TV or not TV

[andrew70]

The threat of the ‘firestick fan’ to Scottish football, what could be done to prevent this epidemic from being a threat and more engagement with the SPFL.


Would be interested to know what everyone’s thoughts are and why they maybe prefer their Firestick to, say, going to an away game?

https://open.substack.com/pub/andrewjeffrey/p/tv-or-not-tv?r=2f20qe&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

[JohnM1875]

Cost. Simple as that for me really.

Nothing will ever beat going to a game. Just too expensive. £80 for a year for me and I get access to every game. Still have a season ticket and go to all home games.

[Jones28]

Make more games available on TV for fans that either can't afford the time/money/both it takes to get to a match.

Albeit I am in a very different position to where I was even this time a year ago and can afford to go to more games this season - which I plan to do, family time will win the battle 99 times out of 100. Sitting down in front of a game in an afternoon vs spending the best part of the afternoon at a match are 2 quite different things.

But £80 for every game on your TV is too good to turn down.

[Musselbound]

I can't afford to attend matches at Easter Road any more - never mind away games. I do occasionally go to watch more affordable lower league football or Hibs women's team. Other than that, I find there is a lot of football to watch now on terrestrial TV. I don't have a Firestick but am also able to access a family member's subscription for some pay per view.

[DaveF]

Going to away games just isn't enjoyable anymore.

Searched, police filming, expensive, often poor viewing areas - it's easy to see why the fire stick option is appealing.

[The_Exile]

Less corporate greed and trying to squeeze every single penny and pound out of football fans. Firesticks or iterations thereof, will never die now that it costs well over £1,000 a year if you wanted access to the services which show live fitba/sport. How many subs do you need now to watch everything? Sky, TNT, Amazon Prime, Premier Sports. Anything I'm missing?

I would say Scottish fitba is in a relatively healthy state regardless of the pirate streams. I think we're still well top of the fans per capita league table that go to games.

[andrew70]

Cost. Simple as that for me really.

Nothing will ever beat going to a game. Just too expensive. £80 for a year for me and I get access to every game. Still have a season ticket and go to all home games.


Make more games available on TV for fans that either can't afford the time/money/both it takes to get to a match.

Albeit I am in a very different position to where I was even this time a year ago and can afford to go to more games this season - which I plan to do, family time will win the battle 99 times out of 100. Sitting down in front of a game in an afternoon vs spending the best part of the afternoon at a match are 2 quite different things.

But £80 for every game on your TV is too good to turn down.


I can't afford to attend matches at Easter Road any more - never mind away games. I do occasionally go to watch more affordable lower league football or Hibs women's team. Other than that, I find there is a lot of football to watch now on terrestrial TV. I don't have a Firestick but am also able to access a family member's subscription for some pay per view.


Going to away games just isn't enjoyable anymore.

Searched, police filming, expensive, often poor viewing areas - it's easy to see why the fire stick option is appealing.

I wonder if maximum pricing would help more get to games? £20 for an adult?

Or is the game too far gone nowadays?

I don’t have a firestick personally but with subscriptions to sky, bt, premier and others I am seriously tempted, albeit I don’t think that will stop me going to Hibs games.

The easiness of said sticks is what strikes me. As Jones28 said £80 for every game is madness when it’s near £30 to get to Tannadice before anything else.

[Gatecrasher]

Make Scottish football more accessible and affordable, there's a reason piracy exists, the music industry has managed to deal with this issue by making their products widely available and affordable whilst television has gone in the other direction. I hardly go to away games anyway so the firestick is perfect for me but I still have a season ticket.

You need multiple expensive subscriptions to follow Scottish football and the highlights take an age to appear online.

[andrew70]

Less corporate greed and trying to squeeze every single penny and pound out of football fans. Firesticks or iterations thereof, will never die now that it costs well over £1,000 a year if you wanted access to the services which show live fitba/sport. How many subs do you need now to watch everything? Sky, TNT, Amazon Prime, Premier Sports. Anything I'm missing?

