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Guinness Pro 14- Tv Viewing Options

PMC83

So looking over the pro 14 viewing options for this season in Ireland.

As far as I can see the only option in the republic is Eir Sports, (with one or two games thrown to TG4?) so to get a decent range you will need an Eir Tv subscription. Which kind of leaves those of us with Virgin TV a little stumped.

In the UK it seems to be available through Premiere Sports which is a streaming service as far as I can tell? Though not sure if this is available outside the uk?

Finally for though of us who had Meteor mobile (now eir mobile) it is possible to download the Eir Sport Red app and watch the games there, only issue with this it can not be chrome cast, so will be phone only. Though perhaps can mirror to TV with a third party cable/app.

Anything I'm missing?

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Former Former

If you have a satellite dish, some of the UK coverage will be on FreeSports.

Since you're a Virgin customer, I'm guessing that doesn't apply.

awec

If you're a Virgin customer you'll just have to make do with whatever is on TG4 unfortunately.

arsebiscuits1

I am on Virgin.

I pay 70 p/m for basic tv and pretty decent broadband.

Have decided to move to Eir and will be doing so in the next few weeks.

Their offer currently is around 50p/m for the first 12 of 18 month contract and then 90p/m thereafter.

I know a few people with Eir broadband in my area and they say it is very good. We're not heavy users in my house.

Tbh it's a pretty good deal in my eyes. I could never justify paying too much for Sky/ BT because I wouldn't get much use as I only really watch rugby and they never really showed enough as they shared the games and Sky had barely any pro14 anyway

But now that they're all on the same platform, I have no problem paying 20 a month extra as I'd happily watch 2-3 rugby games a week. And all the Heineken Cup is on BT now.

icdg

There will be one Heineken Cup game each week on both TV3 (or Virgin Media One as it will be) and Channel 4 next season, so not all bad news.

PMC83

Ordered Eir but the engineer couldn't fine my phone line and wanted me to tear up the skirting all over my hall looking for it, which I don't fancy doing!

However, this morning I did test out an app called Mirror Samsung (only 5 quid) and was impressed with it. Mirrored my Eir sports app to the tv, no problems. Although the app boasts HD, looked closer to standard def on my tv and obviously there's no pause/record and so on. But for those on eir mobile, not the worst..

[Deleted User]

My parents phone contract was up so I took the bill into my name for them so I could get Eir sports.

Eir do all the line repairs in the area and if our phone line goes it's better if they come and repair thing as we are nearer the top of the list as opposed to being with a different company and only get seen when their own customers are done

PTH2009

Surly Sky will have create a package with BT/Eir sports

TBH cant afford it as i already have Sky sports package and that costs enough

The illegal ways are too much hassle and will be impossible to watch as so many will be trying to connect

might just go to the pub for the big games

MJohnston

I saw yesterday that Virgin are rebranding their TV3 channels, and introducing a Virgin Media Sports channel exclusive to VM customers.

Question is, could they move the Champions Cup games that they have the rights to onto that channel? Presumably even the Six Nations could be moved onto that.

Could be a good bargaining chip to get Eir to open up negotiations for carriage on VM.

icdg

I don’t think so. They were specifically sold that package on a promise of FTA coverage. That was the whole point of it. The EPCR already have sold pay TV rights for those games to BT Sport.

If Virgin Media now move it to a pay TV channel then they are at best acting in bad faith, at worst, and depending on details that us in the general public are not privy to, they may be in breach of their contract with EPCR.

It’s in the very headline of the announcement: “free to air”:
https://www.epcrugby.com/2018/03/16/live-champions-cup-rugby-returns-to-free-to-air-television-in-ireland/

The proposed Virgin Media Sport channel will not be free to air, it will be a pay TV channel requiring a Virgin TV subscription.

kub

Just with regard to Sky, is it possible to upgrade and get Eir channels? I know BT had some Champions Cup games last season so an upgrade got those, will that same BT channel also have the Pro 14 and Champions Cup games?

PhlegmyMoses

connemara man wrote: »

My parents phone contract was up so I took the bill into my name for them so I could get Eir sports.

