Thanks "aussiecanada"... I am now good to go and ready to watch my Gunners tomorrow.

Cheers.... Gary

Apparently having to pay extra for sports is a growing trend:Get ready for a big hit in the pocketbook
Sep 07, 2007 04:30 AM
Chris Zelkovich
Toronto Star

Ladies and gentlemen, take out your wallets.

If you're still trying to figure out how much this week's sports broadcasting announcements will cost you, you'd better realize that this is only the beginning.

Let's add up the recent bills.

The new Toronto Maple Leafs regional deal means that 20 of the team's games – almost one-quarter of the schedule – are now exclusive to the team's digital outlet Leafs TV.

It's true that thanks to a deal with Rogers Cable, a lot of people will now get the channel for no extra charge. But Leaf fans without digital terminals could be looking at $7 to $12 more a month on their cable bills.

Rugby fans learned this week that if they want to watch anything other than Canada's first-round games, they'll have to pay $24.99 a game.

And soccer fans are still reeling from the shock of facing a $14.99 a month bill (plus digital terminal) to watch English soccer games they used to get as part of their basic cable package.

But here's a bigger shock: Many observers see this as only the tip of the iceberg.

"That isn't to say that free TV is going to die and go away, but you're going to see more and more of this type of thing," said IMG Canada vice-president Peter Sisam. "The MLB channel is coming in 2009 and I expect more down the road."

On one hand this is a great bonanza, at least for those who can afford it. If you have the desire to subscribe to your favourite team's channel or the all-darts channel, then you'll soon have the opportunity.

But you will pay.

"It's good for the networks and cable companies and it's good for fans, but it's going to be a lot more expensive," Sisam said.

The reason networks and cable companies do this kind of thing is the same reason dogs lick their nether regions: They can.

"It's what the market will bear," said Sisam. "Once Leafs TV found that people would pay for it, they put more games on. People want to watch their favourite team or favourite show, regardless of the cost."

Well, at least some people.

Those who can't afford $200 cable packages will have to do with less. An extra $7 a month may seem like pocket change to most of us, but not everyone is so lucky.

Don't be shocked if the day comes when even the biggest sports events on so-called "free" television disappear into the world of specialty channels.

If the IOC, for example, decided enough people would pay enough for an Olympic subscription, what would stop it from keeping the Games to itself?

Even deals that seem innocuous could end up lightening your wallet. With Rogers Sportsnet paying almost $700,000 a game for Leaf rights, the channel could lose $400,000 on each game it broadcasts.

And while it might gain some of that back through higher ratings, one wonders how Ted Rogers might make up the difference.

MORE SOCCER: The women's World Cup opens Monday in China and CBC will supply live coverage of all 32 games, though most will be available only on broadband. CBC TV will have 12, including all of ninth-seeded Canada's games starting Wednesday morning. CBC Country Canada (digital) will also have three live games and several repeats. ... The Score has added to its soccer coverage with a magazine show called International Football Factories Sundays at 10 p.m. ... The FAN will be running those Bob McCown promos for at least another four years. McCown has signed a new deal running through 2011.

This article isn't 100% accurate - for the Rugby World Cup Canada's games will be on RSN but 25 first round games will be live on Setanta and other games will be shown on a delayed basis. Sure you have to pay $15/month (at least after Sep 10 or so) but that is a heck of a lot better than $25/game.

There was a time before the EPL season started when I was ready to fly out of the gate and immediately sign up for Setanta, but quite frankly because of what transpired during the Preview period, I've now had second thoughts. I don't think I am prepared to pay a monthly fee based on what was presented during the Preview. Despite all their claims in the blurbs they sent, there were quite a lot of important games/tournaments that were never shown, England v Germany for one and the under 17 competition.

It also struck me that even as an avid fan, and even with the ability to record games for future viewing, I don't think I wish to spend most of my weekends watching game after game after game and I have no interest whatsoever in Rugby. So compared to what we had before with TSN and FSW, I don't think Setanta is really worth the extra $15/month. If there isn't a reluctance to go along with these changes demonstrated then it won't be long before we witness an inexorable movement towards more of them.

I agree with Chris Zelkovich, the camel now has his nose in the tent, and eventually any TV programs worth watching will ultimately become PPV.
Soon it will become fees for time spent viewing on top of the program fees. But, as with the cellphones, the younger generation will no doubt eagerly subscribe, caring not for the fact that they altered the cost structure on which such services were formerly based.

"...caring not for the fact that they altered the cost structure on which such services were formerly based."