I would say Scottish fitba is in a relatively healthy state regardless of the pirate streams. I think we're still well top of the fans per capita league table that go to games.

Yes we are but the worry is more turn to the firestick/pubs etc I think the SPFL and clubs need to be proactive about this rather than becoming complacent.

[erin go bragh]

The threat of the ‘firestick fan’ to Scottish football, what could be done to prevent this epidemic from being a threat and more engagement with the SPFL.


Would be interested to know what everyone’s thoughts are and why they maybe prefer their Firestick to, say, going to an away game?

https://open.substack.com/pub/andrewjeffrey/p/tv-or-not-tv?r=2f20qe&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Had a fire stick for a good few years and had my Season ticket for over 25 years
Go to 50% of away games but games i cant make its the fs.

[overdrive]

Going to away games just isn't enjoyable anymore.

Searched, police filming, expensive, often poor viewing areas - it's easy to see why the fire stick option is appealing.

Yep. I rarely go to away games these days. It was a game up at Pittodrie a few years ago (McLaren missed penalty game) that put me off. A steward wasn't going to let me in because I had my specs case in my jacket pocket. He wanted me to chuck it in the bin. Missed the first few minutes of the game because of arguing with him about it. Then you get in and the place is a crumbling mess. Add in the charlie crowd clogging up the toilets, it just isn't a very good experience. Been to a few away games since but not many and it tends to be the easier to get to ones and the ones where the stadiums are OK (Livi, St Johnstone, etc.)

Add in the KO times changing loads, getting sent to the other end of the country on a winter's Wednesday evening , etc.

[andrew70]

Yep. I rarely go to away games these days. It was a game up at Pittodrie a few years ago (McLaren missed penalty game) that put me off. A steward wasn't going to let me in because I had my specs case in my jacket pocket. He wanted me to chuck it in the bin. Missed the first few minutes of the game because of arguing with him about it. Then you get in and the place is a crumbling mess. Add in the charlie crowd clogging up the toilets, it just isn't a very good experience. Been to a few away games since but not many and it tends to be the easier to get to ones and the ones where the stadiums are OK (Livi, St Johnstone, etc.)

Add in the KO times changing loads, getting sent to the other end of the country on a winter's Wednesday evening , etc.

Yes County away coming up. Wednesday 30th October.

[Bishop Hibee]

I genuinely don’t know how folk with young families can afford away games. I don’t have a fire stick but I can see the attraction if you’re cash strapped. I do know folk who could afford to go to watch the team they support at home but sit on the couch and watch via a fire stick instead.

[Pretty Boy]

The lack of continuity with kick off times is a big deterrent for away days for me now. I don't have a huge amount of flexibility with time at the weekends due to my wife's work commitments; I can get fairly short notice childcare for a couple of hours for a Sunday home game, less so for a full day trip to Aberdeen or Kilmarnock.

I know there has been fair warning but the trip to Dundee in November is an example. A group of us had it marked as a big pre Christmas away day, guys who used to travel away every week now making a day of it a couple of times a season as a group. Booked trains to take advantage of the cheaper prices, leaving early doors and returning 1845. Game has now been changed to a 1745 kick off. We'll still go and just take the hit on a later train but that isn't going to be an option for everyone who maybe has other plans on the Saturday night or can't afford to double pay for transport. It's certainly not an option for me every other week; if I don't have some guarantee about scheduling then I can't commit and it's rare I have the option just to decide spur of the moment on a Thursday or Friday these days (and that's if it is even possible to buy a ticket on the day, another obstacle clubs like to put in the way nowadays).

It's almost a cyclical issue. I hate that the game is increasingly geared to the TV fan over the fan who wants to attend every week but because of the scheduling changes, often at short notice, I am increasingly becoming the TV fan when it comes to away days in particular.

As has been said it's also cost prohibitive as well. Kilmarnock a few weeks back was a joke for pricing. I tend to pick away games like St Johnstone and Motherwell to support clubs who at least try to make it affordable for families to attend as a group.

[Jones28]

I wonder if maximum pricing would help more get to games? £20 for an adult?