Eir do all the line repairs in the area and if our phone line goes it's better if they come and repair thing as we are nearer the top of the list as opposed to being with a different company and only get seen when their own customers are done

FYI, I'm pretty sure that it's illegal for Eir to prioritise direct Eir customers in those circumstances.

awec

kub wrote: »

Just with regard to Sky, is it possible to upgrade and get Eir channels? I know BT had some Champions Cup games last season so an upgrade got those, will that same BT channel also have the Pro 14 and Champions Cup games?

Yea you can get Eir Sports as a Sky customer. I think it's €27.50 a month

icdg

It is one pack in Ireland - the eir Sport pack gets you eir Sport 1, eir Sport 2 (Premier Sports), BT Sport 1,2,3, ESPN and Box Nation. The Pro14 games will be on eir Sport 1&2 while BT will have the Heineken Champions Cup.

Technically it’s not actually part of a Sky subscription. You can get it for free with eir broadband, or if you have a Sky subscription (or even Sky equipment and a viewing card) you can subscribe as a standalone subscriber - it’s about (Edit;€27.50 as awec says is correct) per month. You need to call eir not Sky with your viewing card number to do so.

MJohnston

icdg wrote: »

I don’t think so. They were specifically sold that package on a promise of FTA coverage. That was the whole point of it. The EPCR already have sold pay TV rights for those games to BT Sport.

If Virgin Media now move it to a pay TV channel then they are at best acting in bad faith, at worst, and depending on details that us in the general public are not privy to, they may be in breach of their contract with EPCR.

It’s in the very headline of the announcement: “free to air”:
https://www.epcrugby.com/2018/03/16/live-champions-cup-rugby-returns-to-free-to-air-television-in-ireland/

The proposed Virgin Media Sport channel will not be free to air, it will be a pay TV channel requiring a Virgin TV subscription.

In fairness, that EPCR link is just touting the Free To Air thing, it doesn't make clear at all whether or not that is a stipulation of the actual rights, it just calls them "additional broadcast rights". Some previous stories from 2017 do seem to indicate they were looking for FTA broadcasters specifically though.

icdg

To me even if there were no actual stipulation they be shown FTA (and I’m guessing there likely is) it would be really bad form on any broadcaster to allow the rights seller to jump up and down about having secured FTA coverage (of a tournament that’s been off FTA for what, twelve years?) only to then embarrass them by saying, “Actually we’re gonna put these on a pay service.”

[Deleted User]

PhlegmyMoses wrote: »

FYI, I'm pretty sure that it's illegal for Eir to prioritise direct Eir customers in those circumstances.

The engineer said they can't prioritise officially but they don't go out of their way to get it done.

Squidgy Black

PhlegmyMoses wrote: »

FYI, I'm pretty sure that it's illegal for Eir to prioritise direct Eir customers in those circumstances.

Generally the way it works is other providers have to contact BT and then BT request an Eir/KN engineer to go out. With Eir the request just goes straight to the engineer.

Not so much that they're prioritising, just skipping the middle men.

Hurrache

icdg wrote: »

It is one pack in Ireland - the eir Sport pack gets you eir Sport 1, eir Sport 2 (Premier Sports), BT Sport 1,2,3, ESPN and Box Nation. The Pro14 games will be on eir Sport 1&2 while BT will have the Heineken Champions Cup.

If you could get a subscription in which you weren't locked on for a year that might be palatable if you get all the Pro14 and Heineken Cup games.

Former Former

Hurrache wrote: »

If you could get a subscription in which you weren't locked on for a year that might be palatable if you get all the Pro14 and Heineken Cup games.

A subscription to Eir Sport is month by month, you are not locked in for a year.

icdg

Hurrache wrote: »

If you could get a subscription in which you weren't locked on for a year that might be palatable if you get all the Pro14 and Heineken Cup games.

You can. You aren’t locked in.

http://www.eirsport.ie/eir-broadband-satellite-tv-faqs

(Scroll down to “is there a twelve month contract”)

PTH2009

So what channels will Pro 14 and champions cup games air on for the 2018/19 season ???

