Are Clubs Royally Ripping Off Fans?

[blue lewj]

Some people actually paid to watch their club today and got a stream of the wrong game. They've had months to sort this out.

[AntEvans]

Some people actually paid to watch their club today and got a stream of the wrong game. They've had months to sort this out.

Signed up for the international pass on Thursday. 27% increase in price compared to last season. System decided to chuck me out 60 minutes into today game. Claimed I did not have a subscription. Sent an email to the stream tech support. All I got back was the automated response, recommending I sign into the app instead. Did that, and the app still claimed I had no subscription. Complete lie, as I had an email from the Ticket Office on Friday confirming that the credit for my season ticket (which I am lucky to use once or twice a season) would not be affected by my international pass. Cardiff City World is operated by amateurs, with blinkered nodding dogs for commentators.

[dembethewarrior]

Signed up for the international pass on Thursday. 27% increase in price compared to last season. System decided to chuck me out 60 minutes into today game. Claimed I did not have a subscription. Sent an email to the stream tech support. All I got back was the automated response, recommending I sign into the app instead. Did that, and the app still claimed I had no subscription. Complete lie, as I had an email from the Ticket Office on Friday confirming that the credit for my season ticket (which I am lucky to use once or twice a season) would not be affected by my international pass. Cardiff City World is operated by amateurs, with blinkered nodding dogs for commentators.

At least you don't seem too angry about it

[Whisperer]

I think it’s a real poor effort by whoever has slung this service together, if your charging a tenner then I think we need better camera shots definitely need to get some good commentary maybe an ex player to co-host and add some input.. personally if I can get the commentary on radio Wales or talk sport that would be my first preference.

[blue lewj]

I think it’s a real poor effort by whoever has slung this service together, if your charging a tenner then I think we need better camera shots definitely need to get some good commentary maybe an ex player to co-host and add some input.. personally if I can get the commentary on radio Wales or talk sport that would be my first preference.

Only problem with that is it is out of sync with the game you're watching on the stream unless you're very, very lucky.

I find the commentators bad when I get on. Not sure which one it is but he seems to have a delve into a dictionary and picks a word and shoe horns it in to the commentary any which way he can.
Ball at left wing yesterday and it was controlled by somebody and described as 'he corralled the ball'. It's like Jonathan Pearce when he started without the enthusiasm.

[Whisperer]

Only problem with that is it is out of sync with the game you're watching on the stream unless you're very, very lucky.

I find the commentators bad when I get on. Not sure which one it is but he seems to have a delve into a dictionary and picks a word and shoe horns it in to the commentary any which way he can.
Ball at left wing yesterday and it was controlled by somebody and described as 'he corralled the ball'. It's like Jonathan Pearce when he started without the enthusiasm.

No mate I mean I prefer the radio to the stream, living in London you hardly get the city commentary through the TV channels these days, we mostly get Swansea or Newport which is another argument altogether.

[blue lewj]

No mate I mean I prefer the radio to the stream, living in London you hardly get the city commentary through the TV channels these days, we mostly get Swansea or Newport which is another argument altogether.

Oh right. It says something when you would prefer to listen to it than watch City on ifollow.

It's not great but it is all we have at the minute. I don't think you get anywhere near the money's worth and it leaves a lot to be desired though which was my main point. You'd think with links to Sky they'd have something better in place than this.

[WJ99mobile]

I think footballs been ripping off fans for decades.

I don’t think Cardiff city are worse than any others

[blue lewj]

I think footballs been ripping off fans for decades.

I don’t think Cardiff city are worse than any others

Oh no.

And it isn't solely City in this case. Every club in the EFL are charging the same. This isn't necessarily a pop at City especially. The EFL had months to sort this out and it is as bad now as ever while also being as expensive as a week of a full Sky Sports and BT subscription.

[Pearcey3]

Sky are currently running a promotion at the moment for all the Sky Channels plus BT for £40 a month.

Compare this to the two maybe three camera angle effort given to us by the club and they're taking the **** out of fans surely? You get a grand total of four games with inferior quality picture and commentary to boot for the exact same price.

Given City's position in the league you could argue City fans and other Championship clubs get a bit better value for their money than teams further down the league with cheaper season tickets that the charge is being offset against (don't mention the game earlier!). I do think the football league and the clubs are really abusing the loyalty of the fans on this one.

