Epl Tv Coverage 2007/2008

[jjp]

Well chaps for us in Thailand next season we will have to go back to the drivel of the Thai Saint and Grevesve show next season for the EPL on UBC supersport. Found this article and it seems UBC will take over the rights in Thailand. It seems ESPN/STAR will cover all the other countries in the region besides Thailand.

Bummer, me thinks

Premiership football has been responsible, among other phenomena, for bidding wars in the Far East, for an Icelandic executive jumping on a plane to London to beg to be allowed to bid for rights, and for match analysts in Argentina breaking into Beatles' songs during play. Every time George McCartney plays for West Ham (all of whose games are now live in Argentina, since Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano signed), Argentine commentators are keen to remind viewers he has two Beatles' names rolled into his, which provides the perfect excuse for singing the group's numbers.

The bidding wars in Asia and elsewhere started when the League put its next foreign rights out to tender last September. Some 450 interested parties were involved, generating bids from 130 entities covering 208 countries. In all, 81 separate deals have been done, all concluded directly between the League and broadcasters, allowing the League to tailor coverage (for example supplementary magazine shows featuring local players) to local needs.

The smallest deal was Fiji TV buying the rights for Fiji (population 900,000), Vanuatu and a few other small Pacific islands, while the biggest was ESPN Star's deal for pan-territory rights ranging from Macau and the Maldives to India and Pakistan. Other major deals include C-more Entertainment buying rights for Scandinavia, and Showtime winning the rights from ART in the Middle East.

The League is reluctant to provide details on what any broadcaster pays, but there are huge variations above and below the average £7m for each of the 81 deals. Little nations may pay in the low six figures. Multination deals run to tens of millions. The most valuable per capita deals were done in the "hot spots" of South-East Asia, Scandinavia and Africa.

In Thailand, it took six rounds of bidding for UBC, a pay TV operator, to wrest the rights from ESPN Star. In Hong Kong, the pay TV operator PCCW outbid I-Cable by paying a reported £10m, in a territory of only seven million people.

[ThaiPauly]

If its true..it could be bad news.

maybee Jackndanny can shed some light on it as I think he lknows Paul Masefield??

Mind you I enjoyed saint & Grevsie..."funny ole game"

[Spit the Dog]

It wouldn't surprise me as they changed the set up of the channels on UBC this week to include what looks like more TV channels.

Personally I'm quite happy with the EPL coverage at the moment on ESPN. I think it would be a disaster if the Thai's got hold of the EPL rights. You only have to look back to The World Cup last year to remember how piss poor their coverage was.

[jjp]

Thaipauly,

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it is true.

I have just read the story this afternoon in the business section of todays Bangkpost (front page)

At least we will still be able to watch but i enjoy the build up from the pundits on ESPN even though they talk b........... sometimes.

will try and post article if i can find it on the bangkokpost website

[jjp]

here is the article from the Bangkokpost

ENTERTAINMENT / PAY TELEVISION

TrueVisions marks name change with Premier League coup

WORANUJ MANEERUNGSEE

TrueVisions Plc, the pay-TV operator formerly known as United Broadcasting Corp, has won the exclusive rights to broadcast Premier League matches in Thailand. Supachai Chearavanont, the president and chief executive, confirmed the report, but declined to offer details.

Sources said the company beat ESPN Star, a joint venture between the US sports channel ESPN and Star TV, the Asian broadcaster owned by News Corp. The rights reportedly are for the 2007 to 2010 seasons starting this coming August.

Attaphon Na Bangxang, TrueVisions' chief programme and content officer, said the company competed for the rights to better position Premier League matches as the flagship of its sports offerings.

''It would be better if we can manage the rights. We know that we have won the rights, but now have to negotiate further details about what we will get and how we will manage them,'' he said.

He declined to comment on whether the matches would be broadcast on free TV channels.

UBC reportedly paid up to 500 million baht for the lucrative contract, and could look to repackage content through the internet and mobile-phone channels of parent True Corp.

