estimated, so say �£30m per year, that's still gonna leave around �£200m over 4 years & far more if the subscription figure was significantly over 400k.

[Zappa 0]

This Russian guy Blavatnik that's offering �£20m for 51% of Setanta could be a problem. He's looking for a bargain with that sort of offer & if it were to be accepted he'll be looking to renegotiate the 4 year deal for �£120m down to a much much lower level. If that guy takes over, we need to tell Setanta to GTF.