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Illegal IPTV providers jailed.

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    #62
    ubermick
    Registered Users Posts: 47 ✭ubermick


    Honestly, it’s a hard pill to swallow. Coming back from America, all the main American sports over there are required to be on free-to-air channels as long as you’re local. So if you live in New York, you get all your local teams for nothing. Now yeah, if you want to watch a specific team, then you’ve to fork out for the PPV packages.

    Meanwhile Premier League and F1 is all free as well on NBC and ESPN.

    Back here now, and the amount I’m asked to shell out on a monthly basis for football and F1 is eye wateringly expensive. Is it any wonder people gravitate towards cheaper options???



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    #63
    TAFKAlawhec
    Registered Users Posts: 589 ✭✭✭TAFKAlawhec


    The vast distances between major settlements is what allows local American Football, Basketball, Baseball, NHL etc. teams in the USA to have the "local" free-to-air coverage - that can't really work in England for the EPL let alone applying it beyond there, unfortunately.

    In addition the value of EPL & Formula 1 rights in the US is only a fraction (per head of population) compared to the UK & Ireland. In the US the majority of sports fans gravitate towards American sports like what I've already mentioned plus NASCAR, Indy Car etc. that themselves only have a fraction of the rights value in Europe compared to their homeland. It's both swings and roundabout as well as apples and pears.



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    #64
    icdg
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 11,511 Mod ✭✭✭✭icdg


    It’s a different market over there. They pay big money for premium TV dramas and films on the likes of HBO and Showtime that we would have traditionally (and I acknowledge this has changed a bit with the advent of streamers) have gotten on free to air or basic cable.

    Their sports leagues have long acknowledged the value of free to air or at least basic cable, for local teams at least. On the other hand, NFL Sunday Ticket costs the price of a mortgage, if you’ve had the tenacity (as many Americans do) to have moved out of the place you grew up in and want to see what they call “out of market” games. So yeah, you can watch for free, as long as you live in the market the team you support happens to be based in.

    ESPN is not a free to air channel btw, it is basic cable so while you’re not paying a premium price you at least need to pay for a cable package (as in Ireland, a large chunk of Americans do take cable). Its nearest equivalent in that regard is Eurosport rather than Sky Sports. Some of its rights are broadcast on the free to air ABC network.



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    #65
    Fr Tod Umptious
    Registered Users Posts: 15,009 ✭✭✭✭Fr Tod Umptious


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121537261#Comment_121537261

    NFL games are only on local TV in the US if they are sold out 72 hours before hand

    Thus in some places if the local team is doing poorly and not pulling a crowd they are not on TV.

    Plus as the other poster said if you have moved and want to watch your hometown team you won't find it cheap.

    MLB teams play 162 a year and many are on subscription networks rather than free to air, same with NBA and NHL with their 82 game schedule.

    The reason the Premier League is free on NBC is because it's not a premium product.

    It doesn't have the appeal of the other sports thus charging for it would not make business sense. Plus it's on at odd times in the US (a 12:30 Saturday start in England is 7:30am on the east coast and 4:30am on the west coast) so it's not competing with much other programming for many of the timeslots, so it's a lot of filler.



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    #66
    icdg
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 11,511 Mod ✭✭✭✭icdg


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121537641#Comment_121537641

    To be fair no NFL game has been blacked out locally for non-sell out reasons since 2015 when the policy was informally suspended.

    The Premier League just isn’t a premium product in the States, soccer is the fifth most popular sport at best.



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    #67
    ubermick
    Registered Users Posts: 47 ✭ubermick


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121537641#Comment_121537641

    True that the stuff here is on at odd times there, but its always available on demand via NBC's app.

    And yeah, I get the market is different, and that the same rights can't really translate since each US region has its own network of channels basically, which the UK can't do.

    Just rough going having all that being lobbed in for free to having to fork out €72.99 per month for it via NowTV or the like. It's extortionate money here, so can very much see why people get tempted by the less legitimate options.



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    #68
    Sultan of Bling
    Registered Users Posts: 1,870 ✭✭✭Sultan of Bling


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121539212#Comment_121539212

    72.99 a month on now TV for sports?

    You should go on the bargain alerts thread. Some great discount codes for now TV.



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    #69
    Red Silurian
    Registered Users Posts: 8,395 ✭✭✭Red Silurian


    I hear about these "major crackdowns" at least 3 times a year, I'm thinking they're obviously not very effective crackdowns if they have to keep happening. Maybe they're just trying to scare the plebs into going legit

    My own personal experience with a dodgy IPTV provider was that it always crashed if I was trying to watch the rugby when there was a PL game on. I don't even like soccer which made it all the more infuriating

    My go-to now is the sports extra package on Now TV, it works flawlessly for my needs and the same €10/month cost



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