UEFA to sell England TV rights

Platini turns wheeler dealer selling TV rights

Yesterday the FA announced they have agreed a deal to allow UEFA to sell the TV rights for England games as part of a group deal involving all 53 UEFA members. 

The deal, which is believed to be worth £100m over four years for the English FA, means that the TV rights for England games for Euro 2016 and the World Cup 2018 will be sold collectively with the rest of the UEFA members. 

FA general secretary, Alex Horne, claims it is a creative solution and the deal is worth more than their current valuation and UEFA President Michel Platini said the collective bargaining is essential and will help develop national team football with all 53 UEFA members being guaranteed a fixed revenue.

There is very little information on exactly how this deal would work but it is something that is not uncommon in this country. The Premier League use this model of collective bargaining with the TV rights for live Premier League games being sold as package, ensuring a more even distribution of money throughout the league. Whereas in Italy and Spain teams sell their rights individually which often leads to the bigger and more popular clubs earning significantly more in TV revenue, distorting competition in the leagues.  

How this transcends into International football or what the benefits are I’m not too sure, maybe the likes of Luxemburg and San Marino will now have the funds to develop their infrastructure, whether this will happen in practice I’m not convinced. 

The biggest question for England fans (if we qualify for the Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018) will be who will UEFA sell the rights too and will this mean the end of the games being protected by the Queen as part of the sporting crown jewels that should be available on free to air channels?

Sky TV have already questioned the validity of this recently and were told that World Cup and European Championship games can and will remain as part of the protected Crown jewels, however with UEFA now selling the rights collectively it is highly likely that Sky or another pay TV channel from abroad will buy the rights and then sell them on domestically. 

I feel this is the end of England games in major tournaments being show on free to air TV, but who knows 2016 is a long way away and maybe, just maybe they will still be protected and maybe we will all be travelling to work on jetpacks!!

Source http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9432491.stm

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Cheltenham Final day tips

Not a bad day yesterday two winners, final day today so here are todays tips

13:30 - Houblon Des Obeauxat at 25/1
14:05 - Secret Dancer at 16/1
14:40 - Join Together at 8/1
15:20 - Midnight Chase at 14/1
16:00 - Oscar Delta at 20/1
16:40 - Shoegazer at 8/1
17:15 - Leos Lucky Star at 20/1

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Cheltenham Day 3 tips

OK so I didn't pick any winners yesterday but I'm feeling lucky today and there is a couple of favourites you just can't look beyond today.

Cheltenham Day 2 tips

13:30 – Wishful Thinking at 3/1

14:05 – Lush Life at 11/1

14:40 – Albertas run  at 6/1

15:20 – Big Bucks at evens

16:00 – I am legend at 33/1

16:40 – Fredo at 18/1

17:15 – Silent Jo – starting price

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Cheltenham Day 2 tips

Yes OK , I know this is not football related or anything to do with football, but I've been swept up in the office excitement of Cheltenham and after winning the office sweep stake last year (in an office of sports journalists and commentators)  and pulling in a profit from yesterdays bets thanks to Captain Chris, I’ve decided to share my daily Cheltenham tips with you.

Cheltenham Day 2 tips

13:10 – Aberdale at 10/1

14:05 – Tornado Bob at 11/1

14:40 – Aiteen thirtythree at 8/1

15:20 – Golden Silver at 12/1

16:00 – Orzare at 33-1

16:40 – Celtus at 11/1

17:15 – Saint Luke at 33/1

As for the bookies for Stan James, William Hill & Tote Sport are the bookies with the best odds and daily specials plus you can get a free £25 with them all.

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Can the FA Cup keep its magic?

It is quarter final time this weekend and we are down to the last eight teams and the excitement and buzz around the FA cup should be in full effect. However there is the lingering view that the FA Cup has lost its magic and with the FA currently exploring options to revamp the competition and Premier League teams more focused on either the title or staying in the division does the FA Cup still have the appeal to both clubs and fans?

In the wake of falling attendances and weakened teams there has been talk of seeding teams and abolishing replays as some ideas of how to revamp the cup and make it more appealing to a younger generation of fans who don’t quite understand the romance of the cup and have been raised on a diet of slick marketing from Sky and the Premier League. 

