England Pay Per View Attempted Outcry!

Now this is not the normal place for a Blog on this subject but I think this is important to many as football is expensive enough already.

The article here covers the story well including a few extra details not mentioned here.

http://www.currybet.net/cbet_blog/2009/10/england_ukraine_newspapers_pay_per_view.php

So why is this not being reported as a bad thing in the national press? Well is it because many papers are showing the game on there websites and earning money from it? Maybe it’s just too soon, but I’m not sure the average football fan is not happy about the game being internet only. Surely it is wrong to have an important national sport on an internet pay-per-view only site.

I believed that many newspapers considered football to be sacred like many of there readers do. I want to see the newspapers rise to the challenge of reporting just how unfair this is on us, the put upon football fans.

Why are England qualifiers not protected from these crazy deals. I understand that the game would have delayed the showing of X-factor and Strictly Come Dancing if it was on terrestrial TV and also England have qualified so this could be a one off. But is it? Does this not set a precedence? Surely Channel 5 could of had this game.

Not only is this a very bad enough having to watch a pay per view match, but what about the following problems.

1. You have to pay £4.99 offer available until Thursday 8th October. Price increases to £11.99 on match day.

2. The picture will be of a much worse quality.

3. Most will have to use a small PC screen or laptop screen to watch it.

4. Is it not possible that it could crash, hence the reason for a limit of 1 million viewers. But I'm sure this is still possible.

5. The sound is also worse on the internet.

6. There are still plenty of people out there with low quality broadband and still others with no computer or internet.

7. Pubs won’t be showing the game, well ok some pubs could setup a laptop to a screen (and not to all of their pub TV screens I suspect) but how the picture will look even worse on a big pub screen.

8 Would your family crowd around a laptop?


I just wondered where the out cry is, I for one would like to know.

I should point out that these game are being show at Odeon cinemas, perhaps that is the best way to see it, although its still £8 at my local cinema and that’s not even so local (Basingstoke from Bracknell) and there be no beer on.

Odeons web site for the games is here http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/film_info/m12403

And one last point to note, Com On England!!