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Live streaming platform unveiled for global EFL fans...

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safc_grindon said:
What about those of that live abroad - which this is clearly aimed at?
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I live abroad and I don't think I'll be attending any lower league matches in the near future, so I'm not so concerned about people like me not turning up to lower league matches as I stayed at home to watch the Premier League.
 

admwil said:
I think all who have 'signed up' use the ifollow platform as their website.

Anyone who 'hasn't signed up' have an independent website platform (like us), therefore can stream it through their own site if they have the capability.

Hopefully they are having something built in to SAFSee to sign up to if we are not switching over, but would be like us to have left it too late.
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Hope so mate, hope so
 
The Other Durham said:
From what I read about this a few weeks ago, your subscription is only good for your club's stream. Meaning we could only get what SAFC offers us and not the opposing club's stream or even just check out a random match involving other clubs.

It doesn't sound very well planned out.
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The gap between big and small is in a sense just as great as in the PL, am guessing that w our large base of supporters we opted out to keep more of the money to ourselves. (Use the tech platform but run our own subscriptions). Good to see that more of my money will go to SAFC.
 
safc_grindon said:
... for fans outside of the UK - but not, it seems, us...

The innovative new service will enable overseas EFL fans to follow their team’s entire 2017/18 season

The EFL has today unveiled iFollow, an innovative digital live streaming and content platform that will revolutionise the way football fans overseas can follow their EFL teams.

iFollow will, for the first time in English football, enable EFL fans based outside the UK and Ireland to watch their team during the regular EFL season.

With an estimated 270,000 EFL fans based outside the UK, iFollow will allow clubs to enable their supporters to follow the action wherever they are in the world.

Kicking off at the start of the 2017/18 EFL season, overseas subscribers will pay the equivalent of £110 per season for the service which will provide coverage of up to 46 live games per club.

More than 1,500 matches will be available in HD quality, with iFollow showing every EFL league match live unless that match has been selected by the EFL’s overseas broadcast partners.

Fans based in the UK and Ireland will still also have access to live audio commentary, highlights packages and exclusive content as part of the new offering, rebranded to replace the EFL’s existing PlayerHD platform.

At launch, the vast majority of EFL clubs have opted in to utilise the iFollow platform and those who have not will have access to the same live streaming opportunity and will provide their fans with access through their own club digital services.

Research commissioned by the EFL suggests that there is significant demand for a service like iFollow amongst fans based overseas. A survey of over 1,600 such fans showed that 73% would be very likely or quite likely to subscribe to a live match streaming service and almost half would be happy to pay an annual subscription fee to do so.

The findings suggest over 55% of the EFL’s fans are located in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand where the potential audience for the iFollow platform could reach into the hundreds of thousands.

EFL Chief Executive Shaun Harvey commented: “The launch of iFollow is a notable development and will revolutionise the access thousands of overseas fans enjoy when following their EFL team.

“The new iFollow platform represents a potentially significant new revenue stream for clubs, while enabling enhanced engagement with existing fans now living abroad.

“iFollow will also present the EFL with an important opportunity to stimulate the interest of new groups of supporters who follow our clubs overseas, which in turn will help support the growth of our competitions on the international stage.”

The live streaming of matches will be available from the start of the 2017/18 season in conjunction with a brand new digital presence for clubs via official websites and apps, together creating the largest sporting digital network in the world.

US-based company NeuLion, a market leader in online video delivery, whose clients include the NFL, NBA and the Premier League, have developed the integrated streaming service alongside UK company Realise who have built the club websites.

The two suppliers were appointed by the EFL in July 2016 following a competitive procurement process.




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I will sign up in France. Thus I can watch it from here as well.

However they really do enjoy pissing off UK fans.
 
Kenna said:
Gerrin can watch every one of our relegation battle matches this season.
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You can anyway:cool:

wigwams said:
I'm with streamtvbox and the last few weeks of the premier league I had to use a vpn to get a stream working. Through virgin btw. Not sure how the other providers were affected but it will become the norm. Wonder how long it'll take them to suss you're using a vpn because that'll be their next hurdle to tackle and they will.
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And yet I didn't? VM was no bother at all. Admittedly I never watched SAFC games as went to them all but no issues for Friday, Sunday, Monday games etc.
 
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hank williams said:
When will the football authorities get in to the 21st century

Why can someone with probably no affinity to safc watch every game

While die hards like me who don't gan away anymore can't
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There will be a way for people in the UK to change the settings so this works as well. If not sone of those lovely overseas people will set up a lovely stream. ;)
 
Maximus said:
You can anyway:cool:


And yet I didn't? VM was no bother at all. Admittedly I never watched SAFC games as went to them all but no issues for Friday, Sunday, Monday games etc.
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Doubt I'll be making the trip to Burton to see us lose 4-0 bud ;)
 
chr1s1973 said:
I like the 3 o'clock blackout. To me, they are right in that everybody would just stay in the house and watch Man United rather than go to watch, Hartlepool, Bury or whoever.


You are assuming everybody has the access, ability to access and desire to break the law. Maybe for the kind of demographic on here that is true, but I don't think that is the case for a larger proportion of our fans than you'd think.
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Get away man. The 3 o'clock blackout is in name only anyway and folk still watch football. It's only one of a million things to do on a Saturday afternoon anyway
 
Confused here, simple answer required.
I live abroad, oh look at me, can I sign up and get the fizzy pub league games?
 
Vauxie said:
Confused here, simple answer required.
I live abroad, oh look at me, can I sign up and get the fizzy pub league games?
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You can yes, but as things stand, not Sunderland games! Only around 12 clubs have signed up to it and SAFC aren't one of them.
 
fatman stu said:
Hopefully it doesn't matter as if the team we are playing against has opted in then there will be a stream and hopefully sites like sportsmania will pick them all up
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Unfortunately nearly half of the teams that we'll be playing have also opted out.
 
Baz said:
You can yes, but as things stand, not Sunderland games! Only around 12 clubs have signed up to it and SAFC aren't one of them.
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That's not strictly true. Only those 12 Championship clubs use the ifollow platform as their club website so automatically it's there for them to watch... Look at Preston and Blackburn Rovers websites if you want to see what they look like. Same website platform, different badges / colours etc.

Every club has access and can stream it through their own website if they want. However, if the club does not want to spend money on upgrading their website to stream live for thier overseas supporters (like we may very well be), we won't get to see it. Would be typical of us.

I'd imagine it is not top of our priority list at the moment to buy a new or upgrade our current website, but should be so us exiles can go through the pain as well!
 
Sid said:
Unfortunately nearly half of the teams that we'll be playing have also opted out.
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it doesn't make any difference if other teams opt out. All sunderland games will be streamed (if they put something in place), regardless of what other clubs decide to do
 
Sid said:
Unfortunately nearly half of the teams that we'll be playing have also opted out.
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As is sort of mentioned a couple posts below yours, some clubs are opting out of iFollow to then purchase different systems or try to set up their own. I'm assuming some of them think they can get more money by not going the all-in-one iFollow solution which the EFL probably take a cut from.
 
Dear admwil,


Thank you for your recent email to Sunderland AFC.


At present we are awaiting further information and investigating the various options regarding streaming games in 2017-18. Once we have any further information to share we will of course do so.


Kind regards

Customer Services
 
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