They are strange times though and you can't blame @Tykeored for erring on the side of caution. You say we 'need to get back to doing normal things as soon as possible.' I was planning on going to Italy for a few days in the next few weeks and now see a second spike may be on the cards, and quarantine for returning visitors etc and it's put me right off. Some will say the whole covid thing is b*llocks. That's their prerogative. I would love to go to a match right now and have it exactly as it was before, but it's not possible (note @Tykeored suggests a temporary solution 'until' the pandemic is put behind us). During a time when technically you're not even supposed to hug your own mother (if living in a separate household) then we cant just expect to rush back in through the turnstiles. Strange times indeed.
Yeah plenty had problems for that one game but it was pretty solid for me after that and the stream was a decent quality. I think the whole user experience where people buy a match pass is shockingly bad and has remained so for a long time. It must put people off.
Chris Whitty was saying yesterday it might be winter 2021-22 before a vaccine. If that's the case some people will be against full stadiums until then incase a rise in deaths happen. It's totally not economical to expect to wait maybe until the 2022-23 season for full crowds again. Football would be gone as we know it forever. Teams bust, others part time and regional leagues of a far lower standard than what we enjoy. The government need the money packed entertainment venues bring them in tax. They have to show some bulldog spirit and get back to normal so those of us who would feel safe in a stadium without restrictions can do and those who don't can continue to watch on iFollow.
Your putting words into my mouth. I’m not arguing about whether or not we should be allowed into the grounds it’s when will we be allowed to go back in that I’m concerned with. As things stand at the moment that won’t be before October and then only in limited numbers. Clubs cannot keep going for much longer with no or vastly reduced match day income. Ifollow is wholly owned by the EFL and providing that a deal can be struck with Sky then streaming games opens up a source income to offset the losses on gate receipts
My comments were more a response to the other poster's comments - 'you disagree with fans being let back in' - 'you disagree with fans going to a game' which isnt what @Tykeored said at all. A lot of this is out of our hands. I want to go back, but there has to be a plan b in the meantime and that's what tyke was saying, not 'fans shouldn't be allowed back' but 'maybe this could work as an alternative in the meantime'.
The upgrade (set to be completed this week) of ifollow is meant to move from 720hd to 1080p so they’ve told us. So should be even better to watch. I say should because it’s the EFL and making things simple isn’t their usual MO.
To get back to the original point and to summarise. 1) the club needs revenue 2) it will be a while before we can get back to normal 3) we can’t travel to away games 4) season ticket holders have already paid for home games and have a right to see them 5) Sky have done a deal with the EFL and iFollow is a potential source of income for clubs 6) we all spend money travelling to away matches so we have spending power 7) For this season there is a marketing opportunity to sell a streaming product. It could be a straight £10 per game, or it could be one of the following. a) home streaming season ticket, b) an away only season ticket for standard season ticket holders C) a home and away season ticket for non standard season ticket holders. Clubs love season tickets, because it’s guaranteed money up front. Why wouldn’t they want to do this for this season only?
You do realise surely, that those who’ve bought season tickets will receive streams? And there will be match passes for non season ticket holders. Basically, we are expecting similar to the last nine games of last season. But waiting for complete clarification from the EFL.
Wasn't the point previously made that they can't offer this because there is a strong possibility that not all matches will be available for streaming once fans can return to stadiums. So has to be done on a game by game basis.
My assumption is that of the head of the WHO who has stated that it could be two years before the Covid crisis is over. I also wonder if there will be a back to normal. I think 7000 season tickets is brilliant, but our average gate is much higher than that. We’re also losing revenue on the bar and the catering services. I watched all the games after lockdown and I enjoyed them. I’m trying to make a suggestion for how we may make a bit more money while we’re locked down. I used to live in Canada and watched hockey while I was there and I could get every game on TV. I suppose I’m asking what the future of football might be.
Meaning that season ticket holders will get free access to away games as well as home? If so that would be a great result to keep us going until normality returns
Do you know if that'll be for the whole season, or just until a certain number of fans are allowed back in?
You can easily use the service unless you are prepared to hook a laptop up to your TV set. There isn’t an Apple TV App for instance. I don’t think any other Smart TV Apps exist either. That’s not to say I had any difficulty using the service. But, it could be improved.
I genuinely can’t answer that. I would guess until fans are back. But like I say, this is all based on assumption until the EFL actually make it clear to clubs.