espn int'l and uefa champions league

Discussion in 'Business and Media' started by Red Card, Aug 28, 2003.

  1. Red Card

    Red Card Member+

    Mar 3, 1999
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  2. tab5g

    tab5g Member+

    May 17, 2002
    It will be interesting to see what kind of cable and satellite carriage agreements ESPN can get for ESPN Deportes.
     
  3. skinut

    skinut Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jun 25, 2000
    Castle Pines, CO (or often elsewhere on earth)
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    English As "Alt" Language Option

    Trust me, I'll be pleased to just have video. I've even learned a little Spanish by watching matches broadcast in the language (I know my colors now). But, I really, really hope ESPN considers making English available as an ALT choice on Deportes.
     
  4. da_cfo

    da_cfo New Member

    Apr 19, 2003
    San Francisco CA
    Deals already signed:

    DirecTV Para Todos
    COX Communications

    Deal pending:

    Charter Communications

    ===

    UEFA CL will be a product for ETHNIC audiences in the US from this point forward.

    Both UEFA and ESPN made that very clear on the press release, emphasizing ESPN Deportes and sublicensing to closed-circuit TV promoters (i.e. Setanta Sport/Shane O'Rourke, TeleAntenna/Steve Athens, etc.), with no mention of ESPN2.

    ESPN Deportes will be the exclusive non-pay-per-view TV outlet in the US for UEFA CL starting February 2004, with no further coverage on ESPN2 anticipated after match day 6 in December 2003.

    ESPN2 can make more money by selling the time to air infomercials or air reruns of dog shows/poker/X-Games/pool/bowling/etc.
     
  5. da_cfo

    da_cfo New Member

    Apr 19, 2003
    San Francisco CA
    Re: English As "Alt" Language Option

    It makes ZERO business sense to offer English-language alternate audio on ESPN Deportes even though the audio is already being produced for ESPN in Oceania.

    English-speaking viewers are worth NOTHING to prospective sponsors of Spanish-language futbol broadcasts in the US, no matter how many English-speaking viewers tune in.

    When sponsorships are sold for Spanish-language futbol broadcasts, the networks and the advertisers only care about "Hispanic" viewers.

    Any broadcasting consultant with half a brain will advise ESPN NOT to offer English-language SAP on ESPN Deportes in order to save on transmission bandwidth cost.
     
  6. QPR Kevin H

    QPR Kevin H BigSoccer Supporter

    May 23, 2001
    Silver Spring, MD
    Club:
    Queens Park Rangers FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Ireland Republic
    Re: Re: English As "Alt" Language Option

    Whereas it makes a tremendous amount of sense to market Arsenal-Lokomotiv Moscow to "Hispanic" viewers :)
     
  7. Ombak

    Ombak Moderator
    Staff Member

    Flamengo
    Apr 19, 1999
    Irvine, CA
    Club:
    Flamengo Rio Janeiro
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    Does Starpower belong to these guys?
     
  8. da_cfo

    da_cfo New Member

    Apr 19, 2003
    San Francisco CA
    Re: Re: Re: English As "Alt" Language Option

    A match such as Arsenal-Lokomotiv will be sublicensed by ESPN Int'l to the likes of Setanta Sport for closed-circuit TV distribution. It may show up on ESPN Deportes as filler in the middle of the night, but it will not air live on ESPN Deportes.

    Look for ESPN Deportes to feature Italian and Spanish teams in UEFA CL, particularly teams with Argentine and Brazilian stars. ESPN Deportes will simulcast the games being shown on ESPN Latin America.
     
  9. mercer

    mercer New Member

    Jul 17, 2003
    Little Rock, AR
    Anyone know whether ESPN Deportes will show up on DISH?
     
  10. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Interesting. Do you have a source/link for this?
     
