CPL TV Contract

[Ams1984]

6 hours ago, nolando said:

Great point...never thought of this while I was high-fiving myself in excitement earlier today. You are right that the casual fan may not run across much, if any, high quality soccer on tv. The hardcores will be happy but this might seriously hurt the viewing numbers involving those less dedicated soccer fans.

Yeah, I used to hear casuals talk about the champions league all the time, but with it moving to DAZN it’s like it’s dissapeared. I feel like this DAZN nonsense is a huge step back towards the days when I had to wait for TSN to finish showing Curling before they’d join the champions league game in progress (if they even had it). 

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Think we have already had strong indications that the league investors see webstreams rather than traditional cable as the way ahead:

 https://canpl.ca/article/csb-acquires-stadium-digital

[baulderdash77]

There’s been a lot of CanPL coverage on sportsnet lately.  

The RFP for media rights is out and I’m sure they’re at least hedging their bets a bit by providing talking points and coverage.

This big move by DAZN is likely to have repercussions.  Either DAZN goes all in and acquires CanPL rights or Sportsnet hedges and acquires them to keep some content.

I’m very interested to see what happens.  

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, baulderdash77 said:

There’s been a lot of CanPL coverage on sportsnet lately.  

The RFP for media rights is out and I’m sure they’re at least hedging their bets a bit by providing talking points and coverage.

This big move by DAZN is likely to have repercussions.  Either DAZN goes all in and acquires CanPL rights or Sportsnet hedges and acquires them to keep some content.

I’m very interested to see what happens.  

Sportsnet has lots of content at the times you'd be playing CanPL games.  Unless you want the games shown in the morning the day after.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

John Molinaro also still needs to find content to fill out his Sportsnet website content at a time when the Canadian national teams and MLS franchises are not particularly active, so there may be no deeper reason than that for the recent focus on CanPL.

[dyslexic nam]

16 hours ago, 1996 said:

So now no Champions League or EPL on regular cable meaning less and less soccer on regular cable but a whole shit load of Football,hockey, baseball and basketball on regular cable this my friends is not good for soccer in Canada with less and less soccer on regular TV, don’t be surprised that the next World Cup or future ones are also lost to’ DAZN. But no one on these boards seems to be concerned about this? 

I think if you read back through the thread, there are a number of people who have been concerned precisely about the issue you mention.  At this point though, it is likely that the eventual deal is well underway - and it's not like we are driving the decision anyway.  Most of us would love to see CPL coverage on the prime sports networks or some other high visibility solution.  But if it isn't happening, you can either get on board with DAZN (if they end up with CPL rights) or you can stop watching televised/streamed soccer.

[CDNFootballer]

Doesn't necessarily have to be a either or, Series A TV rights are held by TLN now in Canada and the digital rights by DAZN.

[Ams1984]

23 minutes ago, CDNFootballer said:

Doesn't necessarily have to be a either or, Series A TV rights are held by TLN now in Canada and the digital rights by DAZN.

This. I spoke to one of the club reps a while ago, and I expressed concerns about a streaming only deal, and while they couldn’t give me anything definite because of confidentiality, there was a suggestion that they’d be happy with the bulk of the matches streamed somewhere TBD and then a ‘match of the week’ sort of thing on TV. Though I’d prefer TV only, I would be in favor of this mixed approach over streaming only; it’s important for the casual fans to be exposed to the league, and this is much more likely to happen on TV. 

This could mean that 1) DAZN (or some other service) gets a deal for all of the games, but that 2) some TV network gets a non exclusive (sharing with DAZN or whoever) deal for the best game each week. 

But, it could also mean (if taken with the in app survey option that asked whether fans wanted streaming in the app itself) that the streaming will be CPL based and delivered via the app, while some sort of deal is struck allowing the league to be shown weekly on local stations or on CBC or something. I find this more likely in the beginning to be honest. 

 

[Ansem]

13 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

John Molinaro also still needs to find content to fill out his Sportsnet website content at a time when the Canadian national teams and MLS franchises are not particularly active, so there may be no deeper reason than that for the recent focus on CanPL.

ridiculous comment....

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

7 hours ago, Ams1984 said:

...it could also mean (if taken with the in app survey option that asked whether fans wanted streaming in the app itself) that the streaming will be CPL based and delivered via the app, while some sort of deal is struck allowing the league to be shown weekly on local stations or on CBC or something. I find this more likely in the beginning to be honest. 