Or is the game too far gone nowadays?

I don’t have a firestick personally but with subscriptions to sky, bt, premier and others I am seriously tempted, albeit I don’t think that will stop me going to Hibs games.

The easiness of said sticks is what strikes me. As Jones28 said £80 for every game is madness when it’s near £30 to get to Tannadice before anything else.

I don't think its realistic to price games at that sort of level anymore either. Clubs need to fund themselves through supporters because the TV deal sure as hell isn't going to cut it and the leadership at the top level isn't dynamic enough to market our game better and get a TV deal that is adequate for anyone other then Celtic or Rangers fans. Sky subs are just a pass to watch whichever team is away from home that weekend.

Thats one reason that I won't go anywhere near Sky and have zero problem with people using IPTV. The only time I'd take issue is if the game was available on PPV and it was at ER, in which case I'd pay the £15.

[HarpOnHibee]

Corporations raise their prices to appease their share holders, sales then drop. Their solution to lower sales? Raise prices even further. Things have become increasingly more anti-consumer over the past decade or so. People have less money but are expected to spend more. Filter up economics in full swing.

[andrew70]

I genuinely don’t know how folk with young families can afford away games. I don’t have a fire stick but I can see the attraction if you’re cash strapped. I do know folk who could afford to go to watch the team they support at home but sit on the couch and watch via a fire stick instead.

it’s a struggle for me with one child.


The lack of continuity with kick off times is a big deterrent for away days for me now. I don't have a huge amount of flexibility with time at the weekends due to my wife's work commitments; I can get fairly short notice childcare for a couple of hours for a Sunday home game, less so for a full day trip to Aberdeen or Kilmarnock.

I know there has been fair warning but the trip to Dundee in November is an example. A group of us had it marked as a big pre Christmas away day, guys who used to travel away every week now making a day of it a couple of times a season as a group. Booked trains to take advantage of the cheaper prices, leaving early doors and returning 1845. Game has now been changed to a 1745 kick off. We'll still go and just take the hit on a later train but that isn't going to be an option for everyone who maybe has other plans on the Saturday night or can't afford to double pay for transport. It's certainly not an option for me every other week; if I don't have some guarantee about scheduling then I can't commit and it's rare I have the option just to decide spur of the moment on a Thursday or Friday these days (and that's if it is even possible to buy a ticket on the day, another obstacle clubs like to put in the way nowadays).

It's almost a cyclical issue. I hate that the game is increasingly geared to the TV fan over the fan who wants to attend every week but because of the scheduling changes, often at short notice, I am increasingly becoming the TV fan when it comes to away days in particular.

As has been said it's also cost prohibitive as well. Kilmarnock a few weeks back was a joke for pricing. I tend to pick away games like St Johnstone and Motherwell to support clubs who at least try to make it affordable for families to attend as a group.

Yes, I agree barely any Saturday 3pm games but then we aspire to be in Europe when most of our games would be Sundays if we ever make group stages.


I don't think its realistic to price games at that sort of level anymore either. Clubs need to fund themselves through supporters because the TV deal sure as hell isn't going to cut it and the leadership at the top level isn't dynamic enough to market our game better and get a TV deal that is adequate for anyone other then Celtic or Rangers fans. Sky subs are just a pass to watch whichever team is away from home that weekend.

Thats one reason that I won't go anywhere near Sky and have zero problem with people using IPTV. The only time I'd take issue is if the game was available on PPV and it was at ER, in which case I'd pay the £15.

True, we urgently need to market our game better. Throw out the clowns in charge.


Corporations raise their prices to appease their share holders, sales then drop. Their solution to lower sales? Raise prices even further. Things have become increasingly more anti-consumer over the past decade or so. People have less money but are expected to spend more. Filter up economics in full swing.

Therein lies the problem we need to get people back in not actively discourage them.

[gbhibby]

Firestick money does not go anywhere near the clubs so it is not helping the clubs as people will not take out a viewing plan with a club if they can watch it for free on the firestick. Sky etc money does benefit the clubs not as much as we would like in Scotland.

