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Live streaming platform unveiled for global EFL fans...

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Nelson! said:
I've drafted my reply to the email I received.

Hello Karen,

Thanks for your email. I want to let you know from the off that I am not only hugely frustrated by your decision, I’m also utterly baffled as to why a business which is in a dire financial mess and has just taken a massive hit in revenue would not do everything they possibly could to maintain and strengthen their bond with supporters/paying customers. Despite the years of depressing football and farcical approach to running the club SAFC still maintains a huge number of loyal supporters around the world. You have chosen to completely ignore an opportunity to capitalize on that financially while also ensuring at least some of them will lose interest or decide to follow a team they can actually watch play. Well done, that’s quite an astonishing level of ineptitude, even by your already monumental standards. Didn’t we spend the last few years engaging in international pre-season tournaments and striking sponsorship deals with companies in far flung places for the very reason that football has a worldwide audience? Is that whole idea on the scrap heap now then?

I also read something recently (as in a week or so ago) where the club expressed a strong desire to find better ways to engage and communicate with supporters. It looks like that was merely more empty words based on this decision.

I’ve read through your list of excuses for why you don’t view your overseas supporters as important enough to cater to, even when the ability to do it has been put on a plate for you. I’ve replied to each of them below.

There are a number of reasons behind us reaching this conclusion:

- We believe the standard one-camera option will not provide a quality service for supporters

Surely that’s for me and other supporters to decide as we will be the ones paying for it? I’d say being able to watch the game live with one camera is far preferable to watching it a whole day late with action replays and close ups of players boots. I’m not sure your conclusion is based on even the most basic market research.

- Producing a broadcast to the standard for which the club would be happy to charge our supporters (multi-camera, commentary etc) would involve significant costs.

A smart and proactive business would embrace this new technology as a means to profit in the future. A short-sighted, trundling, failing business would say it’s too expensive and not bother to offer their customers/supporters anything. It’s no surprise to anyone that SAFC falls into the latter category.

- A significant number of games (those broadcast on TV in the UK and abroad) cannot be streamed under EFL rules, and as such there is no guarantee as to a minimum number of games which could be shown. We would therefore be charging supporters for a product we may not be able to deliver

Charge supporters per game rather than for a season. This is honestly not difficult. Have you ever been involved with running a business before?

- We do not believe from our research that the revenue from subscriptions would make the venture financially viable.

Now we are getting to the crux of the matter. You’re not able to see a way to fleece people immediately so you’ve written the whole thing off. There are 58 clubs/businesses that disagree with you. Given the general opinion of how SAFC is currently engaging with and catering for their supporters expressed across social media I’d hazard a guess that your market research isn’t worth the pub napkin it’s scrawled on.

- We have already invested a significant sum in a multi-camera broadcast system for use at the Stadium of Light and are currently planning to broadcast full 90-minute re-runs of home games, delayed in accordance with the league's holdbacks (available from 12 noon GMT the day after the game) for a subsidised fee.

Hang on, didn’t you just use the cost of this equipment as an excuse for not offering the service? If you have already invested in a “multi-camera broadcast” system, wouldn’t it be a better idea to use it than not? It is nice to see consistency in the club’s approach to business reaches right from media and marketing to the first team. Maybe we can loan the equipment out to another club, pay half of their operating costs and take it back in a year when it’s worth markedly less?

- SAFC is continuing to invest in its digital platforms, recognising that this is a vital medium for fans to connect with the club. We will do everything we can to continue to extend our coverage via existing channels moving forward and hope you will understand our reasoning in regards to this.

I don’t understand it at all. The only explanation is that the club is penny pinching at the expense of alienating loyal fans who’ve stuck by them through thin and thinner. You’re a national laughing stock and should be thrilled that anyone still bothers to care about the club. I am sick of seeing people in charge of the running of the football club I love going through the motions, making awful decisions and generally doing the bare minimum. Your decision on this topic is indicative of the complete lack of ambition, forward planning and business acumen which has plagued the club for years. A change of ownership can not come soon enough.

Kind regards,
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Underlined stuff that I thought might not be the best - a combination of being a bit too aggressive / a little colloquial / not the best way to express your feelings.

