Is there a reason behind FSC's coverage of EURO 2008? There are huge EURO 2008 games this weekend. Italy vs. France, Poland vs. Portugal, England vs. Israel, Netherlands vs. Bulgaria. And what games will FSC be showing? Iceland vs. Spain, Russia vs. Macedonia, and San Marino vs. Czech Rep. I think this is the third time FSC has shown the San Marino game during this qualifying tournament. Are the rights just impossible to get? Or is FSC just not willing to get them?
probably a bit of both man. most likely they are immpossible to get because their price is way higher than fsc is willing to pay. there are some good matchups but i suspect they wouldn't shell out dough until the final matches, for ultimate suspense and ratings.
They had Brazil vs Portugal and England vs Brazil earlier this year. Those were some pretty marquee matches.
Those are friendlies, probably have to deal with the federations which is less of a fee. With EURO's they are probably dealing with UEFA and have a higher price to pay for the big teams/games.
On a semi-related note, the actual Euro 2008 matches are going to be on ABC and ESPN, right? That was what I heard somewhere else.
Yep. It is awesome. Really amazing cuz the US team isn't even involved. I guess they are finally realizing the potential in quality soccer programming.
I was thinking the same thing.Why they hell am i watching Macedonia or San Marino when games like England vs Israel,Italy v France and Portugal vs Poland are on..
They did the same thing with the UEFA Champions League last year and you will often notice they will only pay for certain EPL fixtures. It is unfortunate because their programming as of late is subpar imho. I could do without the USL or some of the Argentine and Italian league matches.
I believe that, with the exception of England rights, FSC sublicenses Euro 2008 qualifiers from Setanta. Setanta keeps games involving Ireland and Portugal for it's premium (bars/pubs only) service, then keeps a couple more for it's regular channel. It then lets FSC pick a couple of the rest, hence why FSC gets the not so glamourous matches. GolTV must have made a deal with someone for Italy v France. For the EPL, FSC and Setanta have a joint deal based on time slots, with them alternating picks for the Saturday 10:00 ET games.
Yeah, I am pretty sure you are right about the rights issues and the reasons why FSC doesn't carry some of the best matches. The good news is that ESPN will all the matches of the Euro tournament next summer! Anyone else remember shelling out $65 for PPV in '04? Might even argue it was worth it....but I still prefer $0....
Also, what else will the ESPN networks have between 8am and 5pm in August 2008? I'm sure almost any Euro 2008 match could draw a higher rating than Mike & Mike or ESPN First Take. As for the qualifiers, I can kind of see FSC's logic about the matches that they purchase the rights to. If Setanta takes the live broadcasts of Ireland, England and Northern Ireland, FSC might as well grab the rights to the matches in the same group, since those results will affect the teams that most people care about in some way.
Speaking of....Would you mind taking this quick survey (only about 10 questions!) so that I can get a better sense of what people are thinking about the upcoming tournament? It's a good chance to be heard! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?s...GfmEX6tQ_3d_3d Thanks!
Errr... do you really think that Irish people would rather watch Czech v San Marino instead of Italy v France just because the Czechs are in their group?? Because you are too lazy to go to one of the dozens of bars or restaurants in Chicago showing those matches.