I am thinking the same thing, since the UEFA site lists the time as 21:05 but it seems odd that DirecTV would start right at kick-off without having any time to show teams coming out of the tunnel, etc.
DirecTV has added 6 more matches, for a total of 16. GolTV and DirecTV will combine to air 18 out of 24 Group Phase Match Day 1 games in the U.S. The DirecTV Europa League Mix Channel (461 and 461-1) will have live video to 8 matches simultaneously, for a total of 16 matches (10 in HD) DirecTV generally starts video coverage 10-15 minutes before kickoff. GolTV generally starts coverage 5 minutes before kickoff. Thursday September 16 1pm ET kickoff Basel vs Roma - GolTV (mirrored on DirecTV channel 470) Lille vs Valencia - DirecTV channels 462 & 462-1 HD Hapoel Tel Aviv vs Celtic - DirecTV channels 463 & 463-1 HD Panathinaikos vs Galatasaray - DirecTV channels 464 & 464-1 HD Heerenveen vs Sporting - DirecTV channels 465 & 465-1 HD Ajax vs Timisoara - DirecTV channels 466 & 466-1 HD CSKA Sofia vs Fulham - DirecTV channel 467 Rapid Vienna vs Hamburg - DirecTV channel 468 Hertha Berlin vs Ventspils - DirecTV channel 469 3:05pm ET kickoff Everton vs AEK Athens - GolTV (mirrored on DirecTV channel 470) Villarreal vs Levski Sofia - DirecTV channels 462 & 462-1 HD Lazio vs Salzburg - DirecTV channels 463 & 463-1 HD Nacional vs Werder Bremen - DirecTV channels 464 & 464-1 HD Benfica vs BATE Borisov - DirecTV channels 465 & 465-1 HD Cluj vs Copenhagen - DirecTV channels 466 & 466-1 HD Athletic Club Bilbao vs Austria Vienna - DirecTV channel 467 Fenerbahce vs Twente - DirecTV channel 468 Sparta Prague vs PSV - DirecTV channel 469
I have my DVR set to record Lille-Valencia and the HSV-Rapid game but neither appear to be on yet, which bums me out because I stopped my Roma recording figuring (A) Gol will give away the score of the Valencia game and scores won't be given away during the Valencia game and (B) the Roma game rebroadcasts tomorrow. Watch DirecTV screw this up and Gol decide to re-air another game besides the Roma game.
Unbelievable. And now they have switched from that feed to their Europa league slide with that instrumental song, which means they will likely screw up and not get the feed for the second game back up on time. They really need to work this stuff out. There was still 2 minutes of injury time left in the Lille-Valencia game. Are the days done when someone works in a control room and watches these things?
I am not able to watch Werder Bremen vs Nacional!also bilbao and psv games.. whats goin on? Edit: Finally I can watch the game...at 38 minute..
Looks like some of the 2nd games started on time and some started very late. In addition to the Bremen-Nacional game, it looked as if the Sparta-PSV game started very late as well. Also, the Cluj-Kobenhavn game was stadium sound only.
Why would UEFA screw this up and sell to DirecTV and limit their exposure? Was it just that no one else wanted this tournament?
it seems about half of the macthes were stadium sound only. I was watching the Prague v PSV and the crowd was loud. Probably the loudest crowd all day.
Bingo. FOX and Setanta were "tapped out" after they outbid ESPN, Inc. for the UEFA Champions League (allegedly paying at least twice what ESPN, Inc. was willing to pay.) ESPN, Inc. has no interest in bidding for a 2nd rate product that airs mostly on Thursday afternoons. That left GolTV, Inc. and DirecTV as the only potential bidders, and these two outfits decided to form a "partnership", presumably to keep the price low. (Don't believe GolTV, Inc. had to pay any cash to DirecTV, Inc. for its share of the Europa League matches because GolTV, Inc. bartered away the leftover [7th-10th picks] Spanish Primera Division matches to DirecTV.)
A little perspective...... We've gone from "...has there been any word regarding whether FSC or anyone else will be showing Europa League group matches? Unfortunately I can't recall when coverage began last year. But otherwise I'm hoping/assuming uefa.com will have most of the group matches online..." to "...it seems about half of the macthes were stadium sound only. I was watching the Prague v PSV and the crowd was loud." 18 of the 24 matches were broadcast in the USA and we b!tch about late broadcasts and lack of audio. Not pointing fingers or making fun of anybody. Just an observation on human nature. It reminds me of why I'm so against "big government". Once you get something, people assume you are "entitled" to it and it is their birthright. Its not what this country is all about. But I digress... Just funny how we b!tch and moan at the lack of coverage one day and later complain about the fact that 2 of the 18 matches didn't come in as we expected. We are more than fortunate to be in the US (or Canada) as far as soccer coverage. Even in Europe, you are lucky to get your 2-3 teams in the tournament and perhaps a handful more if you know where to point your satellite dish. Here, the coverage is truly more than any one person can digest in a single day. Perspective people....perspective. SA PS. Phuuck Michael Moore.
