Sports Extra (TNT/Premier)

cheese sandwich

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121054930#Comment_121054930

NCAA is on Sky now

Infoanon

Official announcement in the morning coinciding with Viaplay latest financials.

At the moment it's believed that Premier Sports will replace Viaplay from Jan 1st, Nascar to resume on Premier (!) But no word on freesports /Viaplay Xtra or Viaplay streaming services.

Immediate savings to Premier on two HD channels no longer required but long term stand alone sub service will be difficult

lertsnim

I hope they keep the seperate feeds so we don't see Programme Not Available type messages when they're showing events such as the GAA.

icdg

Announcement after the bell in Stockholm tonight, I’m given to understand. (Although Premier have been talking to the Scottish media about it, so consider it confirmed…)

So, can we have Hockey Night in Canada back now? More generally, it’ll be interesting to see how the UK and Irish operations are re-integrated - should hopefully mean a resumption in studio coverage for events that we’ve been getting only whistle to whistle coverage lately - although Premier had thankfully resumed studio coverage for URC games involving Irish teams since the start of the season.

TonyK45

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121436373#Comment_121436373

Yes, they really need to keep the extra transponders. The problem is they haven't enough channels for all of the rights they own.

Rights they currenty have in both UK & RoI

URC - eight games per week - and they don't seem to be able to achive this.

La Liga - nine games in the UK (the 15:15 Saturday game can only be shown in RoI) - they don't have the capacity for this even with Viaplay Xtra!

Top 14 rugby - one game per week - but rarely gets a look in - due to other scheduling commitments.

German Cup - Can't cope with all of this either

Coppa Italia - same sa German cup.

Scottish FA Cup

Scottish League Cup - most of this seasons televised games did not feature in RoI

UEFA Euro Qualifiers

UEFA Nations League

UEFA International friendlies - very few were televised.

European Darts

Certain Snooker touraments

NASCAR - (Rights end after 2024 - to be split between TNT and Prime)

Rights that are split

Rugby League - UK only

Premier League - RoI only

FA Cup - RoI only

UEFA Champions League - RoI only (from Summer 2024)

UEFA Europa League - RoI only (from Summer 2024)

UEFA Conference Leagu - Roi Only (from Summer 2024)

So a statement in UK media says they will be retaining only two linear channels - so that doesn't look good for viaplay xTra. And definetly not enough capacity for all of the rights they have for RoI.

icdg

The NASCAR deal with TNT and Prime announced yesterday was for the US - not UK/Ireland. Likewise the Championship Rugby League deal has ended. You also omitted NHL, which is aired live in the UK but delayed coverage only in Ireland, and EIHL, which is only in the UK.

Strangely enough, when Premier was a UK and Ireland service, they had no problem airing NHL, rugby league and NASCAR here. The latter two were totally dropped when the split occurred and NHL was demoted to delayed coverage only.

I wonder if the plan is to use Viaplay Xtra’s transponder space to set up a Premier Ireland channel? I’m thinking a situation similar to 2007-09, when we had Setanta Ireland broadcasting primarily Irish programming and then Setanta 1&2 in both jurisdictions? (I think at one point there was also separate versions of Setanta 1 for GB and for ROI & NI). It might be needed to cater for the Champions League rights in midweek.

Digifriendly

Surely PS will use their streaming service to show all the sport they will have rights for?

Viaplay do this at present.

icdg

The streaming service will likely only be available in the UK, that’s the problem from an ROI point of view. They are tied in with the deal with Sky here for the remainder of the FAPL rights period and can’t market direct to consumer.

roadmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440679#Comment_121440679

Would Premier Sports be actually viable without the Sky Deal?

icdg

Good question. Though Setanta (essentially the same people) survived as a standalone operation here for a good many years in between the collapse of Setanta GB in 2009 and the sale to eir in 2015. They had some very good cable carriage deals mind that gave them basic cable carriage for Setanta Ireland and very good EPG positioning that eir threw away in their arguments with VM.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121438106#Comment_121438106

"UEFA Champions League - RoI only (from Summer 2024)"

Is there any more info on what rights Premier Sports won for the CL? Seemed to be some conflicting news when this was initially announced a few weeks ago. Did they get first pick for Tuesday and Wednesday night, or was it just for one night?

dublinman1990

The rebrand of Viaplay back to Premier Sports reportedly won't happen until March 2024.