Obviously its your cause, completely up to you, just feel that if you want something positive to come from this fan pressure you should avoid getting too critical - or get critical but avoid phrases like 'laughing stock' and 'shambles' - as true as it is :lol: :lol:
 
Shangri La said:
Underlined stuff that I thought might not be the best - a combination of being a bit too aggressive / a little colloquial / not the best way to express your feelings.

Obviously its your cause, completely up to you, just feel that if you want something positive to come from this fan pressure you should avoid getting too critical - or get critical but avoid phrases like 'laughing stock' and 'shambles' - as true as it is :lol: :lol:
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You've underlined all my favorite bits there.

As I said, you're probably right that it's not the best approach but I don't think they'll change their mind anyway so at least this way i get to tell them what i think of them.
 
Shangri La said:
Decent enough response mate, one thing I would say though is I can see its a passionate issue for you, however I'd recommend tuning a couple of those responses down a notch or two. Realistically I'd imagine you want the club to change their decision, or certainly explore another avenue, thus the best way that YOU could do that would be to maintain an open dialogue with for possible future discussion. Some of the things you say there will be seen as a bit over the line (deservedly so but still).

Just a bit of feedback.

I'd also think about referencing other teams that have installed a pay per match system (was it Wolves? )
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Aye, it was Wolves. Five quid a match. On top of 45 for the package itself, but still, they're making it available.

Here's the link:

You must be logged on to see external links


Here's the key phrase:

"Overseas fans can subscribe to the seasonal package to guarantee coverage of every game and then add on a live stream when available for just £5. Wolves v Middlesbrough is now available to buy to fans located outside of the UK and Republic of Ireland. Please note live streams can only be watched on a desktop or laptop and not on mobiles or tablets."
 
I Claudio said:
I suspect the 1-camera, no commentary thing is probably the bare minimum a club needs for iFollow. So maybe some away matches would be limited to that. I suspect that's more the case in League One and League Two than in the Championship, though. SAFC are just using it as an excuse.
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I Claudio said:
Perhaps, although I suspect there is probably some way that the Football League can demand at least a 1camera system be made available.

I might send something to the NASA guys - maybe if the overseas supporters branches start complaining, there might be more traction on this.
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There is a thread with predictable content on this on the NASA Facebook page. I have to believe they are going to communicate with the club, being an official fan club and all that and representing what I would assume to be the largest cohort of overseas fans. Responses I have had with them seem to suggest they have received the same standard boilerplate the rest of us got. Not sure if they have had anything more personal befitting their status. You would hope so.
 
CalAl said:
There is a thread with predictable content on this on the NASA Facebook page. I have to believe they are going to communicate with the club, being an official fan club and all that and representing what I would assume to be the largest cohort of overseas fans. Responses I have had with them seem to suggest they have received the same standard boilerplate the rest of us got. Not sure if they have had anything more personal befitting their status. You would hope so.
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I've added a bit in about the overseas supporters branch flags being prominently displayed in the stadium while the club has just told all of them they don't matter at all. Also mentioned Wolves game by game option.

Thanks to posters on here for the input!
 
I Claudio said:
Aye, it was Wolves. Five quid a match. On top of 45 for the package itself, but still, they're making it available.

Here's the link:

You must be logged on to see external links


Here's the key phrase:

"Overseas fans can subscribe to the seasonal package to guarantee coverage of every game and then add on a live stream when available for just £5. Wolves v Middlesbrough is now available to buy to fans located outside of the UK and Republic of Ireland. Please note live streams can only be watched on a desktop or laptop and not on mobiles or tablets."
Click to expand...
Interesting that they say "to guarantee coverage of every game" yet we are saying there's not going to be a streaming service from our stadium - are we requiring the opposition being there own kit? Also wasn't there something mentioned earlier that they aren't allowed to stream anything that's on sky? The "guarantee" word sounds a bit strong...
 
The club have made the right decision with this. Match-going fans should be the priority. People saying we are losing money by not doing these streams but I think the opposite. If we offered streams then attendances could drop so miss out on ticket money and club even said don't know cost of stream to them so might not even make a profit doing it.