  11. dirk diggler

    dirk diggler Member

    May 14, 2000
    Fire Daddy!
    Club:
    --other--
    AbraRob on the NAS list, who works for ESPN, said today that CL matches will contunue to air on ESPN 2 past match day 6. I hope he's right!
     
  12. Wolves_67

    Wolves_67 Member

    Oct 27, 2002
    Pasadena, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Nice to hear. I called charter and they told me they would not be adding it but we'll see.
    I just called again and I was told that they were getting some calls and they were instructed to say that they would not be adding it.
    That doesn't mean they won't though. They may have been told to just say that until it is a done deal.
     
  13. da_cfo

    da_cfo New Member

    Apr 19, 2003
    San Francisco CA
    Charter may not add it in Pasadena CA because not enough "Hispanics" live in that city.

    Multiple-System Operators (MSOs) that sign to carry ESPN Deportes will do so only on cable systems with a "significant" portion of its subscribers being "Hispanic".

    The only pay TV system that have signed to offer ESPN Deportes nationally in the continental US regardless of where you live is DirecTV Para Todos.
     
  14. Wolves_67

    Wolves_67 Member

    Oct 27, 2002
    Pasadena, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Actually Charter has Pasadena broken up into sections. Some sections get both Fox Sports World and Fox Sports World Espanol while other just get Fox Sports World Espanol. The entire system gets Fox Sports World Espanol btw.
    An area like mine which may be 20% Hispanic gets FSWE but doesn't get FSW as the 20% Hispanic population represents a big demand for FSWE while the 80% other doesn't represent enough demand to them to add FSW (according to Charter when I asked WHY?). Areas where it is far less Hispanic get both.
    Just a guess on the numbers but just to explain how they do it here.
    That was the explanation given to me by a supervisor when I pressed about why I can't get FSW while someone on the other side of town gets both.
     
  15. dogbyte

    dogbyte New Member

    Apr 22, 2000
    Los Angeles
    I live in Arcadia, and I get Espanol, but no English language from Charter. I get all the Galavision stations, so maybe they will add it here, since they seem to think the only fans here are hispanic.
     
  16. Wolves_67

    Wolves_67 Member

    Oct 27, 2002
    Pasadena, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm on the boarder of Pasadena and Arcadia so perhaps we're in the same "zone". I too get everything Hispanic which is nice for soccer.
    If we just had FSW we would be in heaven.
    Be sure to bug them. I do everytime I call!
     
  17. da_cfo

    da_cfo New Member

    Apr 19, 2003
    San Francisco CA
    Not until Disney figures out a way to force DISH to carry ESPN Deportes without having to pay DISH a
    "launch fee".

    "Launch fees" range from $1.50 to $5.00 per subscriber.

    DISH already has Gol TV, which paid dearly to get its channel slots on DISH in order to get 4 million subscribers.
     
  18. da_cfo

    da_cfo New Member

    Apr 19, 2003
    San Francisco CA
    I will believe it when I see it.

    Putting UEFA CL on ESPN2 when the same match is already on ESPN Deportes make no business sense whatsoever.

    ESPN2 can get 10 times the ratings compared to UEFA CL by airing reruns of poker, the new fad TV sports product. No one could have predicted that taped poker would get better TV ratings than regular season Major League Baseball or NBA.

    Alteratively, ESPN2 can makes 5 times the money airing time-buy programming (infomercials).

    ESPN2 hasn't sold a targeted ad on its UEFA Champions League telecasts since 1998. That was 5 years ago.
     
  19. FlashMan

    FlashMan Member

    Jan 6, 2000
    'diego
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Does this mean the channel will actually show up on Cox Cable systems (in my case, in San Diego), on the digital cable platform? Or do you have to buy a special package? Or do you just tear your hair out, throw your cable box out the window, and call up your nearest satellite company?

    Just curious.
     
  20. da_cfo

    da_cfo New Member

    Apr 19, 2003
    San Francisco CA
    COX Communications in San Diego already carries ESPN Deportes in its digital cable lineup.
     
