Live sport on ESPN Classic

Cantona's Collars

Anyone who has the Entertainment Extra pack gets ESPN Classic included,just noticed today that the channel is showing live Serie A,Bundesliga & Rugby.Lille vs Lyon is on this evening.

Sampdoria vs Torino is on now.

lertsnim

Bit of a balls for any ESPN subscriber not on that package.

D2D

Being shown on Classic because the main channel is showing darts and that's the only place they can air the football and rugby live

Widescreen

does anyone one if non classic subscribers who are normal ESPN subscribers were given access to the live sport shown on classic?

icdg

I don't think so. In fairness, I'd imagine most people who shell out for premium sports would probably also take Entertainment Extra. The same problem would have hit cable viewers who take Digital Select to get ESPN but must take Digital Max to get ESPN Classic.

Its only gonna bet a problem for this season anyway - ESPN UK will almost certainly close next summer, when its contracts with the FA Premier League and Premiership Rugby expire.

Moved to Broadcasting.

Digifriendly

Dare_2_defy wrote: »

Being shown on Classic because the main channel is showing darts and that's the only place they can air the football and rugby live

Interesting that they showed Worcester vs Gloucester rugby live on Classic the weekend before last yet there was no live sport on main ESPN channel at same time.

citymedia

icdg wrote: »

I don't think so. In fairness, I'd imagine most people who shell out for premium sports would probably also take Entertainment Extra. The same problem would have hit cable viewers who take Digital Select to get ESPN but must take Digital Max to get ESPN Classic.

Its only gonna bet a problem for this season anyway - ESPN UK will almost certainly close next summer, when its contracts with the FA Premier League and Premiership Rugby expire.

Don't think ESPN UK is closing next year. ESPN has contracts for various sports until 2014, and I get the sense Disney are more committed to having ESPN in the UK. They can readily supplment ESPN UK with coverage of American sports that they can't fit onto ESPN America. They still have rights to CFL, NCAA, MLB, NBA, MLS and AHL. Add to that things like SPL, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, BDO Darts, UFC, and a lot more. They might have to cut their prices, or join the Sky Sports pack, but pretty certain they'll still be around.

icdg

citymedia wrote: »

Add to that things like SPL, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, BDO Darts, UFC, and a lot more.

Both Serie A and Ligue 1 will also be moving to BT Vision next season, as will MLS.

The bigger problem though is that they have no "big pull" to get subscribers. People are willing to pay money for the Premier League but a lot of the other leagues are just bonuses to fill out the schedule. The only other European league UK/Irish viewers would really be willing to pay money for is the Spanish Primera División. The SPL pulls in viewers in Scotland but with the demise for now of the Old Firm I don't think there's much interest left elsewhere (yes I know there is a large Celtic supporting contingent in Ireland, but are they really willing to pay for largely one-sided games?), at any rate the majority of SPL games are on Sky.

I would applaud ESPN if it intends to continue. But without the Premier League and Premiership Rugby UK subscribers will desert it in droves. It is worth nothing that while ESPN is part of the Sky Sports package on Sky Digital in Ireland, it is not the same in the UK where it remains a standalone premium channel.

lertsnim

ESPN should go basic like Eurosport next season

byte

lertsnim wrote: »

ESPN should go basic like Eurosport next season

I, for one, would endorse such a move!

lertsnim

Such a move would put ESPN America in line with most of Europe. The version of that channel available here (and Scandinavia) is pretty poor compared to what our neighbours on the continent get :-(

icdg

lertsnim wrote: »

Such a move would put ESPN America in line with most of Europe. The version of that channel available here (and Scandinavia) is pretty poor compared to what our neighbours on the continent get :-(

The absence of NFL, the one US league that has an interest (of sorts) on this side of the world, limits its appeal really to US/Canadian ex-pats to be honest. I think its future at any rate is in a "big basic" package (as it currently is on UPC) - I don't think it would pull enough subscribers as a standalone premium channel. The Navy v Notre Dame match in the Aviva was the first time many people discovered the channel even existed, never mind watched it.

citymedia

I do think that ESPN and ESPN America will move away from being stand-alone, and either join the Sky Sports Pack, or the Entertainment Extra pack. ESPN are already part of the XL pack for Virgin Media, so I think that it will probably more likely move to Entertainment Extra on Sky, so that it can maximise viewership as much as possible, and advertising revenue.