???

Get real.

Get real ? :rolleyes:

When the Internet first appeared on the scene, the people in the UK complained that we in North America enjoyed an advantage when we didn't pay any more than the monthly charge for the use of telephone lines regardless of the amount of time we spent on-line, whereas they paid for every minute they used their phones while on-line. Now we have the situation where the use of cellular phones here in North America today is based on the amount of time spent using the phones and not just a straight monthly charge, which is similar to the situation that the UK people were complaining about. You threw away an advantage we once enjoyed, and you're doing it again with TV, because you don't stop and think first and you're not prepared to make sacrifices for a cause. And don't think that the service providers aren't aware of that fact.

all I can say is thank god for the internet, I can download all the games I want & I can also watch streams if I really want even though the commentary isn't in English.

just for interest, the England v Germany game was shown the next evening and next week's France v Scotland euro tie is live on Setanta.
Robin

Thanks, but I was aware of the England v Germany game being made available later on, but don't you think that when Setanta is promoting their service via their Preview that you would at least get to see such games live ? I don't know who is behind preventing such games being made available live, but do they ever stop to think that it has to be counter productive to promoting the game outside of the UK.

I think part of the problem with Setanta is they take a live feed from one of their channels in the UK & they don't edit out the promos which confuses us.
I'm not paying $15/month for that service, the programming is suspect, the schedule is also suspect at times as well.
IMHO it's worth no more than $5 a month.

all you guys complaining about Setanta forget the old days of having to rummage through the papers looking for a one line score of an English game, or having to wait to sit with Graham Leggit to watch week old highlites, yes the service isnt perfect but I will take that over what I use to have to go through just to get the score of my beloved red team from Merseyside

as for watching it on the net sure you can do that, but I will take paying for it any day over a blurry view on my 14 inch screen in a language I dont speak.

I totally agree with you, but us Canadians aren't used to paying more on top of our monthly TV bill for these type of services & if we do, I at least would expect them to be worthy of the $15 a month. At times FSW looks more professional than Setanta.

I can hardly forget those days and more and I managed to survive through them all during the last half century since arriving in this country, but in my book, if TSN and FSW can manage to do a good job and survive while bringing us EPL matches, why do we need this Setanta outfit to come along and try and make a bundle out of a product that is no better than we had before ... where Soccer is concerned ?

I agree with Kingbe71, especially based on their performance during the Preview, that they are only worth maybe $5/month, but quite frankly I don't see them providing more EPL/International coverage than we had before. Let them then separate Soccer from all the other sports they professed to cover and pro rate them $5/mo for soccer and $10/mo for all the other sports.

I think they are still trying to work out the rough edges its a new service here remember, what gets me is this World Cup of Rugby coverage, its all over the place, a major world sporting event and Canada is involved in it, and we are getting Canada's games and a few here and there, I am doing the opposite of soccer, yearning for the days of yore when Sportsnet carried the majority of this tournament for free, ah well I am a casual rugby fan but I will take what I can get hehhehe

What gives with this world we live in today ? Micro$oft after five years of testing can decide that their incomplete Vista OS is ready for marketing and actually sell a "work-in-progress", not just a S/W program but an actual Operating System no less. Vendors on eBay put merchandise up for sale that is damaged and can add quips such as " Broken, but with a little effort can be repaired." (So why can't the vendors put in a little effort before putting their items up for sale ?) And now we have Setanta asking for $15/mo for a service "they are still trying to work out the rough edges" on. All I can say is that money must be coming really cheap these days when we're confronted with sub-standard merchandise at non-discounted prices. :rolleyes:

Good news - just heard today from Shane O'Rouke (President of Setanta Canada) that they have reached an agreement with ESPN/TSN to carry the 3rd and 4th choice games. TSN usually carries the 1st game live the and the 2nd tape delayed.

Free preview just over but I called in 2 days ago to subscribe but seems to be a network problem. All I get is a "not authorized" message on the screen. Very frustrating just when I was watching Slovakia vs Ireland. I called into Rogers to complain and the tech guy said they will credit me for the inconvenience. Hopefully, it will be up within 24h as there is Rugby and Euro qualifiers I must PVR.

Yeah, I called in too, this is a known issue and Rogers is working on it. No ETA.

Is it not a coincidence that Setanta Canada are showing the Rugby World Cup and Rogers also have the Rugby World Cup Package channel and now we have to subscribe to Setanta it ain't working. Or am I too cynical?

Strange, I am on Shaw and they still have Setanta Sports for free.