[Jones28]

Firestick money does not go anywhere near the clubs so it is not helping the clubs as people will not take out a viewing plan with a club if they can watch it for free on the firestick. Sky etc money does benefit the clubs not as much as we would like in Scotland.

No of course not, but why should fans who are not Celtic or Rangers fans support Sky when all they are is a vehicle for broadcasting the old firms away games?

16 games on Sky until the 9th of January, 13 of which are games featuring the Old Firm away from home, with 2 Edinburgh and 1 Dundee derby.

Sky are committed to the amount they pay and they give us the bare minimum whilst shelling out millions to show more English League games.

[HarpOnHibee]

Firestick money does not go anywhere near the clubs so it is not helping the clubs as people will not take out a viewing plan with a club if they can watch it for free on the firestick. Sky etc money does benefit the clubs not as much as we would like in Scotland.

Sky Sports may as well rebrand itself to Rangers TV 2 when covering Scottish games. They'll show Hibs games against Celtic and Rangers (at Easter Road) and will throw in a token Edinburgh Derby every now and then. Considering what they charge for the privilege, they can get stuffed.

[gbhibby]

No of course not, but why should fans who are not Celtic or Rangers fans support Sky when all they are is a vehicle for broadcasting the old firms away games?

16 games on Sky until the 9th of January, 13 of which are games featuring the Old Firm away from home, with 2 Edinburgh and 1 Dundee derby.

Sky are committed to the amount they pay and they give us the bare minimum whilst shelling out millions to show more English League games.
The issue is people abroad who can take out a plan with for example Hibs TV but can watch for free on a firestick means the club miss out on that revenue. With a firestick you can pick up broadcasts from every clubs TV channel which is how most people pick up matches. Sky also need to have a long gard look at themselves but unfortunately it's all about viewing figures.

[WestStandWillie]

Might have to get a firestick, fed up of Sky Sports Glasgow every weekend.

Stopped going to away games a few years back. Was great craic then but it's full of powdered up bams now.

Who can forget two middle aged men brawling in the concourse at Dumbarton, all over Scott Allan prior to his M8 transfer saga. Their bairns watching on was tragic.

[SHODAN]

I have a partner and a 1 year old. I can just about justify going to Edinburgh every other Saturday as I'd been doing it the nine years we were together before my daughter was born. There's no chance I can add frequent away games to the mix too, and to be honest I don't particularly want to anyway.

That may change when my daughter gets older if she decides she wants to come to games with me!

[KWJ]

It's a shame HibsTV (Global) has now gone up £5 to £23pm. I've had to give it up.

It was brilliant while I was overseas and I've kept it going since being back and using a VPN. I'd imagine the club is happy to have UK based fans doing this and bringing in more money but £23pm was too much to make the cut for me when I'm attending games at home too.

[HarpOnHibee]

It's a shame HibsTV (Global) has now gone up £5 to £23pm. I've had to give it up.

It was brilliant while I was overseas and I've kept it going since being back and using a VPN. I'd imagine the club is happy to have UK based fans doing this and bringing in more money but £23pm was too much to make the cut for me when I'm attending games at home too.

And there's the problem right there. They'll be losing customers due to increased prices and the option of accessing this content via 'other means', which will result in them increasing their prices even further, resulting in an even greater loss of customers. Not just Hibs TV. All media broadcasters are going in the same direction.

[Tyler Durden]

Make Scottish football more accessible and affordable, there's a reason piracy exists, the music industry has managed to deal with this issue by making their products widely available and affordable whilst television has gone in the other direction. I hardly go to away games anyway so the firestick is perfect for me but I still have a season ticket.

You need multiple expensive subscriptions to follow Scottish football and the highlights take an age to appear online.

Not to go off on a tangent but don't think that's a great example. Music is virtually free but at the expense of the actual artists. Ticket prices are through the roof as a result and it's virtually impossible for working class kids to make a career out of music anymore.

If football followed a similar model then streaming all games would be £10 a month and Hibs would get next to nothing from it.

[Coco Bryce]

£80 a year for eye pee TV!

