I think the loss of 606 would be terrible. Whatever we think of Auntie the site is accessible, linked to sports news articles, easy to use and the cross club links are superb. But there's a couple of things I like on here. I think the ability to block users is excellent and would've taken the wind out of the sails of many a WUM on the Beeb. Wouldn't this make it cheaper to run? The other funny thing is that I am seriously considering not having a TV licence next year! We so rarely watch live TV that I don't think I want to pay up any more. The axeing of 606 made me think of that as a serious possibility. Could the threat of a revolt of this kind force a rethink? Probably not. But you only need a licence if you have the capability of watching live TV. Watch iplayer only and you don't need one.
Aunty606 like all monoliths is immovable and impervious to reason.Withholding your licence fee might make you feel better but all she"ll do is go out and find other "streams of revenue" or cash cows to milk.Let the old biddy mutter her last few words and pull the sheet over her and those ****ing awful mods.ITS A NEW DAY.ITS A NEW DAWN.ITS A NEW LIFE.FOR ME AND IM FEELING GOOD!
Hi NobbysTeeth, It's not a question of 'withholding', the axing of 606 made me consider whether or not I need it, and I'm coming to the conclusion I could live very happily without it.
Another useful facility that seems to have vanished is ADTHE , the website where you could watch live footer streamed to the internet from Sky, Fox etc . It has been closed down by the US dept of Homeland Security Spoilsports! If any one finds that it has popped up somewhere else, please let us all know!
This whole area of "rights" is a minefield. I have often watched games via ADTHE and wonder why the US wishes to prevent me seeing Gateshead v AFC Wimbledon on a cold Friday evening. OK they are worried that I might wish to see baseball, but I can assure them that I don't. The BBC prevents me from watching iPlayer yet sends signals up to a satellite that I can see. BBC Radio5 live disappears from the computer as soon as there is any football, yet I can listen in via the same satellite. All very strange! The landlady in Portsmouth has just been told by the EU that she is not breaking the law by choosing to show football in her pub when she buys a decoder that is cheaper than the one Sky insist she should have. Going back to the original point of watching live TV, I have found that you can live very well without it. Three years of doing so over here proved it. While you have plenty to do why watch some of the rubbish that is provided under the heading of " entertainment ". Maybe now I watch three hours in a week, but that is rather different to many who will sit in front of "the box" no matter what is on. Maybe pay per view TV would make people consider just how much they really want to see.
I find the lack of BBC 3CR bad. When I can listen to the two idiots on BBC Radio London commentating on the Watford v Crystal Palace match and not have the local radio cover the game instead this is strange. I understand the BBC are cutting costs but if you have reporters in the town why send two from somewhere else to report on an event, it all the extra money needed to be spent.
The BBC is operating under the false illusion that it has the monoply on TV in the UK! and if they dont wake up soon the bbc will become a minor bit player in broadcasting! Would be interesting if someone took the bbc to european court on the grounds of restrictive trade practices!!!!!!
Be careful with that plan SLB - I seem to remember being told that you still need a tv licence if you have a device (eg PC or laptop) that is capable of receiving tv broadcasts, regardless of whether or not you watch them. I'd check it out with the licencing authority first.
Not sure I even want to use iPlayer given the abysmal coverage of the game yesterday. But to answer the core question....according to TV licensing about watching TV on the internet... You need to be covered by a licence if you watch TV online at the same time as it's being broadcast on conventional TV in the UK or the Channel Islands All this seems so old-fashioned as you need a "BBC" licence to watch ITV and others. I don't think we can yet withdraw from paying this fee ("tax" as it is not really optional).
ADTHE seems to have been removed after a complaint by the Premier League. http://www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?sID=37687
Well found OFH , so nice to know we live in a world of readily available information and no big brother scenarios exist!
The current model of broadcasting live football in the UK via one subscription broadcaster who has exclusive UK rights (and can thus charge a fortune to subscribers and pubs) is surely unsustainable. Someone like ADTHE , based in Croatia or somewhere, will surely start to stream broadcasts to the internet again, so we can all watch for free, and U.K. pubs will be able to get their games from other broadcasters. The Premier League will then no longer be able to demand so much money for broadcasting rights, drastically reducing the revenue the PL clubs get and restoring some sanity to players wages. Sky will find its revenue reducing , so it will not be able to overpay stupid presenters like Andy Grey. All very good. In retrospect, we will come to see that much more of the 20 year Sky windfall that mostly found its way to the PL clubs should have been invested back into the game , and much less of it handed to players and agents to squander. A wasted opportunity.
It is just possible that if HMRC can make this stick, there will be less players getting huge sums for very little. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...sea-stars-face-12m-tax-image-right-deals.html It might also help the exchequer out a bit!
That is all to the good, but what we really need is for these players wages to come down --too much of the revenue of clubs is going out in players wages. Even now Watford spend most of their revenue on wages.With a reduction in wages more revenue would be available for investment in the infrastructure of the club . player development, fan facilities and community projects.Even perhaps more affordable ticket prices! It is a bit of a consolation to know that a portion of these currently huge wages comes back to the taxman (and more should) to be spent on public services, or keeps car salesmen, night club owners, estate agents etc in work . But player wage inflation has distorted the economics of the game at every level. You can see how adept the players and their advisors are in getting even more of the pie for themselves, so changing the current culture will not be easy.
Roger. Spot on. My business 101 training (ie learned by experience) is that successful businesses have high gross margins (ie the cost of producing the product is significantly lower than the purchase price), which allows businesses to develop (eg R&D, infrastructure, er profit!). I think we are seeing some of this happen - John E taking a wage cut; Andrew T and others - at Championship level. But the problems stem as we all think from an unsustainable business model in the Prem - the rewards for success appear to be great but the price of failure high. If UEFA's rules get through in anything like a sensible fashion, then the principle that a club should run at a profit has to be applauded.