Yes, you can buy it or choose not to but it doesn't take away from the fact that the price is astronomical and if fans want to watch it is the only way. If you watched all the games this season and didn't have Sky you'd be paying £460. Ridiculously bad value for money for 90 minutes of football and very little else. It wouldn't be so bad if the quality and commentary was spot on but it is bad. Some people can't even log in to watch when they've been charged.

It’s only £230 for the home games though which will be cheaper than your ST and even more so if fellow family members who are also ST holders watch too.

[blue lewj]

It’s only £230 for the home games though which will be cheaper than your ST and even more so if fellow family members who are also ST holders watch too.

Totally understand that but it isn't attending a game is it. People are comparing like being at a game is the same as a stream. It is a far inferior product.

The money all goes to the club in a testing time which is why I buy it but it is a very poor product for the price.

[Pearcey3]

Totally understand that but it isn't attending a game is it. People are comparing like being at a game is the same as a stream. It is a far inferior product.

The money all goes to the club in a testing time which is why I buy it but it is a very poor product for the price.

Yep I agree. It’s definitely not the same experience as going to the game.

[blue lewj]

Yep I agree. It’s definitely not the same experience as going to the game.

What's the Reading one like?

Obviously a bit better if you win 2-0 away but what is the picture quality and commentary like?

Some Pompey fans paid for their stream yesterday and got Sunderland-Bristol Rovers.

[Shute]

I've been subscribing to the live games for the past few seasons as I live abroad, and while it's the best they can offer it really isn't much fun without a crowd. £10 a game is ridiculous money. It should be either £10 a month, or if they do want to get their money why not give fans access to all of the EFL games?

[dml1954]

A Newport terrace ticket this season is £263. Young Adult (Up to 21) £105.
So not utter, utter rubbish at all.

If that young adult lives at home with parents who aren't watching the games then they pay more for the streams than actually attending. The full paying adult goes close and retains a credit of £33 if they adopt the same rule as City have. They're paying close to the same price to watch a stream as live sport. Without the add on of the Covid situation when taken as simply the fair price for a stream it is ridiculously overpriced.

Yes it was (and still is) utter rubbish. In your previous post you clearly stated that the PER GAME cost to watch live would be cheaper at a League Two game than buying a £10 streaming pass for City. Then you state above that a Newport terrace SEASON TICKET is £263 (£11.50 a game by the way). Try to buy an adult ticket on the gate at Newport for £10 or £11.50 and see how far you get. I paid £239 for a seat in a covered stand to watch Championship football this season (£10.40 a game) which is cheaper than a standing season ticket at League Two Newport, so your assertion that City are ‘ripping off’ their fans is obviously total nonsense. The quality of the City TV stream service is also nowhere near as bad as you have been making out. No doubt if no coverage at all was provided by the club, you would have a moan about that as well. As others have said - if you are that upset, don't watch any of the games at all and save yourself all the angst.

[jon1959]

When it comes to cost of service (set by the EFL) and the iPlayer technology (run by a national company based in - I think - Preston) the story must be the same for fans of all EFL clubs?

The clubs presumably are responsible for the camera location(s) and provide the audio commentary - but any queries about the service are (or were in previous years) redirected to the 'third party provider'. The clubs don't have the skills or capacity in most cases to run their own TV/audio service. There have been a few exceptions in recent years where clubs have chosen not to opt in to the iPlayer (previously World) package - I think Leeds did their own thing - but they are a small minority.

[Trigger]

I think it's not helped when you watch your team limp around and get well beaten.

No atmosphere, unenthusiastic commentary combined with hearing every Wednesday free kick won or challenge made applauded by their bench just felt a particularly slow type of torture.

Perhaps if we had won well, played decently then the price feels worth it. You come away feeling better.

It's never comparable to actually being there but they have to charge something worthwhile.

I won't moan about the price too much though, the club are making next to nothing with most of the usual expenses still in place, can't see how some clubs are going to stay afloat.

