http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-08-22/us-world-cup-road-qualifiers-on-bein-sport-usa This deserves its own thread, for those of us with Directv this is a score and even those who dont have it -your local sports bars (all American outlaw/USA soccer affiliated bars) does have it so this will mean easier to watch for us all. great news- this is not a Bein thread, rather a thread to finally celebrate that ALL USA soccer games will be broadcast and readily available.
Just a note that BeInSports deal with Traffic Sports is for ALL CONCACAF qualifiers - except Mexico games and USA home games. Its not only the USA road games that they bring to the network. Mexico home games on Univision. Mexico road games on Telemundo. USA home games on ESPN (english) and Univision (spanish) All other qualifiers on BeInSports. SA www.socertvblog.com
Hmm so they get all CONMEBOL qualifers and most of CONCACAF? I know they said the south america ones would be live but with this news I'd have to imagine that's changed now. Maybe they plan showing some on tape delay
In order to show live coverage of Jamaica v USA on Friday, September 7th, BeInSports will not be able to show Argentina v Paraguay (7:10pm kickoff) and Peru v Venezuela (9:15pm) live on the main network. Certainly both will be delayed on the "1" channel but they could show both matches on the "2" live. Hopfully, the days of PPV for CONMEBOL qualifiers is over but they could conceivably put the Argentina/Paraguay (the best tie of the round) on PPV. We're barely a week into BeInSports existence but its time to start demanding BeInSports-3, BeInSports-4, etc... SA www.soccertvblog.com
The last 3 paragraphs of that article: Integrated Sports president Doug Jacobs said his company has World Cup qualifying match rights for matches involving El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala in the next two months and will air them live on pay-per-view via pacts with In Demand, DirecTV and Dish, among other distributors. For its part, BeIN Sport says it will be able to air those and other non-U.S. CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers on tape in September and October. In addition to the U.S. team's away games, the two BeIN sport networks will also be able to air the other CONCACAF hexagonal matches, excluding Mexico's, live in 2013. So that means that BeInSports will have full rights to "the other" (non-US) matches starting in calendar year 2013. Integrated have the rounds in 2012 with BeInSports showing those matches on delay only. Was a deal done with Integrated for the 2012 matches or were they already rightholders thru 2012? Doesn't sound right that qualifiers were sold prior that only went through 2012. Normally rights for qualifiers will go through the full cycle. I'm guessing a deal between Integrated and BeIn was done... SA www.soccertvblog.com
Obviously CONMEBOL and CONCACAF are different but CONMEBOL switched mid-stream during the last cycle. Gol had early matches and then ESPN had the rights for the second half of the qualifiers. Then some deal was struck with Setanta and Setanta showed English games on delay with English commentary.
Man well that kind sucks. I enjoyed seeing some away games on ESPN. I remember watching U.S. and Costa Rica in Costa Rica on ESPN in the 2010 World Cup Qualifying. Its the one that stuck out in my mind the most for some reason.
Im not sure. I guess they lost the rights. I do remember watching away games on there that was qualifying games. It may have been only that Costa Rica game. It was not in HD. Im just not for sure.
Traffic Sports owns the rights to USA away games and asked exuberant prices. Its not that ESPN or FOX didn't want the games, they just didn't see the point of losing money on the games! The games then ended up on PPV. We're actually lucky BeIn came along as far as US road qualifiers are concerned. Without them shelling out the cash, the games would have been PPV only. SA www.soccertvblog.com
Not sure of complaint here- USA road games were on PPV and were not avialable Now they will be on BEin which is available by Directv which is carried by every sports bar in America Home games on ESPN and some friendlies on NBCS That means for the first time all USA games are available without PPV and easy to watch at any USA soccer/American Outlaws affiliated bar for those without Direct/Dish/Comcast seems fair to me even
I simply dont have BeIN. Thats the complaint. At one point it in time it was easy for EVERYBODY to watch the away games and it wasnt even on PPV. But oh well. I can deal with the matchcenter on ussoccer.com. I get to watch them play in Jamaica though due to the free preview on Dish.
