http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=255422&cc=5901 And the kicker--it cost's '12 quid', which roughly translates to 20 bucks a month!
The last line in the article: "Anyone interested in an unread copy of 'Lexicon Devil -_ The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and The Germs'?" Did I miss something? How does this relate to the rest of the article?
Not really germaine, except I think he was just trying to make a joke to tie it to his inital comment about reading the books he received for x-mas...purely for ornamentation value, the main thrust of the article lies elsewhere.
Re: Re: Interesting article on German Equivalent of "FSW"... I think the writier said in the opening of the article that he usually read the books he gets for Christmas over the winter break, but won't be able to finish them because of Premiere. From article: "The problem with the winter break is that there's too much football. In theory, this should be the time of year when you reacquaint yourself with the names of your family members or read all the books you got for Christmas." So I guess he wouldn't be able to read 'Lexicon Devil -_ The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and The Germs'?" because he's too busy watching soccer (lucky SOB).
Thanks for the clear-up, guys. The boss is doing a supervisory lurk today, so I'm not able to read things as closely as I'd like.
After re-reading the article again, some things I've gleaned/tried to logically deduce: 1. This "Premiere" cable network truly seems like a fan's 'wet dream'; you can channel surf and follow literally almost anything and everything from any and all leagues. 2. I would imagine that the standard of living of Germans is roughly, more-or-less, equal to that of Americans. Furthermore, the cost of this network is realatively inexpensive ($20/month). By comparision, I have to now pay $52 a month to AT&T just to get one friggin station-FSW; cable rates went up again this January for like the upteenth time! 3. I would classify Germans, like their compatriots in rest of the world (and unlike the bulk of Americans, alas) to constitute a "football-loving people". This point needs no further clarification, given that it is the national sport there. It would, therefore, make sense that this endeavor would be a financial success. However... 4. Unfortunately, the network is not succeeding in getting the number of subscribers it will need in order to merely break even and is, in fact, operating in the red. On this issue, here's a relevant point made by the author, as he discusses the price of the network: "I say 'only twelve quid' because it's a moderate sum by European standards. However, it becomes a substantial amount if you, like many German fans, adhere to the idea that football is still the people's game, not a commodity, and that people have the fundamental right to follow it without having to calculate the costs".
Most of the countries interested in football have channels tailored towards international soccer. In the U.K. it's Sky, in Portgual it's SporTV, in Germany it's Premiere. In Hong Kong, there are three channels - ESPN Asia - Star Sports - Cable Sports that practically give you all the European games you see in the U.S. (EPL, Serie A, Bundesliga, la Liga), plus some that you don't see (la Liga). In Thailand, the channels are - ESPN Asia - Star Sports - SuperSports - SuperSports Gold This is a schedule of the games available in Hong Kong and Thailand this past weekend. EPL: Man U x Chelsea, Blackburn x Birmingham, Newcastle x Man C, Southampton x Liverpool, Arsenal x West Ham, Fulham x Middlesborough Serie A: Reggina x Bologna, Perugia x Inter, Chievo x Juventus la Liga: Barcelona x Valencia, Real Madrid x Atletico Madrid All the games are televised live. People in that part of the world watch football for gambling, not for love of the game. The "delay until Monday afternoon EPL (Blackburn x Birmingham)" BS simply won't work there. Even the FSW 2-hour delay of the EPL game on Saturday won't wash there. There way I see it, ignoring live vs. delay, there are 5 games in Canada that are not available in Asia: Milan x Piacenza and Villareal x Espanyol, and 3 French League Cups: Sochaux x Lyon, Olympique Marseilles x Creteil, Guingamp x Nantes. There is 1 game in the U.S. that's not available in Asia: Villareal x Espanyol. There are 4 games in Asia that are not available in Canada: Barca x Valencia, the Madrid derby, Blackburn x Birmingham, Southampton x Liverpool. There are 3 games in Asia that are not available in the U.S.: Barca x Valencia, the Madrid derby, Reggina x Bologna.
You shouldn't complain (aside from the cold weather in Chicago), Time Warner in Austin charge me $75 for digital cable (with two cable boxes).