So many armchair gobshites about too (not saying everyone is before someone says) so couldn't give a fuck about them.

Also some of the emails being sent on here are cringeworthy. I might send one congratulating the club on a good decision :lol:
 
Crayola-Kid said:
Interesting that they say "to guarantee coverage of every game" yet we are saying there's not going to be a streaming service from our stadium - are we requiring the opposition being there own kit? Also wasn't there something mentioned earlier that they aren't allowed to stream anything that's on sky? The "guarantee" word sounds a bit strong...
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It's not just sky mate. If the game is on any channel anywhere in the world it can't be shown. I have got a little bit of sympathy with the club here. If they took £110 off people then it turned out they weren't able to show many games everyone would be complaining! That said charging on a game by game basis might make more sense. Not sure what happens when we are at home v teams that have subscribed. I presume their supporters can watch.

HBSAFC said:
The club have made the right decision with this. Match-going fans should be the priority. People saying we are losing money by not doing these streams but I think the opposite. If we offered streams then attendances could drop so miss out on ticket money and club even said don't know cost of stream to them so might not even make a profit doing it.

So many armchair gobshites about too (not saying everyone is before someone says) so couldn't give a fuck about them.

Also some of the emails being sent on here are cringeworthy. I might send one congratulating the club on a good decision :lol:
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You do realise it's for overseas fans only don't you? Yeah it will be possible to get it if you live in the UK but it wouldn't be as simple as using a vpn as I would imagine you'd need a foreign billing address.
 
HBSAFC said:
The club have made the right decision with this. Match-going fans should be the priority. People saying we are losing money by not doing these streams but I think the opposite. If we offered streams then attendances could drop so miss out on ticket money and club even said don't know cost of stream to them so might not even make a profit doing it.

So many armchair gobshites about too (not saying everyone is before someone says) so couldn't give a fuck about them.

Also some of the emails being sent on here are cringeworthy. I might send one congratulating the club on a good decision :lol:
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Its for foreign based supporters you dick
 
the dude said:
It's not just sky mate. If the game is on any channel anywhere in the world it can't be shown. I have got a little bit of sympathy with the club here. If they took £110 off people then it turned out they weren't able to show many games everyone would be complaining! That said charging on a game by game basis might make more sense. Not sure what happens when we are at home v teams that have subscribed. I presume their supporters can watch.


You do realise it's for overseas fans only don't you? Yeah it will be possible to get it if you live in the UK but it wouldn't be as simple as using a vpn as I would imagine you'd need a foreign billing address.
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No I didn't. But as you say there is a strong possibility UK fans will use them so as I said before it could affect attendances.

Lambchops said:
Its for foreign based supporters you dick
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Will still be available for those in the UK somehow though you dick.
 
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HBSAFC said:
The club have made the right decision with this. Match-going fans should be the priority. People saying we are losing money by not doing these streams but I think the opposite. If we offered streams then attendances could drop so miss out on ticket money and club even said don't know cost of stream to them so might not even make a profit doing it.

So many armchair gobshites about too (not saying everyone is before someone says) so couldn't give a fuck about them.

Also some of the emails being sent on here are cringeworthy. I might send one congratulating the club on a good decision :lol:
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Aren't these streams just for overseas supporters, meaning they probably can't get to games easily? I spend at least half the season in Spain, have kept my season ticket on, and would have loved this service, but hey ho there are worse things happen at sea, not worth getting myself bothered one way or t'other.
 
roppa said:
Aren't these streams just for overseas supporters, meaning they probably can't get to games easily? I spend at least half the season in Spain, have kept my season ticket on, and would have loved this service, but hey ho there are worse things happen at sea, not worth getting myself bothered one way or t'other.
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Yeah they are I didn't realise before. Still could be used by people who live close to the sol somehow so not worth doing. It could hinder attendances and might not be financially worthwhile for the club. People need to see it from the club's position.

Least you're not fuming about it like some on here :lol:
 
Lambchops said:
And? Every game was available last season and didn't affect attendance's - what affects attendance's is Shite performances on the field
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How do you know that? Maybe we would have even more in the ground if streams weren't available?

Only positive about relegation is no streams available
 
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