[blue lewj]

Yes it was (and still is) utter rubbish. In your previous post you clearly stated that the PER GAME cost to watch live would be cheaper at a League Two game than buying a £10 streaming pass for City. Then you state above that a Newport terrace SEASON TICKET is £263 (£11.50 a game by the way). Try to buy an adult ticket on the gate at Newport for £10 or £11.50 and see how far you get. I paid £239 for a seat in a covered stand to watch Championship football this season (£10.40 a game) which is cheaper than a standing season ticket at League Two Newport, so your assertion that City are ‘ripping off’ their fans is obviously total nonsense. The quality of the City TV stream service is also nowhere near as bad as you have been making out. No doubt if no coverage at all was provided by the club, you would have a moan about that as well. As others have said - if you are that upset, don't watch any of the games at all and save yourself all the angst.

My initial question was are clubs ripping off fans? Not in particular City but part of it with being part of the football league.

Somebody brought up Newport so I responded to that. They charge £10 for a stream in League 2 too. A young adult season ticket would mean the young adult would have to pay more for a stream than they would pay per game (£4.56) so not utter, utter rubbish.

You're also talking like the stream is close to being comparable to watching the game live at the stadium. For me it is a poor, poor alternative.
As you've pointed out yourself Newport would be charging £10.00 for the stream and £11.50 to watch the game live for as full paying adult. If anything you prove my point. For what it is it is over priced.

As for me being able to watch it or not I was well aware of the fact I had a choice. It is a post on a forum asking if people think they're being overcharged.

[blue lewj]

I did notice the Wednesday bench shouting for everything.
Warnock and his band of merry men shout for everything from the coin toss to the final whistle and everything in between.

I'd certainly like to hear our bench and subs being a bit more vocal within reason. Not that it would have helped yesterday mind you.

[blue lewj]

Today you could get a 24 hour Sky Sports pass for £9.99.

For that you get two Premier League games in HD with decent commentary and punditry along with a League 1 game. This plus the rest of the stuff on all the other channels.

It isn't a pop at City. I think clubs across the board are taking the mick and were long before Covid appeared.

[LeningradCowboy]

Today you could get a 24 hour Sky Sports pass for £9.99.

For that you get two Premier League games in HD with decent commentary and punditry along with a League 1 game. This plus the rest of the stuff on all the other channels.

It isn't a pop at City. I think clubs across the board are taking the mick and were long before Covid appeared.

Why are you ignoring the fact that £10 is minimum match price permitted under the EFL's agreement with Sky Sports?

[blue lewj]

Why are you ignoring the fact that £10 is minimum match price permitted under the EFL's agreement with Sky Sports?

Why is it the minimum price?

Can anybody explain why Sky and the EFL have to charge £10.00 per game when Sky can offer this?

They're saying it is the minimum price, fair enough. The negotiation from the football league must have been atrocious given that Sky give out 24 hours of coverage of all their channels for less.

[LeningradCowboy]

Why is it the minimum price?

Can anybody explain why Sky and the EFL have to charge £10.00 per game when Sky can offer this?

They're saying it is the minimum price, fair enough. The negotiation from the football league must have been atrocious given that Sky give out 24 hours of coverage of all their channels for less.

Sky Sports already have the exclusive live rights in the UK for EFL matches. Why would they agree for the clubs to stream matches for less money than a Sky Sports subscription?

[Pedro de la Rosa]

A Newport terrace ticket this season is £263. Young Adult (Up to 21) £105.
So not utter, utter rubbish at all.

If that young adult lives at home with parents who aren't watching the games then they pay more for the streams than actually attending. The full paying adult goes close and retains a credit of £33 if they adopt the same rule as City have. They're paying close to the same price to watch a stream as live sport. Without the add on of the Covid situation when taken as simply the fair price for a stream it is ridiculously overpriced.

So an adult ticket is still cheaper for TV then? You don't get away games for free you plum.

[blue lewj]

Sky Sports already have the exclusive live rights in the UK for EFL matches. Why would they agree for the clubs to stream matches for less money than a Sky Sports subscription?

They wouldn't. £10 for a 90 minute game is nowhere near what they charge for any package.

They're offering three times that today for a daily subscription today alone and that is just for Premier League and EFL football matches. If they followed the ifollow model that would cost £30.00 just for the three games.
The 18 month contract at £40 a month is even less so it gives even more scope for negotiation. It seems the EFL have just taken the minimum price and once again not really pushed the fans case.

People are buying streams to watch their club. Your average person isn't overly interested in your average game from the EFL and certainly not down at League 2 level etc.

It would be interesting to know how much of the £10 Sky take or is this retained by the clubs. It should be if it is being taken out of season ticket amounts etc.