Lots to pick up on today but a Bloomberg article on “Soccer Pirates” grabbed my attention. The US business news broadcaster focussed on a recent fundamental technical shift which has seen high quality and reliable feeds of Sky and BT broadcast football games illegal appearing on TV sets across the globe.
The days of illegal content consumers scavenging around their laptop for a feed in the minutes leading up to kick off are on the way out. Now you can subscribe to a feed of your chosen content in Eastern Europe or China and it will be streamed to a device attached to your TV, where it will appear pretty much as it does direct from Sky.
This is important for several reasons. Subscription football is expensive. Thousands of Scottish football fans pay a significant portion of their monthly disposable income to Sky and BT to follow their team on television. They also get English and Spanish football as part of these subscriptions, but there is a dysfunctional market for football content.
While Sky earn 8% of their UK subscription income from Scotland, they send only 1% of their football outlays north of the border. English Premier League football is the key to entry into the UK subscription TV market, own this content, and you have market control. Cost per eyeball paid for Scottish football is a tiny fraction what is paid for English football (or English rugby league, for that matter), which has fostered a feeling among Scottish subscribers that they are being exploited by an oligopolist.
For some time now the comments section of CQN has seen discussions on how to organise a boycott of Sky, with many making the unilateral declaration “Just cancelled Sky Sports”, but there is a fundamental truth: if we have the money, we are going to watch Celtic.
Scrambling around for an illegal feed minutes before kick-off, fighting pop-ups or coping with lags is not how I want to watch my football, however, as the Bloomberg article makes plain, these issues are irrelevant if, like 2.4 million others, you subscribe to an Eastern European or Chinese feed. To force an oligopolist to change, you either need regulators to step in (they have abandoned us to a fragment of the UK market), or you need to find a way to take your business elsewhere.
One of the main advantages of being paid a pittance is you can take bold steps; Scottish football has nothing to lose by burning bridges with those who collect revenues here and pour the money into the coffers of clubs elsewhere.
The more fundamental question, even than losing Scottish subscribers, to Sky and BT, is the risk this technology poses to the value of their English Premier League broadcast rights. Viewers in England (and across the globe) also pay a substantial levy to watch English football. If the pick-up rate of Eastern European subscriber numbers continues, and assurances given to Bloomberg that prosecutions for use are unlikely, Sky and BT will see collapsing revenues – and maybe then we’ll see the English football bubble burst. Indeed, if Scottish viewers prove the concept and move en-mass, English viewers will not be far behind.
This is an important subject, we’ll talk more about it. I’m not going to advocate breaking even an unenforceable law, although others will, but there is no point playing TV money-victim anymore. This technology will eventually remove the enormous discrepancies in our game, so I’m off to buy one of the boxes, just to take a look, of course.
4-in-1-row DVD, £10.99, on CQN Bookstore, still available for Father’s Day (Sunday)!
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clogher
You’re welcome mate (⊙_⊙)
random copying n pasting CSC
sipsini
That is a major downfall of the EL, and problem re TV in general. I was just mainly talking about latter stage EL, so 3pm KOs for most of the season
SFTB
Fair enough, but EL does seem the stage for Spanish clubs outwith the Big 2, Portuguese, Russian, Swiss clubs etc to do well and boost rankings. In saying that, yes I do believe CL Last 16 is higher achievement than EL QFs, but semi’s and final personally I think the same or even higher. Just personal opinion though, but the standard of pot 3 teams in CL are about the same as latter stages EL, and arguably a few Pot 2 CL teams, so beating those standard teams over a succession of knockout ties is a very good achievement.
HH
HH
looking to get celtic tv, whats the best online yearly for £40 or premium uk £80 yearly, many thanks HH
‘That little B*****d shot me right in the a*s!’
The Waco Kid
BSR
I always have and always will hate cowboy movies. My father thought I was a weirdo. He loved them. We both had only one shared interest. Celtic!
TSOAL
Gaun the mighty Cleland! Magic! :)
Gary Hooper
Yes for me. Good in the CL qualifiers, and did score 2 goals in the CL groups – and I’m pretty sure he missed a couple of the games
Reckon we could get him for £2-3m too
HH
Bournes,
Nope can’t do copying and pasting, get the kids to help.
Not bright enough for that.
Can you name 3 movies shot in Clogherhead?
No Googling!!
“Land…land…land…see ‘Grab’.”
Hedley Lamarr, or any Tory
BlazingsaddlesCSC
Great info this evening folks.re watching the tic on TV
Suffered last season without sky
But won’t give them anymore of my cash that makes Burnley more powerful than Celtic.
So thankyou and thankyou paul67
Delaneys
It’s an age thing when I was about three, The local Postman asked me my name
Apparently (according to my Mum) I replied in an American accent
“Cheyenne Bodie”
ILuvCowboysMe CSC
Delaneys
I thought you would be partial to rollin’ a fat yin n tunin’ into the spaghetti westerns.
clogher
The Quiet Man?
Clogher – there was a Rock Hudson film, my gran claimed to have met him. And its name was err, err, errrmmm…
fieldofdrams
Thank you, Hedy.
Hedley Lamarr: No, it’s Hedley!