If they are handling the streaming in house with a company purchased and owned by CSB, they will need to keep most of the content on their own webstreams to get people to sign up and actually pay for it.

Local cable channel broadcasts are probably unlikely in other words, but a flagship game of the week broadcast on an easily accessed national cable channel might still make sense in terms of making the league visible outside of its core niche audience, if they don't have to pay an arm and a leg for access.

[RS]

9 hours ago, Ansem said:

ridiculous comment....

No, it's not.

Molinaro covers a lot of stuff that isn't on Sportsnet (MLS, Canadian national teams, etc.), so why not CPL as well?

[Ansem]

27 minutes ago, RS said:

No, it's not.

Molinaro covers a lot of stuff that isn't on Sportsnet (MLS, Canadian national teams, etc.), so why not CPL as well?

Equally ridiculous. Not sure he'd appreciate his credibility attacked that way. He's covering it because it's worth covering, not because he needed filler because there's plenty of sports to talk about besides CPL. 

[red card]

EPL moving to DAZN is bad news for the sport's exposure in Canada at least for the short term. EPL is the highest rated football on Canadian tv. It took a generation but EPL is now viewed by the average Canadian sports fan as part of their sports diet. They'll watch the big match ups just like they watch the big NBA games. EPL, World Cups and women's success are what moved the needle for football in Canada. 

Now other than 15-20 matches on NBC, one of the pillars will disappear for them. The average sports fans has no real reason to pay $15-20 for DAZN on top of their cable bill. The most watched sports in Canada are still on tv - NHL, Jays, Raps, curling, CFL and NFL (only hard core fans signed for DAZN since it was basically the Sunday ticket package). And the casual viewer is completely lost - though the silozation of viewing appears to be an unstoppable trend.

Serie A back on TLN is nice but it didn't move the needle in the 90s and will not now given how Serie A has fallen off. Possible addition of a CPL match or two or UEFA Natons Legaue and more CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches would also be nice but it doesn't replace the loss of EPL and Champions League.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

34 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Equally ridiculous. Not sure he'd appreciate his credibility attacked that way. He's covering it because it's worth covering, not because he needed filler because there's plenty of sports to talk about besides CPL. 

This has nothing to do with what I originally wrote. I did not attack John Molinaro's credibility and I did not suggest that CanPL is not worth covering.

Edited December 9, 2018 by BringBackTheBlizzard

[RS]

6 hours ago, Ansem said:

Equally ridiculous. Not sure he'd appreciate his credibility attacked that way. He's covering it because it's worth covering, not because he needed filler because there's plenty of sports to talk about besides CPL. 

His credibility attacked what way? What the hell are you talking about?

Molinaro is Sportsnet's main soccer reporter. Him reporting on the CPL is natural, and doesn't indicate anything about Sportsnet's broadcast plans. He also writes about other soccer leagues and competitions that aren't on Sportsnet, but apparently my pointing that out is somehow 'ridiculous' to you.

[toontownman]

Is there anything stopping Dazyn becoming part or tv packages ala setanta/www network/crave if they (tsn/sportsnet) have lost EPL there is zero reason for me to need TSN other than EPL and MLS (Although isn't that on Dazyn too?). Cable packages might well want it now.

I was thinking of cutting my cable down to a slim line package and adding tsn soon. I didn't entertain the idea of Dazyn until now. EPL and potentially CPL is a game changer. Can see Dazyn bumping up their prices after this, so that current one year up front option looks attractive. 

[Ams1984]

23 minutes ago, toontownman said:

Is there anything stopping Dazyn becoming part or tv packages ala setanta/www network/crave if they (tsn/sportsnet) have lost EPL there is zero reason for me to need TSN other than EPL and MLS (Although isn't that on Dazyn too?). Cable packages might well want it now.

I was thinking of cutting my cable down to a slim line package and adding tsn soon. I didn't entertain the idea of Dazyn until now. EPL and potentially CPL is a game changer. Can see Dazyn bumping up their prices after this, so that current one year up front option looks attractive. 