What matches were actually on then? Lille v Valencia - Missed first 40 or so minutes HSV - didn't show Fenerbache v Twente - Missed first 40 or so minutes Lazio v Salzburg - full match I kept debating which ones I would record... Was it a transmission issue or Direct? And was the mix up and running? Was at work and didn't get a chance to look. I still applaud Direct, it's awesome. Hopefully it's better for next time.
since that was my quote I figure I'd clarify that this was not a bitch or a moan but also an observation. Part of what I like about the UEFA Cup/Europa League is that they show some of the forgotten teams in Europe. That the crowd was loud and there was no announcer was a plus for me because some of these broadcasts have little to no atmosphere. Fenerbahce's stadium looked half full! One of my favorite games last year was a game at Besiktas (that admittedly I wasn't paying much attention to) where the crowd chanting got me unconsciously bobbing my heads and tapping my feet after a while. unless my team is playing and the game isn't on, you will never see me complaining about the massive DirecTV footy coverage this season. the mix channels for this as well as the US Open and the Sunday Ticket have me contemplating finally making the jump to HD. even if he is a partisan blowhard and his conclusions aren't always pragmatic, IMO he does what so many people don't want to do these days - take a long, deep look at problems in society. you know - since the media are pre-occupied with car crashes, confrontations and fights (in NASCAR and otherwise).
How does watching DirecTV screw something up have to do with "big government"? That's so completely off the point. Listen, DirecTV promoted the fact that they were showing all this exclusive soccer. Then, they messed up a bunch of telecasts. If you're going to promote that you have something, than deliver on what you promised. That's what this country should be about, but it isn't any more. Now companies want to take credit for having something, but when it comes to doing it right, they can't be bothered. And it wasn't just a little minor video disruption. Of the two late games I wanted to watch, both were joined just before halftime. I don't think I'm being nitpicky. And I don't care about lack of English audio - I like just the stadium sound, although it would have been nice for their press releases to indicate that fact. I don't feel I'm entitled to the Europa League - I think it's awesome that they're trying to do this. But if DirecTV is going to give it their usual half-baked effort, then I don't think they should be allowed to sound like heroes for all that they did. DirecTV claims they are the "sports leader," but this isn’t the first time they have not executed something properly, and it bugs me when they claim their supremacy about something and don't deliver. If this was a one-time thing, that's understandable, but come October 1st, I think they need to get things running right.
so can anyone confirm that the Celtic v Happoel games was NOT on... i had this to set by dvr but had nothing when i got home. Cantona--
Can't say I really agree with your politics, Socceraction, but you're spot on in your analysis of human nature! The added coverage we are getting on DirecTV and with the division/bartering of coverage for many of the leagues for CL, Europa, La Liga and the Bundesliga has meant that we've practically moved to a US sports model where, if you have the right equipment, you can get nearly every game out there for a price. Truly amazing.
I think you've heard this one from me before, but I'll say it again. I am really pleased with the quantity of games we get in the US, and DirecTV's addition of CL and Europa League games makes the situation even more incredible. With that said, I want it done right. (A) I want the TV coverage to start on time (not to show some commercial for the network and then start the game late when they could have waited on a Halo Bundesliga commerical), (B) I don't want them to edit the game when they could have edited highlights at half-time or pre-game highlights (happens on a lot of FSE rebroadcasts), (C) I don't want them to show scores for games that they are showing later in the day (this seems to be good business sense if you actually want people to watch a game shown on delay and if the network doesn't want people to watch then they shouldn't buy so many games), and (D) I want them to be aware of what they are sending out over the air (whether that be correct aspect ratio--a regular problem for Setanta, commentary--a problem for DirecTV during the first CL MD, or being able to get the game on the air at all--DirecTV and Europa League). I don't feel any sense of entitlement here. Prior to 2000 I did not have cable or satellite. I went from watching Soccer Made in Germany in the late 70s/early 80s to watching World Cup Finals on ABC to watching nothing until WC 94 was on ESPN and sporadic club football in the late 1990s. Since 2000 when I signed up for DirecTV (later switching to Dish and then back to DirecTV) the soccer coverage has exploded. It is mostly very good. But sometimes they screw up bad and most of those screw-ups seem to be things that could be fixed if they would just show some common sense. In terms of ground/stadium sound v. commentary, my preference is commentary. My first preference is English (unless it is Danny Lee), then Spanish, and then whatever other language is available. So I would rather have watched CFR Cluj v. Kobenhavn with Romanian or Danish commentary than just stadium sound, but that's just a preference. I would rather have a game with stadium sound than no game at all. But the list above is a different thing because it boils down to professionalism, whereas stadium sound v. commentary in the Europa League games probably boils down to what's available. And I have repeatedly said similar things about commentary in the US. Again, beyond Danny Lee, who really has no business doing sports announcing, my only problem is that the announcers in the US don't seem to pay attention to the sport; they often know less than I do and it's not my job. Do the research; be professional, as we see with Derrick Lee and Adrian Healey.