Does anyone know if VP will carry on next year? I live in Berkshire and will always try to get to a home game, but it's not always possible.
Wasn't there an EFL restriction on live games on saturday afternoons, pre-covid? Would be very disappointed to lose it.
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Saturday games at 3pm I reckon the blackout will return as smaller teams in League One and League Two alone need fans back in the grounds to be able to survive properly, let alone further down the pyramid - Allowing the likes of Charlton with a bigger fanbase to have their fans at home rather than in the away ends is, I feel, a bit of a death warrant for your Accringtons, Rochdales... Probably even the likes of Oxford.
It will be ridiculous if the blackout doesnt return as think it'll be the death of the English Football System - Fair enough keep it in the Premier League but outside of that Division, without a similar TV deal, clubs dont stand a chance!!
Evening games though, there isnt a blackout, last two seasons you've been allowed to purchase match streams for a Tuesday / Wednesday night game if you're here in England (think there have been roughly ten games) so reckon we'll see Scott Minto and Curbishley returning for those.
You never know they may do something for Games where they provide "studio" coverage up until 2:45pm and then those not attending on a Saturday, whether its home or away only get radio commentary the usual way when the game itself is going on.
But this is my first season with VP. What was the original like in normal times (as far as games covered), before the TS upgrade?
But you dont pay £10 for the privilege, you pay the same rate that the fan attending the game pays
That way Accrington (if they only have an away stand that can accommodate 1,000 fans) potentially get the opportunity for even more ticket income because of the streaming passes that have been sold on top of those in attendance
Otherwise if they sell attending tickets for £20, tickets get sold on stream for £10 - What option are the majority of people going to take, especially with the latter you're getting an even better deal as you dont need to factor in the travelling / food costs etc.
For example, what will happen in the PL, where people will have got used to matches all being played at different times, and all being televised. Brilliant for overseas viewers who can watch every game. Will it really go back to have 5 games played at the same time?
Compared with others, we've been hugely spoiled with Valley Pass - both in terms of coverage quality and ease of use (basic iFollow services not working on Chromecast and early Apple TVs, for example).
As someone who's never really had Sky Sports, I'm a bit taken aback by how much I'm enjoying being an armchair fan though! And as far as the PL is concerned, I'm getting dangerously used to listening to Sunday night football on radio while working...
Of course, the high chance of some sort of third wave in autumn means we may all be back watching VP at some point whatever happens.
There are a lot of people who will want to go back to the grounds to watch a match live as soon as they are able to safely, regardless of whether or not it's available online or on Sky/BT/BBC/whatever.
It would be very interesting to see the streaming numbers of all the Football League clubs to see how that tallies with their average attendance pre-Covid.
Yes, there will be a lot of families who would previously have had multiple tickets for a home game but only need one stream as they can all watch the same television, but there will also be a lot of people who, for one reason or another, are unable/unwilling to attend matches but happily purchase a streaming pass.
I think the football authorities and bodies (FA/Premier League/Football League) need to do dome serious research on the level of match streaming since the restart last year for each and every club and ask supporters what they'd like to do in future. The argument has always been that live matches would kill attendances at lower-league clubs and they'd go out of business. However, the traditional business model for lower-league clubs has always assumed "bums on seats" on matchdays and whatever else could be earned from the ground's facilities. If streaming were to be allowed in the future clubs could amend their business model to allow for "digital attendance" as well as "physical attendance". Each club will be different and some would cope better than others but we won't know unless someone asks the questions and crunches the numbers.
I'm a season-ticket holder and will remain a season-ticket holder, getting to as many home matches as I can (I love my view from the top drawer of the Cupboard End as it allows me to see the whole pitch and I don't necessarily have to follow the ball like a TV camera would so I could see how hard certain players work off the ball), but it would be great if a ST also gave you a streaming pass so that you were still able to watch the game even if you couldn't physically attend. I would definitely purchase an "Away streaming season ticket" if such a thing became available because I don't go to away matches.
The current Valley Pass set-up is absolutely fantastic and I can't help feeling that TS had one eye on the future when it was upgraded. If there could be a further tweak to allow the coverage to be watched from the start if you join late, pause/rewind/fast-forward, and watch a full playback later, then that would be magic. I can do all that with my Aussies Rules TV pass (and have been able to for the last few years) so it's certainly possible.
If reduced to watching as now on a television set I will pay up, if restricted will try to find a way around those restrictions. I also plan to go to U21 matches if I can, and would pay for a stream if available, or hope for a free stream like Cardiff provided the other day.