The likely time will happen around the end of the Six Nations.

https://twitter.com/simonrug/status/1730160227733909524?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1730160227733909524%7Ctwgr%5Ea6253b6cc6264d9688bfb306fb2d7246292c5d1a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpres.cafe%2Fshowthread.php%3Ftid%3D97pid%3D55922pid55922

icdg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121442897#Comment_121442897

Never confirmed by UEFA/ Team, I’m afraid, contradictory reports on whether they have first choice on one or both of the nights and which nights. Wonder what’s taking so long. RTE apparently have also won a package of nights but unclear re VMTV.

Manc-Red_

Obviously not concrete as our Mod has said but a decent read on Premier CL’s possible rights https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2023/10/12/premier-sports-scoops-up-uefa-competition-rights-for-ireland/#close-modal

icdg

The problem of course with trusting that article is the very first two words, “Viaplay-owned”.

Viaplay never owned Premier Sports. They bought the UK operations - which they are now selling back but it’s very clear now they never owned the company lock stock and barrel, which was owned by SSBL (previously Setanta Sports Broadcasting Limited) throughout. They never owned the Irish operation.

roadmaster

So by that article are Virgin left with just one game per week and no soccer on Thursdays?

icdg

According to UEFA only signed contact is with Premier Sports.

https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0287-198f148c30b7-91f38ade4579-1000/2024-27_ucl_media_rights_sales_2023.11.27.pdf

roadmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448016#Comment_121448016

Hopefully Virgin won't lose it as the soccer was handy filler tv to have on in the background on a Thursday night during the winter

icdg

On that note the equivalent document for the Europa League doesn’t mention any contract signed for Ireland at all.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448016#Comment_121448016

Interesting that no other companies are listed for the RoI as having being awarded anything in a document dated November 2023 for a bids process that closed in July. Maybe Premier Sports have exclusivity for the Champions League?

Acosta

Was hoping to watch the Hertha V Hamburg cup match tomorrow. But if tonight is anything to go by, Premier aren't bothered about putting the games on the red button.

icdg

Only thing they’ll put on red button is Premier League I’m afraid. Maybe Champions League next year.

Thats when it works, that is.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121460407#Comment_121460407

Yes, the PL is available via the red button with Premier Sports. Saw an ad on the channel last night advertising all of tonights games via the rb. But not on Now TV unfortunately. 

I know Now is great value if you get the discounted deals, but not having the rb games on the platform is a continuing irritant IMO, especially if you don’t have a dish and you don’t want to get Sky Glass or Sky Stream.

Gold7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121464456#Comment_121464456

It's the same issue when watching Premier sports 1 and 2 on Virgin Media as well, Not having the red button can be a nuisance.

Heighway61

If I'm looking at the Sky planner right there is no premier league football on TNT this weekend. Do they often have weekends with no football?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121495416#Comment_121495416

Not too often in all fairness during the football season. Seems to be wall to wall European rugby with them this weekend. Next PL game on TNT is the 23rd, and then again on the 30th. They've 2 games on the 13th January (12.30 & 5.30) which wouldn't be too common either.

icdg

It’s really unusual - they have rights to 32x12.30pm KOs which in theory covers every weekend round. It might be that the fixture they originally picked got moved out of Saturday 12:30pm because one of the teams were playing in the Europa League or for policing reasons and they’ll get another game to make up later.

lertsnim

EDIT: Nevermind. Misread the post

ArmaniJeanss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121495548#Comment_121495548

There are 34 designated weekend rounds and 4 designated midweek rounds. So with 32 games in their package that means TNT/BT have to completely blank twice. Their 32 games are comprised of 20 second-choice picks and 12 fifth-choice picks.

I'd guess they chose this week to be one of their two blanks due to not particularly fancying any of the fixtures, having had a full set of Euro fixtures preceding it, plus a full set of ERC rugby to fill the void, and it being perhaps the biggest shopping day pre-Christmas.

TNT PL games to the start of February. They've got a midweek round of games the week of 30th January.