Why PPV is already a thing of the past
IN A development so thrilling even Paul Bell broke his four week silence on the subject of LUTV, it was announced this week that tomorrow’s home game against Millwall will be broadcast live to overseas subscribers on a pay-per-view basis.
Given that Leeds United fans’ fivers will this time acquire a product worth having – a real game of football – the online reaction was largely acquiescent, nothing like the storm that surrounded last month’s pair of PPV friendlies. Some went further, with esteemed blogger TSS reprising a recent claim that PPV is here to stay.
PPV is all-too-commonly confused with pay TV. Ken Bates did it when swatting away criticism of his £5 friendlies on Yorkshire Radio by stating that “there are pay-per-view games on Sky”, when there hasn’t been for over 3 years. No, PPV is not the future, and it’ll only be in the present as long as British football’s existing TV contracts remain an anachronism.
The game will soon drag its broadcasting deals out of the stone age towards something resembling the comprehensive value to fans of Major League Baseball’s astonishing MLB.tv, a package offering all 2,500 games a season live online for just $19.95 a month. Being exempt from the constraints of existing local TV deals means that, as with tomorrow’s LUTV broadcast, such packages are hugely favourable to the overseas viewer.
LUTV has the capability to simulcast all Leeds United home games, it’s just the rights that need development. PPV is a stepping stone along the way towards clubs being media companies that play football, and this will be reflected in broadcasting deals and, therefore, the packages on offer to the viewer.
Tomorrow’s show is groundbreaking, but football over here will quickly make huge strides with online scheduling and PPV will be forgotten along the way. You, the market, will see to that.
