Metro Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Rob Brodie provides a nice little summary on European soccer on TV this winter. Only thing missing is how much Italian ball TLN will show this season: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2005/08/12/1170215-sun.html Off on the right 'footy' English soccer fans Score a better TV deal in new season By ROB BRODIE -- Ottawa Sun Save your loonies, English soccer fans. The free ride -- in TV Land, that is -- has never been this good for you. When the Premiership officially launches its new season tomorrow, Canadian viewers will have a great front row seat for all of the action. Saturday tripleheaders are back on Rogers Sportsnet, with two of the matches airing live. And gone now are the days of having to fork over extra bucks to catch a Sunday morning EPL fixture -- the Score has jumped into the fray, offering up a weekly match each Sunday. Judging by the e-mails flowing into one Score executive's inbox, the latter decision is already a wildly popular one. "I've received about 100 e-mails in the last couple of days from people, saying they're happy we've got the games," said Anthony Cicione, The Score's VP of programming and production. Then again, The Score is merely learning what the higher-ups at Sportsnet have known for awhile now -- English 'footy' is one fine way to start your Saturday. "The viewership numbers speak for themselves," said David Akande, Sportsnet's senior VP of programming. In 2003-04, the 'Net's EPL numbers rose dramatically, to an average of 82,000 per match. The ratings didn't hit the same heights last season (58,000), but it's worth noting those numbers jumped to 72,000 after Sportsnet abandoned an experiment to slip commercials into the action. "It's something we looked at, but it wasn't met with favour," said Akande, adding the commercials are gone right from the opening kick this season (you'll only see them during the halftime break). Sportsnet did have two late-season matches produce audiences above 100,000, while a Bolton-Chelsea game shown April 30 on tape delay -- when Chelsea clinched its first title in years -- pulled in 196,000. While the timing of the early live match (7:30 a.m.) cuts out much of the western viewership (that's 4:30 a.m. in Vancouver, 5:30 in Calgary), Akande prefers to look at the flip side. That, with three match slots available, it's more likely viewers will see fan favourites such as Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool on a regular basis. "The awareness of the EPL brand has definitely grown," said Akande. "We'd like to believe we've played a significant role in the growth of that ... The next step is to translate that growth into (bigger) audience." Cicione believes the looming 2006 World Cup in Germany should add to the buzz. "With the World Cup this year, the interest (in soccer) becomes more intensified," he said of the mega-event, which will air on Sportsnet for the first time. A few other soccer notes: - SoccerCentral returns Saturdays at noon, but Sportsnet has dropped the Wednesday version. "We couldn't find a (regular) home position for it," said Akande. Spanish La Liga soccer is also gone from the 'Net, he added. - The Score's soccer presentation will be preceded by Sportworld Matchday at 10:30 a.m. James Sharman is the front man for the preview/review show. - Digital TV subscribers also will have access to more soccer on Fox Sports World Canada. It'll show one EPL match most Sundays, along with a selection of French, German, and Argentine league games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh1 Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Sh*t La liga is gone from RSN ........have I said human waste material yet, effn depressing, wrong decision RSN TSN jump in here grab La Liga or Bundesliga or Serie A and protect your Champions League franchise by getting the audience all hot and horney for top flight Euro soccer............please [:I] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red card Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 la liga is going to be on the new GOLTV Canada launching in Oct on digital which the article fails to mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yob Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 From the Globe & Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050811.wengtv11/BNStory/Sports/ By NEIL DAVIDSON Thursday, August 11, 2005 Updated at 4:18 PM EDT Canadian Press With five English Premier League games on TV this weekend, Canadian soccer fans are doing better than their English counterparts. When the Premier League kicks off this weekend, only four games will be shown in England — all on Sky TV specialty channels including two on pay per view. Canadian soccer fans can see five: three on Rogers Sportsnet on Saturday and one each on The Score and Fox Sports World Canada on Sunday. The Sportsnet games Saturday are Manchester United at Everton at 7:30 a.m. ET, Bolton at Aston Villa at 10 a.m. ET, and Liverpool at Middlesbrough at 12:30 p.m. ET on tape delay. Advertisements On Sunday, the Score has Chelsea at Wigan at 11:05 a.m. ET and Fox Sports World Canada airs Newcastle at Arsenal at 1 p.m. ET on tape delay. Sportsnet will provide the bulk of the weekly coverage, with tripleheaders most Saturdays. Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest will anchor Soccercentral at noon. The weeknight Soccercentral has been dropped but the network hopes to occasionally insert a soccer panel into the nightly sportscast. The average audience for the Sportsnet games last season was 58,000 with the early morning game dragging down the average. The two later games topped 100,000 on several occasions and a tape-delayed Bolton-Chelsea afternoon game — when Chelsea locked up the title — drew 196,000 on April 30. Sportsnet will also dispense with commercials during the action right from the get-go this season. Ratings went up 25 per cent after the network stopped airing ads during the play midway through last season. Week 2 (Aug. 20) will see Manchester United-Aston Villa, Liverpool vs. Sunderland and Birmingham City vs. Manchester City on Sportsnet while Week 3 (Aug. 27) showcases West Brom vs. Birmingham City, Tottenham vs. Chelsea and Fulham vs. Everton. The network will also air a doubleheader on Boxing Day, a Monday. Sportsnet is not carrying Spanish soccer this year, however, dropping the tape-delayed weekly game it showed last season. Fox Sports World Canada has yet to officially announce its plans, but is expected to air a game most Sundays, with another couple during the week. Their opening game Sunday is tape-delayed and the network could not say whether this marked a one-off or a trend. Fox is also carrying German, French and Argentine soccer and expects to add Scottish and Italian games later in the season. The Score is the new kid on the soccer block, adding to its solid world sports coverage. Its games will air Sundays at 11:05 a.m. ET, with James Sharman hosting a Sportsworld Matchday show at 10:30 a.m. TSN's soccer basket will be filled with