Mr Attaphon noted that UBC also held exclusive rights to Grand Slam tennis as well as the PGA golf tour.

UBC yesterday announced it was rebranding to become TrueVisions, a move that Mr Supachai said would highlight the company's focus on the mass market and the links with True.

Programme offerings would be further segmented to meet different markets, such as Japanese viewers, he said.

A promotion tied with True's mobile-phone service helped boost television subscribers to 630,000 at the end of 2006 from 520,000 at the end of September.

Mr Supachai said similar packages would be offered tying in various telecommunications and media services from True this year to help boost TrueVisions' client base to one million this year.

Among local telecom operators, True has been the strongest proponent of ''convergence'', under which media content is repackaged together across wireless, fixed-line and broadband telecommunication channels.

Mr Supachai said TrueVisions aimed to reach 50% of Thai households, or eight million nationwide, within three years. The company plans to spend 35 million baht this year on marketing and promoting its new brand.

[Bredbury Blue]

...and expect UBC to start charging more to recoup!

Who would you really miss from ESPN / Star? Me, only Dyksey (an intelligent presenter - anybody notice he always calls Man City "City", smart man), Reevo and that's it (liked Walshy and Gavin Peacock).

[JacknDanny]

If its true..it could be bad news.

maybee Jackndanny can shed some light on it as I think he lknows Paul Masefield??

Mind you I enjoyed saint & Grevsie..."funny ole game"

Chances are I will be meeting up with him next month. He certainly wasnt aware of it last time I spoke with him.

It wouldnt be the end of the world for Mase, his main interest is in his football schools.

I dread what we are going to get next. Whatever it is I am sure will make Shebbie and Andrew Leccie appear as candidates of Personality of the Year!!

[Lite Beer]

More important will we still get Jamie Yeo ?

[mrbojangles]

...and expect UBC to start charging more to recoup!

Who would you really miss from ESPN / Star? Me, only Dyksey (an intelligent presenter - anybody notice he always calls Man City "City", smart man), Reevo and that's it (liked Walshy and Gavin Peacock).

Don't pay for it Bred. Save your money for going to watch it at the pub. That's what i did with skysports a couple of years back. And, i prefer to watch footie with the lads than at home.

[R123]

Yes well it appears correct that ESPN/Star have lost the TV rights from next season onwards for English football:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/25Jan2007_biz37.php

This means that we will have the appalling local presentation of football, like they did in the World Cup etc etc

They know nothing about either football nor how to present it.

The only reason I renewed my subs to cable was the live English football, so this will be the last year for me.

At least with ESPN they are mainly football people, some who have played at Premiership or similar level, who present the show and have an idea what they are doing and talking about; the new regime are and will be totally clueless and expect the matches themselves to be interrupted frequently with commercials.

Bit like asking Europeans to present a show on Thai cooking....eh?!

[ThaiPauly]

Me too....I have been very lucky this season to watch more of my teams games than I would have done if I had been back home...I CANNOT STAND the Thai drivel....I will CANCEL..I already have a subsciption to listen to the games live .. ( as I did last seaon..and that was just as much fun as I get the highlights the day after anyway) so it would be a great financial saving. As for films..I can get copies as we all can who live here.

CHANGE THINGS...YOUR DECISION...YOUR PERIL!!!! (this comment is aimed at the new owners of the rights ..but I feel it will fall on deaf ears.)..the bar is always a good alternative if needs be.

But I do not crave to watch the "Big Four"...just my little team does me fine.

I hope the new owners are reading (Spelt correctly) these comments

[Bredbury Blue]

If you thought ESPN / Star's coverage was too biased to the "big 4" (i've almost given up watching Football Focus as we never get a mention except in passing when we're playing one of the "big 4"), then wait till the 'too stiff-lack of pesonality-sit behind the desk Thai presenters' get going with their "Man U" this and their "Liverpoon" that eye aya eye ay oh! Can't bloody wait - not!