EPL Talk » ESPN Classic

ESPN To Acquire Premier League TV Rights? Roundtable Discussion

The Gaffer — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:00:57 +0000

According to a recent article in The Times newspaper, the Walt Disney Company has expressed an interest in bidding for the TV rights to the Premier League in the United Kingdom and United States. The next auction of broadcast rights is due to start next January for the 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons.

If ESPN wins the broadcast rights, the impact will be huge for soccer fans in the UK and US. At EPL Talk, we decided to ask our fellow bloggers to examine what an ESPN soccer world would look like in this roundtable discussion:

Richard Whittall: Much has been promised in the long and dubious history of soccer-promotion in the United States, but getting European club football on a major US sports network is probably the only way to finally break through the infamous ‘American exception.’ The best example comes from your friendly northern neighbours. While local media were quick to attribute Toronto FC’s success to the multicultural make-up of the city, the real reason had to do with the fact that European club football had been available on basic cable for several decades (something I wrote about shortly after Euro 2008). Younger sports fans discovered the game by chance, and when TFC came to town they were more than happy to get a taste of club football for themselves. Forcing fans of the game to order specialty channels makes a good buck but does nothing to grow your audience. Club football has a universal appeal, and exposing uninitiated fans to the European game will do more for American soccer than the World Cup, NASL or MLS ever could; it could be the breakthrough soccer converts have been waiting for.

Jeffrey Hash: It’s not a stunning admission to me. ESPN has been talking about expanding internationally, and the acquisition of rights to the Twenty20 Champions League in cricket worldwide or the North American Sports Network, which is to be rebranded ESPN in Europe, show they are looking outward. The issue is how deep into their pockets will they go to take on two broadcasters with paying subscribers backing up their wallets and a league that doesn’t need the ESPN machine to build its name. Unless ESPN is willing to stomach a sizable initial loss to muscle its way in, I expect this will end up being more talk than action.

Michael James: A successful bid by ESPN for TV rights to the Premier League here in the US would be the next, necessary step towards growing soccer in this country. MLS certainly isn’t going to accomplish that, and Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta aren’t in enough households to do it either. When ESPN televises something, any sport, they do it right, and they spare no expense. They’d cover the Premier League well enough for hardcore soccer fans here but simplify it enough for newcomers to be able to pick up the game. I think this would be a huge move in the right direction.

Juan Arango: My opinion would be that it’s not a bad thing. They are making a real push to become a real player worldwide in football. What they did in Euro 2008 was a big first step towards what they want to do in the long term. That plus their exclusivity with the Champions League is going to be crucial. Fox Soccer Channel could be in hot water if they decide to rival them here in the States. There is still talk of ESPN Classic becoming more of a soccer network, per se and that can’t be done without the Premiership.

The Gaffer: While I agree with many of the opinions mentioned above, the one thing I have a very difficult time is picturing a scenario in the United Kingdom where Sky Sports would be playing second fiddle. If it wasn’t for Sky, the Premier League wouldn’t be where they are today — for better or for worse. I can see both ESPN and Sky Sports sharing the rights to football in the UK, which could drive Setanta Sports out of business. In the United States, I predict we’ll end up with ESPN owning the rights and showing the big games, while Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports will show the other games.

What do you think? Share your opinion by clicking the comments link below. Thanks to Juan Arango for the idea for this roundtable discussion.

Viewership Numbers For ESPN Euro ‘08 Broadcasts So Far Are Not Bad

Jeff Hash — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:16:20 +0000

So, after having over 1 million viewers tune in for the UEFA Champions League Final last month, how is ESPN doing with the early broadcasts for Euro 2008? The answer is not as well as the final, but fairly decent overall. According to the Associated Press, these were the numbers for each game broadcast over the first three days:

Saturday (ESPN Classic)
Switzerland v Czech Republic- 169,000
Portugal v Turkey- 291,000

Sunday (ESPN2)
Austria v Croatia- 445,000
Germany v Poland- 683,000

Monday (ESPN2)
France v Romania- 393,000
Netherlands v Italy- 553,000

Note that these numbers are just for the English language broadcast, and doesn’t include the ESPN Deportes Spanish language broadcast. Do the math, and it comes out to an average of 422,000 viewers per match. While ratings are dependent on households tuned in and not total viewers, that would suggest an average rating of .3 so far. While expected due to being available in more households, all four matches on ESPN2 did better than the two shown on ESPN Classic. The four games shown on ESPN2 had an average audience of over a half-million.

For ESPN, these numbers are ok, given these are group stage matches and not the more dramatic all-or-nothing knockout rounds. The best news of the bunch maybe the over 500,000 for Netherlands v Italy, given that was squarely in the middle of the American workday. Now ESPN will be looking for these numbers to build as the tournament goes on, especially with the final airing on broadcast network ABC. In reality, while good numbers early are nice to have, it will be the numbers at the end that will determine how much of a success ESPN’s Euro 2008 broadcast will be.

Euro 08 Coverage From ESPN Classic

The Gaffer — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:00:15 +0000

In the United States, ESPN Classic has kicked off their build-up to the coverage of Euro 2008 with a bang. In addition to the nightly broadcast of classic encounters from previous European Championships, the TV network is also airing the Euro 2008 Preview Show, a 30-minute show hosted by James Richardson from The Guardian’s Football Weekly Podcast fame.

Each of the 30 minute episodes are different. Each one introduces you to several of the teams playing in Euro 2008 with analysis of the teams, as well as player and manager interviews. The shows are well produced and remind me a lot of the TV show Futbol Mundial — educational but entertaining.

During Euro 2008, ESPN will also be broadcasting the best Euro 2008 match of the day on replay at 5pm every day, as well as airing the Euro Today Show at 7pm every night.

TV Schedule for European Championship Matches On ESPN Classic

The Gaffer — Tue, 27 May 2008 02:14:42 +0000

If you live in the United States and you have ESPN Classic on your satellite or cable package, you’re in for a treat over the next two weeks. Earlier today (Monday, May 26), ESPN Classic broadcasted the 1972 European Championship final between West Germany and USSR. If you’re like me, you missed it (ESPN Classic has no plans to show the matches again in the near future, so set your DVRs).

Thankfully, ESPN Classic has more European Championship Finals in store. Each weekday night at 7pm ET between now and the beginning of Euro 2008, the TV network will air all of the Euro finals from 1972 to 2004.

Here’s the schedule:

Monday, May 26, 7pm ET:
West Germany v USSR, 1972 Final

Tuesday, May 27, 7pm ET:
Czechoslovakia v West Germany, 1976 Final

Wednesday, May 28, 7pm ET:
West Germany v Belgium, 1980 Final

Thursday, May 29, 7pm ET:
Spain v France, 1984 Final, 1984 Final

Friday, May 30, 7pm ET:
Netherlands v Russia, 1988 Final

Monday, June 2, 7pm ET:
Denmark v Germany, 1992 Final

Tuesday, June 3, 7pm ET:
Germany v Czech Republic, 1996 Final

Wednesday, June 4, 7pm ET:
France v Italy, 2000 Final

Thursday, June 5, 7pm ET:
Portugal v Greece, 2004 Final