Lennon n mc
One of my Cheech n Chong or Monty Python dvds always gets chosen. :)
Come on fieldofdrams,
Captain…
DD
Aye fair play but you don’t know what yer missin’ in the ole Jews Harp csc ;)
Ciaran10
I got Celtic TV this year. I got the £80
But I don’t know what I got diff from the £40
I get to see the games (however not live)
BSR
My dad would read cowboy story books in his retirement. Reckon he preferred the Wild West to the West of Scotland. :)
No sorry Bourne
Clogher – Captain Lightning! No! Captain Lightbolt! No aarrggh it’s something like that, Captain Something, Laurence Jesterton no! James Laurenceston…James Masterton…Leonard Laureson…
DirtyrottenscoundrelsCSC
Lightfoot!!!!
roberttressell
21:06 on 17 June, 2015
Indeed it can plus various other live sports, movies, live TV, boxsets etc, there’s a new version of the software out called TVMC which will install everything for you
http://www.tvaddons.ag/tvmc-cordcutters/
OMG too many nights watching the oul black and white telly with the grandparents with my granda eating peas n vinegar.
Come a long way, with my air-dried ham and glass of pinotage :-)
Delaney’s
I agree that many old cowboy movies were pretty hokey … but there are some classics ….
NOBODY is, was or ever will be cooler than Yul Brenner and Steve McQueen in the Magnificent 7!
And John Wayne’s last film, The Shootist, tells the tale of a gunslinger, dying of cancer, which was filmed during JW’s last days before he passed from cancer…. plus it has Lauren Bacall, who was still lovely even at that age! A classic.
In one of the Duke’s films, he had a dog that he would set on bad guys simply by saying ‘get ’em, dawg’…. as a kid, I thought it was brilliant!
when I got my dog, I tried to teach her that trick … but being a golden retriever (and exceptionally friendly even for that most friendly of breeds!), the closest she ever got to that was licking visitors and rolling over (like she has been shot) so they can rub her belly!
She’s great company, but not much of a guard dog!
Butsybhoy/ClogherCelt: Ye have mail
Hamiltontim: Can you email the FAC petition? TIA
For those of you coming over to Dublin for the 1916 hootenanny next Easter one of the places well worth visiting is Glasnevin Cemetary. Many people who fought in the 1916 Easter Rising are buried here , as are many other important historical figures. RTÉ showed a film about the Cemetary called One Million Dubliners. I tried getting it on Youtube and while there are trailers for the programme the full programme seems to be blocked. If anyone can find the full programme, I would appreciate it if you could put up a link.
dublin2016@mail.com
Lennon nmc
Jews Harp????
.
Ciaran10..
The Normal Celtic TV is just as good as Premium these days..
If You have good Broadband it’s great..
001
Fieldofdrams,
Captain Lightfoot, Rock Hudson. Your granny was right.
Fair play. I think there are clips on You Tube.
Clogher
MiT
Love the Duke. In his non Cowboy roles.
My mammy knows every word in The Quiet Man. :)
SFTB
Just read back and saw your post. Some excellent points made. Different view points but like TBB said we are not miles away. I was mainly talking about my mates who threw their toys out the pram when we departed the CL last year. In my opinion due to building a good side that will be dismantled when we reach the last 16 in the CL that is only possible every 3-4 years. The other years we may have a run in the CL to a point but I would take another European final albeit in the EL anytime. It’s a competition we have never won and I want to win it. You can’t compare the EL to the Petrofac cup. You just can’t even get close with that. We would be able to attract more players by winning a European trophy than qualifying at our ceiling in my opinion for the last 16 of the CL every year. Just my views.
In no way was I having a pop at you scaffolding or not (never heard that term before but like it).
I hadn’t actually read any related post you may have made so if you want to fire it up happy to do so.
On an unrelated matter Hooper would be a no for me. Not a great believer in going backwards. He had his day and Griffiths is like a young Hooper. We develop then and sell them on and Hooper couldn’t wait to get out the door.
Celtic are being linked with lots of players but I hope we bring in the right players. No matter the price tag or the reputation they are treated on merit when they play. The game has changed and lately it is smart young guys who are willing to listen, learn and put the work in who are succeeding. Really looking forward to seeing Armstrong and GMS next season after a solid preseason with our coaching staff.
LB
DD …
You are a man of impeccable taste. The quiet man is a classic. Ms. O’hara never looked lovelier than she did in that film.
did you know the Duke’s real name was Marion!? Doesn’t seem quite as tough …. ‘hey Pilgrim, my name is … Marion…”
clogher
Modern films ( I’d need to use ole Google )
As somebody who won’t see 50 again, I’m from the generation that were brought up on westerns.
Strangely, my favourite is a mid 80s one, Silverado.
Stunning scenery, and a cast of practically unknown actors at the time -the 2 Kevins Costner and Klein, Scott Glenn, Rosanna Arquette etc.
Plus, a cameo by John Cleese as a sheriff. Basil Fawlty in the Wild West.
Almore,
I have tried You Tube before. I don’t think RTE put all of their catalogue on.
We used RTE Player, International, while in Spain. Not sure about the cost.
Cheers
And to interject myself into the other discussion …. LOVED Hooper when he played for us, but I think going back rarely works… and think in LG, we have someone who can fill a similar role …. I know he seems a bit of a nutter, but I think Ciftci would be a more useful addtion to us … big, strong, and a bit of skill…. brings something we dont have up front.
Robert (Man from Uncle) Vaughn is the only member of The Magnificent Seven still alive.