I would prefer not to rely on audio commentary, but would listen if there is no alternative (is anybody audio only at the moment? Steve Brown is great but judging from present circumstances if you’re only listening you miss a hell of a lot of the action, let alone very often vital info like substitutions).
I am lucky enough to be able to afford it, and spending on Charlton is a better alternative for me than spending on holidays.
Especially if the coverage became a stream that lasted 48 hours so could be viewed after the event for those times when you have to go to a dopey wedding or something.
Streaming is undoubtedly the way forward and I would be amazed if it doesn’t carry on. In fact, all COVID has done is bring forward a development that was bound to happen by a few years.
Most people on here are the keenest Charlton fans who will want to attend each and every match. Until 4 years ago, when I gave up my season ticket, that would probably have included me.
But things change. I'm getting older. TFL and Sadiq Khan have now made it impossible for me to drive across London, so I have to get public transport (fine for getting there, a complete pain getting home - an hour on a bus just to get back to North Greenwich after the game, no thanks). And I really don't want to be getting home after midnight for a midweek game now. So the days of me wanting to attend week in, week out are probably over. But do I still want to see the games? Most definitely, yes!
Carry on with the streaming and you will get money from me and others in the same situation who otherwise wouldn't be paying anything to the club. And I'd happily pay more than the £10 we are currently paying given the quality of the Valley Pass coverage
The objections to it that it will reduce attendances (and therefore receipts) just don't hold water anymore, not now that most people buy season tickets – something clubs are pushing people to do more and more now. (If you have a ST and decide not to go, you've already paid). And unlike in the old days, when people would often attend other games, I don't believe neutral supporters these days look to attend games of other teams in any real numbers.
Streaming is the way forward. The genie is now out of the bottle and the clubs will quickly realise that they can make millions more by streaming games themselves and by cutting Sky/BT sports out of the equation. (In fact, I think long-term Sky are finished). Clubs should be looking to harness it to encourage people to subscribe - as Charlton have done with their new coverage which I think is absolutely brilliant - instead of fighting a technical development that isn't going to go away.
Even with a season ticket, I end up having to miss games, so if VP was to continue, I'd probably watch most games.
But then, I can imagine single figures for midweek away games up north in the middle of winter!
I suspect it'll just revert back to how it was pre-covid and be available for mid-week fixtures. I'm still not a huge fan of that but at least now with it all being in house, the money will be Charlton's.
We'll have fans from Austria to Zanzibar.
Colorado to Cairns in the next 5 years.
Hundreds of thousands of them if Thomas gets his way.
Minto's job safe for a good few years yet
What really needs to happen is pricing for match day tickets i.e. at the ground/in person needs to be reduced so that its not such a luxury spend and is generally more affordable for all.
For example, a Tottenham fan is still going to be very likely to want to watch Man United or Chelsea play because it is the ‘be all and end all Premier League’.
However, a Charlton fan is less likely to willingly tune in to Rochdale vs AFC Wimbledon. Fans at League One level take more of an interest in their own club more than the overall league, in comparison to the PL.
Eventually Sky might need to look at dropping their prices to compete with services like Amazon Prime.
With some VERY speculative figures just to give an idea:
Current Matchday Income from regular CAFC supporters:
Est Av 6,000 video passes at £10 a head = £60,000 a game or £1,380,000 a season.
Potential 2021/2022 income from regular CAFC supporters:
Est Av 15,000 fans
Est Av 8,000 Season Ticket holders
Est Av 7,000 Regular T holders
Est Av ST price per game £12
Est Av RT price per game £25
£12 * 8000 = £96k
£25 * 7000 = £175k
£271,000 * 23 = £6,233,000*
If we can then get say on average 2,000 "overseas" fans paying to watch over streams at £12 a head that's £24k or £552k
A POTENTIAL total of £552k a season towards running costs... A charity would be very pleased with that slice of income.
If we end up reducing the number of attending fans as a result of being able to watch online, I'd be seriously surprised.
It'll likely be the regular ticket holders who are actually more likely to not buy tickets if they can watch online, ST holders will likely buy as normal and then any choice to not attend would actually be no cost.
*(This ignores any income the club may get from opposition viewers, away fans and sponsorships, it also ignores any running costs such as playing staff salaries, stewards, policing, security, non playing staff club salaries etc)I can’t imagine any club having a better set up.
I just remember that last season some folks setting up new VPN were having difficulty picking up a signal.