Probably the only way I’d be interested in DAZN is if I could just click on a channel on my TV guide to open it (like I can with Netflix). I don’t want to have to switch between AV inputs or watch through my PS4... it’s not just laziness either, where does it end! I have Amazon Prime and Netflix, I have cable because I want sports, live TV and news, now I need DAZN?! Then another new thing will come along and buy a given league and I’ll need it too! Screw this... soon it’ll be a dozen streaming services competing for content, leaving the programming I want spread across them all, and I’ll eithet have to move to the woods and tune out, or buy them all! 

[CDNFootballer]

16 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

If they are handling the streaming in house with a company purchased and owned by CSB, they will need to keep most of the content on their own webstreams to get people to sign up and actually pay for it.

Local cable channel broadcasts are probably unlikely in other words, but a flagship game of the week broadcast on an easily accessed national cable channel might still make sense in terms of making the league visible outside of its core niche audience, if they don't have to pay an arm and a leg for access.

Local TV channel broadcasts for each club could be used for the streaming service, then a National TV game of the week in addition, maximizing exposure for the CPL.

[Ruffian]

I hope CPL goes the digital stream direction. Most of my friends have no cable but do subscribe to DAZN, so offering games streaming would reach them and their young families. 

[toontownman]

2 hours ago, Ams1984 said:

Probably the only way I’d be interested in DAZN is if I could just click on a channel on my TV guide to open it (like I can with Netflix). I don’t want to have to switch between AV inputs or watch through my PS4... it’s not just laziness either, where does it end! I have Amazon Prime and Netflix, I have cable because I want sports, live TV and news, now I need DAZN?! Then another new thing will come along and buy a given league and I’ll need it too! Screw this... soon it’ll be a dozen streaming services competing for content, leaving the programming I want spread across them all, and I’ll eithet have to move to the woods and tune out, or buy them all! 

I'm with you. I'd still rather go through tv. The signal is generally more reliable which is keeping Cable afloat. Cable has been dead for a decade it's just desperately denying it and clawing to stay alive. Bell got smart though in creating crave so they have the best of both worlds. Looks like all these are likely apps are merging with cable companies or at least thats the smart way to go. 

Going to get worse next year with Disneys own version of Netflix coming out and errrr Disney's other own version of Netflix, Hulu coming to Canada. Then there is the ever impending chance Amazon prime might actually bother with their Canadian version and fill it with the same level of content as the UK and the state's. 

I had the same problem with setanta and sportsnet world. I'm not paying 5x's more for a channel that I'm only watching once a week. If MLS, EPL, Championship and premier league are on there plus rugby and a few other things id consider it. Still $14 more than I pay at the moment if I cut tsn.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

7 hours ago, CDNFootballer said:

Local TV channel broadcasts for each club could be used for the streaming service, then a National TV game of the week in addition, maximizing exposure for the CPL.

Most people will primarily be interested in their local team. If they can access the streams involving their team for free on local cable, why would they pay for a streaming subscription through Stadium Digital?

https://canpl.ca/article/csb-acquires-stadium-digital

“Our launch of the Canadian Premier League is timed perfectly with the maturity of mobile technology as fans’ preference for interacting with leagues and clubs,” said David Clanachan, Commissioner, Canadian Premier League, and Chairman of Canadian Soccer Business. “By acquiring Stadium Digital we now have the intellectual property and experience to deliver on our mobile-first mandate, while taking advantage of the rapidly changing landscape of live content delivery and consumption patterns of the sports audience”

 

[juicy sushi]

On 12/8/2018 at 8:09 AM, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Think we have already had strong indications that the league investors see webstreams rather than traditional cable as the way ahead:

 https://canpl.ca/article/csb-acquires-stadium-digital

Not a bad way to serve the faithful.  USL has all their stuff on youtube and it does help accessibility tremendously. 

[C2SKI]

Can anyone speak for the quality of streaming services for their other clients?

[Ruffian]

18 hours ago, C2SKI said:

Can anyone speak for the quality of streaming services for their other clients?

My only thought is 'please don't be the TSN GO guys'.

Seems they do 'Ticats TV live streaming, mobile ticketing, in-seat ordering, in-stadium WiFi, and in-game contesting'. Any Ticats fans?

Edited December 17, 2018 by Ruffian

[CanadianSoccerFan]

On the topic of DAZN, I watched most of the Canelo fight card last weekend and they did show the occasional commercial.  I suspect in the long term they'll try to get a big audience and then turn on the taps with ads and higher subscription fees.