  21. kevruth

    kevruth Member

    May 30, 2001
    Perrysburg, Ohio, US
    What I find so odd is that UEFA would sell them the rights with almost all of English-speaking America not seeing UEFA's product. This is the last big uncharted soccer market in the world. Wouldn't UEFA want to have themselves promoted here as much as possible. The potential here is enormous for making money off of the European game.

    UEFA claims that they just sold the rights to a huge market yet the rights buyer isn't going to show it to that market. Do they know what they did?

    UEFA should have made it manditory that CL be broadcast on English-speaking non-PPV television.
     
  22. da_cfo

    da_cfo New Member

    Apr 19, 2003
    San Francisco CA
    Only 0.15% of US TV households, or only 150000 homes, watch UEFA Champions League telecast on average.

    That means 99.85% of the US TV audience don't care about the UEFA Champions League.

    The TV ratings for UEFA CL has been flat for the past 10 years, holding steady at about 150000 households.

    UEFA knows that the UEFA CL appeals only to a niche audience in the US, and has no problems selling the rights to a company that intends to exploit that niche audience.
     
  23. JayRockers!

    JayRockers! Member+

    Aug 4, 2001
    Re: Re: espn int'l and uefa champions league

    It won't hold up. The ratings will crash, just like all programming, and everyone over at BIG POKER.COM will be whining about the glory days. Just like their new "critically acclaimed" Playmakers, TV Pokers popularity will last a season or so and fade back into obscurity. They've been broadcasting the World Series of Poker for a while now and just this year had any remote interest in it.

    So who gains what by ESPN moving the CL to Desportes? No audience will migrate to Desportes, especially since it will not be readily available. The audience that it will create will obviously be smaller, and will take years to build to the level it is at now. Even people like me, who watch games on Spanish Language broadcasts regularly will not go out on the stump to acquire Desportes. How has ESPN ever exploited the CL audience?

    Main Entry: [1]ex·ploit
    Pronunciation: 'ek-"sploit, ik-'
    Function: noun
    Etymology: Middle English, outcome, success, from Middle French, from Latin explicitum, neuter of explicitus, past participle
    Date: circa 1538
    : DEED, ACT; especially : a notable or heroic act
    synonym see FEAT

    Main Entry: [2]ex·ploit
    Pronunciation: ik-'sploit, 'ek-"
    Function: transitive verb
    Date: 1838
    1 : to make productive use of : UTILIZE <exploiting your talents> <exploit your opponent's weakness>
    2 : to make use of meanly or unjustly for one's own advantage <exploiting migrant farm workers>
    - ex·ploit·able /-'sploi-t&-b&l/ adjective
    - ex·ploit·er noun

    As far as I can tell, they have never made any productive decisions with the CL that has benefited either ESPN or the CL viewer in the USA. It's been a lose/lose relationship that those of us on the viewing side just have to sit back and take what they give to us.

    Thx,

    Jay!
     
  24. FlashMan

    FlashMan Member

    Jan 6, 2000
    'diego
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Sheesh, I better look for this quick when I get home. :)

    Thanks for the info, Oliver.
     
  25. da_cfo

    da_cfo New Member

    Apr 19, 2003
    San Francisco CA
    Re: Re: Re: espn int'l and uefa champions league

    ESPN has been exploiting the niche ethnic audience for UEFA Champions League for the past 8 seasons
    by sublicensing matches involving English, Scottish, Greek, and Turkish teams to closed-circuit TV promoters such as Setanta Sport and TeleAntenna/Steve Athens.

    ESPN has been making money off UEFA Champions League in the US without having to sell a single ad with its closed-circuit TV sublicensing business.

    With ESPN Deportes, ESPN will add another revenue stream from the ethnic audience: subscriber fees.

    Bottom line, if you want the UEFA Champions League in the US, you will have to pay for the product one way or another.
     

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