The other challenge the FA face is engaging the clubs again, as the FA cup has lost its importance to the majority of Premier League teams, who see survival or Premier League points as more important than a good cup run. It is clear the financial rewards for clubs staying in the Premier League far outweighs the rewards for a good cup run however for lower league clubs a good cup run and a draw against one of the bigger clubs is a financial windfall that can keep a club running for a whole season. The trick for the FA is to keep the magic of the cup and the appeal to the lower league clubs while engaging the Premier League clubs to view it as a serious competition.

The Man United v Arsenal is the pick of the quarter final ties but both fans and managers would take defeat if they knew they would win the Premier League and at the other end of the scale Stoke v West Ham, both fans and managers would happily lose the game if they could guarantee Premier League survival. Now I realise these are two rather extreme examples but looking back at earlier rounds Premier League teams across the board have one eye on their next league fixture rather than the cup game. 

Will seedlings help this? No, the beauty of the FA cup is the random draw, there would be no 3^rd round ties like Liverpool v Man United this season and it would also mean the dream of Championship or Football League teams progressing past the 4^th round would fade fast.  Seedings would actually devalue the cup even further and would spell the end of the FA Cup. 

Would abolishing replays help? Again, no! Lower league teams who get a home draw against a top club thrive of the chance of a replay and this move would crush this chance.

I think re-structuring the cup with regards when the games are played could have a rejuvenating effect, especially the 3^rd round which currently comes after a busy and expensive Christmas period  for fans and clubs. Also maybe playing the games mid-week would help to rejuvenate the cup rather than taking up Saturday afternoons for cup games. However both these suggestions would not increase the importance to Premier League clubs and the only way to do that would be to add more value to winning the famous trophy. 

Currently clubs get a place in the Europa League but if they were rewarded with a Champions League place then clubs would take the competition a lot more seriously, and they would at least be champions instead of the 4^th best team in England.  This radical suggestion will no doubt get vetoed by the greedy Premier League and how the clubs would view this, I’m not sure but I for one would welcome the added intensity and diversity this would bring to not only the FA cup but the whole of English football and the magic of the cup would certainly return.

The FA Cup games are live on ESPN and ITV this weekend, check out our site or download our funky Iphone app here to make sure you know what teams on what channel and at what time.

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Media Blackout – Fergies toys are out of the pram

It appears that Fergies toys are well and truly out of the pram after yesterdays full media blackout by the Manchester United boss. After the defeat to Liverpool yesterday at Anfield, Ferguson refused to speak to Sky Sports, Talk Sport and wouldn’t allow his assistance, Mike Phelan to speak to the BBC either. He is even refusing to speak to MUTV.

Fergie is furious with the media after the furore by the media who wanted “to electrocute Rooney” for his blatant elbow smash into the face of young Wigan midfielder James McCarthy and has now spat his dummy out after the clubs own TV channel MUTV submitted the interview to the FA where Ferguson was heavily critical of referee Martin Atkinson saying he “feared the worst” when he was appointed to the Chelsea game last week. 

The media blackout is not entirely new to Ferguson as he has not spoken to the BBC since 2004 after they aired a program accusing his son Jason of dubious activity when he was a football agent, but in this latest stunt he has laid out a full media blackout refusing to speak to any of the press.

The current rules of the Premier League state that interviews must be given to Sky Sports, Talk Sport and BBC as part of the media rights sold to the broadcasting companies and failure to do so can result in fines being imposed on the club. 

This latest outburst or blackout by Fergie is another example of Ferguson throwing his toys out of the pram if he doesn’t get what he wants or all his own way. This type of behaviour has been going on for years now and the Premier League have done nothing about it. He has been trying and succeeding in influencing referring decisions and the allocation of refs to Man United games for years with his disdain and open criticism of some refs and decisions and he will continue to do so while he gets away with it.

The Premier League have been too spineless to make an example of Ferguson and have let him ride roughshod over the rules for many years, the question is will they or even the broadcaster, who seem to be afraid of Fergie, have the balls to stand up and make an example of him this time?

The fact he is even shunning the clubs own TV station says a lot for Ferguson maybe hinting at his retirement at the end of this season if he can reach the elusive 19 league titles he set out to win way back in 1986. It will be interesting how long he continues with this stance and hwo the Premier League will deal with it, but do not expect much insight or comment from Ferguson for the rest of this season.

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