I was having a discussion with some friends and we were talking about how nowadays Content is King! All you now need to deliver content to your customers is a website and maybe an app... as a result licensing rights to broadcasters is becoming less and less valuable.
We were then discussing the opportunity for the English Premier League to set up their own streaming service. You cut out the middle man and charge customers a subscription fee just as Netflix does.
In the short term this would obviously be a money maker as they could deliver a global service and I am sure all of us would sign up. However, we were not sure what would happen in the long term.
On one hand there is the great work that Sky and now BT does building up the hype around nothing games. I remember Sky spending nearly 2 weeks building up to what turned out being a turgid 0-0 draw between Liverpool and Man Utd not too long ago. But on the other hand the EPL would be able to create and control their own brand. Would they be able to do as good of a job as companies like Sky, BT, Fox or BeIN?
Also, cutting these broadcaster out would also cause a backlash and potentially lead them to pushing an alternative brand. Would we see the Bundesliga become the most watched league as a result of broadcasters pushing a new brand?
My question is, is Premier League Content really King? Or do broadcasters provide enough added value to the product? What is there really to prevent the EPL from moving to a direct streaming service?
Content is King!
posted on 19/5/20
The results of the games doesn’t matter.
The product of Liverpool vs Manchester United is the most marketable game the PL has to offer and people will watch it.
Viewing numbers = cash
posted on 19/5/20
Streaming service needs to improve vastly. You can't have one household 20/30 seconds or even a minute behind another household which was evident when Amazon showed the games.
One thing Sky/BT at least guarantee is that it is as close to real time as possible and the same at every house.
posted on 19/5/20
I would fear that the moment we start to move to streaming individually, the quicker to will be at a point where each club negotiates their own deals. It becomes more like pay per view.
One of the strengths of the EPL is that the money share isnt not too widely spread . Top get crica £150m bottom £100m. If clubs negotiated their own deals then of that £3bn fund, the likes of Bournemnouth & Brighton would get peanuts while the Utds of this world would cash in.
While content is king, the way things work now protects the competitiveness of the league to a degree.
posted on 19/5/20
English football is definitely king in the international scene. Most local fans have no idea just how big it is. Other leagues are far far behind I can tell you that.
There is no way this would work outside England though. Many fans outside the UK will not pay some additional subscritpiton and sheet. They'd still need some TV companies in the end.
posted on 19/5/20
comment by *(kash) I'm the Mané - 6 Times Baby (U1108)
posted 4 hours, 38 minutes ago
Streaming service needs to improve vastly. You can't have one household 20/30 seconds or even a minute behind another household which was evident when Amazon showed the games.
One thing Sky/BT at least guarantee is that it is as close to real time as possible and the same at every house.
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good point!
posted on 19/5/20
I think it could go horribly wrong if the Premier League tried to launch their own streaming service. There is a reason that they have never considered doing it. It's not what they do and it's not a straightforward business at all. Also, as already mentioned, there were problems with time delay when Amazon showed some matches.
posted on 20/5/20
Yeah the issue at the moment is internet speeds, I know the UK now lags behind a lot of countries so it might struggle to stream a decent enough quality