For international games I knw it's

RTE- Nov Internationals
Virgin TV (Tv3)- 6N
Sky- Summer/Lions tours

Digifriendly

What about those of us who live in the north of the island? We need separate subscriptions for BT Sport and Premier to see best of club rugby live although Channel 4 have some CC live and TG4 will have some Pro 14 as well as Freesports - both are available on Freeview via an aerial.

ScrubsfanChris

PMC83 wrote: »

However, this morning I did test out an app called Mirror Samsung (only 5 quid) and was impressed with it. Mirrored my Eir sports app to the tv, no problems. Although the app boasts HD, looked closer to standard def on my tv and obviously there's no pause/record and so on. But for those on eir mobile, not the worst..

Using a Chromecast + Eirsport App is much better quality. Constant 720p with no drop in quality.

You wont get 1080p as its not broadcast a that high a bit rate to begin with.

ScrubsfanChris

PTH2009 wrote: »

So what channels will Pro 14 and champions cup games air on for the 2018/19 season ???

For international games I knw it's

RTE- Nov Internationals
Virgin TV (Tv3)- 6N
Sky- Summer/Lions tours

Six Nations will also be on ITV

Champions Cup and Challenge Cup will be more or less exclusive to BT Sport with TV3(Virgin) get one game per round - You wont assume this would involve and Irish team.
Channel 4 will also be showing one game per round.

EirSport(Premier) will show all Pro14 games live.
TG4 one match per round
Freesports(FTA) one match per round

BBC will no longer show any games and S4C is unconfirmed.

bilston

ScrubsfanChris wrote: »

Six Nations will also be on ITV

Champions Cup and Challenge Cup will be more or less exclusive to BT Sport with TV3(Virgin) get one game per round - You wont assume this would involve and Irish team.
Channel 4 will also be showing one game per round.

EirSport(Premier) will show all Pro14 games live.
TG4 one match per round
Freesports(FTA) one match per round

BBC will no longer show any games and S4C is unconfirmed.

BBC still has half the 6Ns (unless it's changed)

MJohnston

To put this in context from the POV of viewers, here's what's available to you (directly through the TV package, this is):

Sky TV customers:

Autumn Internationals ✓
Six Nations ✓
Summer Tours ✓
Pro14 ✓
Champions Cup ✓
Challenge Cup ✓
Rugby World Cup 2019 ✓

Eir TV customers:

Autumn Internationals ✓
Six Nations ✓
Summer Tours ✓
Pro14 ✓
Champions Cup ✓
Challenge Cup ✓
Rugby World Cup 2019 ✓

Virgin Media TV customers:

Autumn Internationals ✓
Six Nations ✓
Summer Tours ✓
Pro14 ✗
Champions Cup ✗ (apart from a handful of FTA games)
Challenge Cup ✗
Rugby World Cup 2019 ✗

icdg

Virgin TV customers will get one Pro14 game a week during the regular season on TG4. They’ll have access to two Heineken Cup games each week, one on VMTV and one on Channel 4 (albeit the C4 one may not necessarily involve an Irish team). The final and potentially both semis may be FTA.

There will, as normal, be a package including the opening game, all of Ireland’s pool games and one game in each of the quarter finals, semi finals, and final of the 2019 RWC sold to a FTA broadcaster.

MJohnston

The FTA games sound great and all, and may be great if you're just hungering for any sport to watch, but when you're wanting to watch a specific team, they will be fairly useless, I would imagine.

icdg

We’ve been kind of spoilt for TV coverage of the Pro14, with (nearly) every game on FTA TV until now. Under the new deal all Pro14 fixtures will be on (pay) TV. Only half of Premiership Rugby fixtures will be on TV. Of course it reflects the multinational nature of the league and that the different jurisdictions will have different interests in different teams.

ScrubsfanChris

bilston wrote: »

BBC still has half the 6Ns (unless it's changed)

Yeah my mistake. I thought PTH2009 had already mentioned BBC.