Increase in banner ads on FSC?

[Cannon]

Has anyone else noticed an increase in the number of ads that appear on FSC games? I'm talking about all of the animated ads along that bottom of FSC games especially the Prem matches. It seems that they've increased the frequency of the ads and made them more eye-catching than the rather subdued versions of the past. Those changes plus the repeated showing of the useless ticker (love to get get the exact fixtures for a bunch of leagues not shown on FSC and scores from days ago) and "news" (breaking news headlines as "Fergie looking forward to Chelsea game" :rolleyes: ) means that the actual games are getting less screen space than in previous years. I wonder if we're moving to a point when FSC's bottom of the screen is as annoying as ESPN2.

[joebloe888]

Has anyone else noticed an increase in the number of ads that appear on FSC games? I'm talking about all of the animated ads along that bottom of FSC games especially the Prem matches. It seems that they've increased the frequency of the ads and made them more eye-catching than the rather subdued versions of the past. Those changes plus the repeated showing of the useless ticker (love to get get the exact fixtures for a bunch of leagues not shown on FSC and scores from days ago) and "news" (breaking news headlines as "Fergie looking forward to Chelsea game" :rolleyes: ) means that the actual games are getting less screen space than in previous years. I wonder if we're moving to a point when FSC's bottom of the screen is as annoying as ESPN2.

The money necessary for NewsCorp (FSI) to bid for its share of the new EPL video rights contract in the U.S. and Canada has to come from somewhere.

The ticket is an element that can be sold to a sponsor.

The EPL video rights will be ultra-expensive for the next cycle.

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Speaking of NewsCorp, ever though you would live long enough to see the day when a Rupert Murdoch entity would be blown away at an EPL video rights auction for a key country by an organization that has more money and has more power?

That day has arrived. The organization? The government of GuangDong Province of China.

Posted at soccerTV.com:

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EPL TV rights in China changes hands: GuangDong Soccer Channel outbids ESPN STAR Sports

Updated November 30, 2006

In a shocking development, NewsCorp-managed Asian sports TV giant ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has lost its bid to retain the video rights in mainland China to the English Premier League (EPL) for the 2007-2008 through the 2009-2010 seasons to GuangDong Soccer Channel, a new Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese-language all-soccer cable/satellite TV channel owned and operated by the GuangDong provincial government's GuangDong Television (GDTV) service, according to published reports.

The Singapore-based NewsCorp-Disney joint venture ESS and one of its predecessors, ESPN Asia Limited, had held video rights to the EPL in China since the 1994-1995 season. ESS recently opened a bureau in Beijing and launched ESPN China, which is available to over 100 million households in mainland China.

The EPL has targeted TV viewers in the Chinese-speaking world in recent years. A handful of EPL clubs, notably Manchester United, now display Chinese-language advertising (the most prominent being Budweiser beer) on the sidelines during high profile matches. The EPL launched traditional and simplified Chinese versions of its premierleague.com website over a year ago.

ESS has also lost its bid to retain the video rights to the EPL in Singapore (to StarHub) and Thailand (to UBC).

The video rights to the EPL in Hong Kong, which changed hands 3 years ago when ESS lost the rights to i-Cable Limited, will change hands again after PCCW (formerly Pacific Century CyberWorks) outbid i-Cable for the rights in the 2007-2008 through 2009-2010 seasons. PCCW reportedly paid USD$200 million, or nearly 3 times what i-Cable paid for the previous video rights contract.

In an interview by British sports business news website SportCal.com, ESS Managing Director Jamie Davis hinted his displeasure with losing the EPL video rights in mainland China to the government of GuangDong Province by congratulating PCCW, StarHub, and UBC but deliberately not mentioning GDTV or GuangDong Soccer Channel. Prior to heading ESS, Davis was the Managing Director of STAR Television China.

ESS will retain video rights to the EPL in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan and Macau for the 2007-2008 through 2009-2010 seasons. In each of these 20 countries and territories, ESS will have video rights to 370 matches each season across all pay video distribution platforms including broadband Internet and mobile devices.

In Japan, Hong Kong-based Yes Television has outbid incumbent J SPORTS for the video rights to the EPL for the 2007-2008 through 2009-2010 seasons. Yes Television currently operates all-soccer cable/Internet TV channels Goal TV 1 and 2 in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Both NewsCorp (SKY PerfecTV) and Disney (ESPN) hold stakes in J SPORTS, which is managed by the Sumitomo Group.

[danielmak]

Like joebloe notes, the money has to come from somewhere so I don 't have a problem with the ads. The newsticker is the problem. The quantity of actual news is limited to 1 or 2 items per 10 on that ticker. The Fergie example is great. Others include, Real hoping to take advantage of Valencia's injury woes, and Inter ready for big clash with Palermo. How is this news? They are just filling space that doesn't need to be filled. But FSC is not alone. I watched the first leg of the Colo Colo-Toluca Copa Sudamericana match on delay on FSE and what do I see floating along the ticker but the final score of the match I am watching. So, to answer Cannon's question, it does seem like Fox is moving toward the mindless use of the ticker that we see on ESPN. Take care.

[Kryptonite]

Like joebloe notes, the money has to come from somewhere so I don 't have a problem with the ads. The newsticker is the problem. The quantity of actual news is limited to 1 or 2 items per 10 on that ticker. The Fergie example is great. Others include, Real hoping to take advantage of Valencia's injury woes, and Inter ready for big clash with Palermo. How is this news? They are just filling space that doesn't need to be filled. But FSC is not alone. I watched the first leg of the Colo Colo-Toluca Copa Sudamericana match on delay on FSE and what do I see floating along the ticker but the final score of the match I am watching. So, to answer Cannon's question, it does seem like Fox is moving toward the mindless use of the ticker that we see on ESPN. Take care.

My issues with the news ticker:
1) It takes up way too much space and compresses the actual image. It could be HALF it's size and still be a bit too big.

2) It's painfully obvious the headlines are ripped straight off articles at foxsoccer.com, in a subliminal message "Hey, I wonder what the rest of the article says. I think i'll check out their website." If the headlines were more something like "MLS Cup highlights and post-game thoughts from both teams, scores and news from England, and more. All coming up on Fox Sports World Report tonight at 10 PM."... I probably wouldn't mind that as much.

[Cannon]

My new "favorite" headline: "Chelsea deny rumors"

I'm so glad they broke into to give us that important news. :rolleyes: :mad:

[Kryptonite]

My new "favorite" headline: "Chelsea deny rumors"

I'm so glad they broke into to give us that important news. :rolleyes: :mad:

I haven't noticed it, if it is, but I wonder if it's on a timer. (ESPN has their semi-periodic/semi-who knows when 18/58 update, which can be more like :25 after, but whatever.) All they do is load up a few headlines, then set the timer and that's it.

(BTW, does anyone else HATE the way it speeds up as it scrolls across?)