Champions League play again this year, starting with Matchday 1 on Sept. 13 and climaxing with the May 17 final. The network will show live games, plus sometimes show others on a midnight ET tape-delay basis. Liverpool's comeback and penalty shootout win over AC Milan earlier this year in Istanbul averaged 130,000 viewers with another 93,000 tuning in for a repeat showing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 I'm just gonna love waking up the people in my mod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh1 Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Just to bitch 'cuz I can......TV5 has changed their telecast time from mid afternoon to noon. Now for the last few years I watched most of the early EPL game on RSN taped the 2nd or 3rd game and then taped Ligue 1 game to watch later in the week as I have to be at work by 7pm on Saturdays. Now I'm left with the delima of only being able to tape one comfortably or fighting with the family to not touch the VCR up stairs. To-day PSG/Toulouse win but....it's gonna be an either or situation or getting some kind of video card so I can watch internet archived games on a real TV instead of on a monitor. I also like to be on the computer and watch TV at the same time. So this is gonna change my habits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRE004 Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 quote:Originally posted by argh1 Sh*t La liga is gone from RSN ........have I said human waste material yet, effn depressing, wrong decision RSN TSN jump in here grab La Liga or Bundesliga or Serie A and protect your Champions League franchise by getting the audience all hot and horney for top flight Euro soccer............please [:I] Best news I have heard all day, Sportsnet's coverage of La Liga was pitiful at best [V]. Bring on Gol TV Canada, who will have better coverage including more games (it has to be better, there is no where to go but up compared to RSN's coverage). I notice that neither article has much of anything on FSWC, it seems they weren't able to get any info. from Global. This channel has gone down hill and I hope it keeps going down and eventually disappears completely! They are not showing much of anything and with The Score now showing an EPL game on Sunday, I wonder how many subscribers they will lose (not that they have many to begin with). They should either put in an honest effort (see $$) to improve the channel or just fold up shop and go home. Don't waste bandwidth let someone else give it a shot (we will see if Gol TV Canada is any better). I think FSWC should shut down then apply to the CRTC to get FSC in Canada. Just do what Rogers did with MSNBC Canada, say we can't make a go of it with and then they applied to get the 'real' channel approved and on the air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpopulistfutebol Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 I will agree for the most part that Fox Sports World Canada has kind of gone downhill, but I won't give up on it just yet. Despite the fact the channel shows massive amounts of repeats of the same games and as well an overdose of Rugby and Aussie Rules football, There are some qualities that are still good namely MLS, USL, Futbol Argentino, the odd EPL game and Fox Sports World Report. I will say this that FSWC must improve this year, now that it faces increased competition from The Score now and Gol TV Canada in October. It is still worth $1.99/mth, but barely. It would be nice if they could switch over to FSC. I wouldnt be surprise if FSWC switches over within the next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Gee, how nice it is of Rob Brodie and Neil Davidson to provide free advertising for the EPL on Sportsnet, The Score and FSWC. Do we ever see anyone in the media mention when Canadian clubs are on TV? [xx(] quote:Originally posted by Metro Rob Brodie provides a nice little summary on European soccer on TV this winter. It's more of a summary of EPL soccer. Typically, they said very little about anything else. quote:From Neil Davidson's article With five English Premier League games on TV this weekend, Canadian soccer fans are doing better than their English counterparts. No, it's not "Canadian soccer fans", it's "fans of English soccer living in Canada". quote:Originally posted by GRE004 They are not showing much of anything and with The Score now showing an EPL game on Sunday, I wonder how many subscribers they will lose Since there are still EPL matches on FSWC (probably more than The Score will show), why would EPL fans cancel their subscription to FSWC? It's not as if The Score is taking over FSWC's EPL matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepatriot Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 quote:Originally posted by argh1 Best news I have heard all day, Sportsnet's coverage of La Liga was pitiful at best [V]. Bring on Gol TV Canada, who will have better coverage including more games (it has to be better, there is no where to go but up compared to RSN's coverage). The unfortunate thing there is Rogers Sportsnet simply took in the feed from GOLTV in the States and re-aired their broadcast. Hopefully someone at GOLTV Canada will correct that and try to have a word on the quality of their production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Mouth Soup Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 quote:Originally posted by DJT No, it's not "Canadian soccer fans", it's "fans of English soccer living in Canada". /obscure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 I'm not trying to be anal retentive, I'm trying to make a point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yob Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 During the Wigan v Chelsea match The Score's ticker had the result of the Arsenal v Newcastle game which was on FSWC tape delayed right after it. I didn't watch the pre-game or half time show, did they give the result there too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metro Posted August 15, 2005 Author Share Posted August 15, 2005 quote:Originally posted by DJT I'm not trying to be anal retentive, I'm trying to make a point. And it's a point I agree with. I get slightly annoyed with the EPL heavy soccer coverage the media in this country provides. Does the media know that other leagues exist which are not based in England? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhat Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 quote:Originally posted by DJT I'm not trying to be anal retentive, I'm trying to make a point. You're absolutely right. It's hard to be a fan of Canadian soccer when it's rarely covered on TV and on print. The only time I get to see Canadian soccer teams is when the Caps and Impact are shown on FSWC's USL First Division games. But I do get to see lots of EPL, some Ligue 1, and some Bundesliga. And it's a shame I get to see more Argentine games than Canadian club matches... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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