If the prices were so exuberant - why did beIN Sports pay it. I am a marketplace guy. If someone in the marketplace pays the price. It was the right price. The problem is the US Fed discounts the home games so much - it's easy for ESPN to buy them. Well, now ESPN doesn't need to buying road qualifiers and someday may not need to worry about buying home qualifiers either. Maybe the FED could make more money selling the home games to beIN. SA www.soccertvblog.com[/quote]
[/quote] BeIN has been overpaying for rights all over the place to stockpile them. They are trying to become the most important soccer channel and to do that they have to have the rights to things. They are currently not in "make money" mode, but "get popular" mode. Once they reach a certain level of viewership they can command more money from cable and satellite providers to carry their channel. That's why they have been overpaying for everything. Spend a lot now to make a little later.
Again, I am a marketplace guy. If someone in the marketplace is willing to pay the price. That is what the product is worth. ESPN chose not to pay the price. Ok. At the time of the Guatemala match - no one in the marketplace was willing to pay what Traffic wanted. Now there is. Not saying ESPN is wrong. They may have to adjust their view of the marketplace. Do they try and compete with beIN or not? Next cycle maybe beIN overpays ( in your opinion) for the home qualifiers as well. Then the FED has a decision. Do they go with beIN and take the money? Or, continue giving ESPN a home country discount for lack of a better term.
The USSF selling WCQ rights to BEIN would be foolish unless BEIN obtains ESPN level distribution by next cycle. BEIN buying USMNT away rights was a no brainer. Traffic was asking too much for it to be profitable for media companies who have to make a profit. This is why they end of on PPV, especially games against Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador (big PPV draws for Traffic). Enter a company like BEIN who has tons of funds in reserve and does not need to make an immediate profit. They get quality games, Traffic gets their ransom, and the games are not on PPV. BEIN >PPV
The product is "worth that amount" only if the seller agrees to sell at that price. (seller's can turn down "higher" offers if there are legitimate business reasons for taking some other deal. MLS/SUM reportedly did this recently with NBCSN/NBC and the wider distribution offered on those outlets relative to the "more cash" but less homes reached deal that Fox Soccer apparently put forward. and the EPL may very well make the same decision to prevent beIN, even with their financial resources, from buying up the next set of EPL rights if those games won't get into the same number of homes that Fox Soccer -- with a sub-license of certain games to ESPN - can get the games into. "Exposure" can and will be important to soccer leagues, even if "more exposure" and a greater reach into more homes might come with "less cash" involved with the sale price.) beIN is just getting into "the marketplace" for televised soccer in the US. It is not any easy gig. I'm not certain they have the knowledge or ability to accurately "set" (or help determine) what a product is worth in this new marketplace for them. (They don't yet have the marketplace "covered/reached" in the same sense that a few other sports tv networks do.) It will be interesting to see how this moves forward, but beIn's approach (and the financial resources behind it) makes for an interesting case study about "marketplaces."
So if beIn came in and said that we will triple what ESPN pays for the home qualifiers the people in Chicago wouldn't say hmmmm. I am told that the FED (in a previous thread ) gives away the rights to home qualifiers. I was assured that the USMNT audience is so small it doesn't matter to ESPN. My understanding is US Soccer runs on a pretty tight budget. If someone approached you and for arguments sake say ESPN pays 500,000 for all the qualifiers. beIN comes in and says we will pay you 2.5 million. You tell me US Soccer couldn't use the extra two million dollars?
I understand , but last cycle had us watching games on poor streams because of non-broadcast, PPV, or some non widely carried network (mun2) Point is games are now available to good portion of soccer fans and if you were going to fork over 30 bucks for PPV might as well go to local soccer bar get a burger and a couple of beers and have a better time than being at home Lets face facts- those streams will still be available anyhow for those who need
No one has been able to explain to me what happened I get Traffic had the rights - why didn't ESPN, Fox, NBC Sports bid?