Mine is £40 a year. Guy even offers 5 years for £80 now and again.

[hibee-boys]

I’m one of the numptys that has the full sky package, firestick……and season ticket holder. Contributions to Hibs, Scottish Football in general and the dark web😳

[Viva_Palmeiras]

I can only imagine that the overriding factor as to why there’s not more of a clampdown is

* sufficient subscribers who do pay

* the advertisers know it’s reaching the people they intend and are prepared to pay the asking price


which means law abiding subscribers kinda being taken for mugs
pirating continues to divert revenues elsewhere.

as long as advertisers foot the bill the circus continues.

[Viva_Palmeiras]

I’m one of the numptys that has the full sky package, firestick……and season ticket holder. Contributions to Hibs, Scottish Football in general and the dark web😳

would you like to buy a Sherman tank?

[Viva_Palmeiras]

And there's the problem right there. They'll be losing customers due to increased prices and the option of accessing this content via 'other means', which will result in them increasing their prices even further, resulting in an even greater loss of customers. Not just Hibs TV. All media broadcasters are going in the same direction.

Unless advertisers are effectively footing the bill?

To what extent are advertisers and punters prepared to pay of the inflation that drives football?
how will the bubble burst?

[Gatecrasher]

Not to go off on a tangent but don't think that's a great example. Music is virtually free but at the expense of the actual artists. Ticket prices are through the roof as a result and it's virtually impossible for working class kids to make a career out of music anymore.

If football followed a similar model then streaming all games would be £10 a month and Hibs would get next to nothing from it.

Yeah I very much agree with your point about artists being mistreated in this scenario, I still think it's a good example of how pirating music has pretty much disappeared. Scottish football has made its self so inaccessible that a lot of people are using these fire sticks as an alternative, there has to be a middle ground somewhere where the clubs benefit as well as the supporters having an affordable way to follow their club.

[hibee-boys]

would you like to buy a Sherman tank?

Pay for a Sherman Tank?😳 Thankfully the Mrs provides that for free……kinda🤔

[ekhibee]

£80 a year for eye pee TV!

Mine is £40 a year. Guy even offers 5 years for £80 now and again.

Yep, mine is £40 too. I think that's a good deal tbh, wouldn't mind getting the box set option for a wee bit more but for live football it's great.

[HarpOnHibee]

I still think it's a good example of how pirating music has pretty much disappeared.

It hasn't. Not everybody is a fan of streaming services where the company can just take things away when they feel like it. Many people still like to have digital copies of music stored on a drive that can always be accessible without the need for an internet connection and tracking of their listening habits. Considering how fast and cheap storage is these days, it's still very popular. Same with gaming. There's still a demand for physical media, because media that isn't physically accessible is being lost when companies don't want to fund online access to that media anymore.

[matty_f]

I love an away game and get to any that I can, but a combination of factors means that every away game is impossible - some I can’t get tickets for (have missed St Mirren and Tiny in recent seasons for this) others are impractical from Dunfermline without a car, sometimes it’s financial and others because of life commitments.

The Firestick is a Godsend for those matches I can’t make and I only use it because there’s not a legitimate option to watch the game if I can’t go sometimes. I pay for Sky Sports because they put money into the game here and if nobody paid then the club would suffer. I’m not really interested in stealing content, if there’s a legitimate, good quality way to watch the game then I’ll use it instead.

The clubs and the broadcasters are so far behind the times with making games accessible to those that can’t make it to matches.

TV is a very poor second to watching in person, given the opportunity i would be at the game 10 times out of 10 rather than watching on a screen, and there are thousands of fans who are just the same.

Putting the game online or on TV wouldn’t stop me going to the match.

Clubs and broadcasters should be doing all they can to get every game on TV in some shape or form in an affordable, accessible and legal way to counter piracy and actually sell the game properly.

[Gatecrasher]

It hasn't. Not everybody is a fan of streaming services where the company can just take things away when they feel like it. Many people still like to have digital copies of music stored on a drive that can always be accessible without the need for an internet connection and tracking of their listening habits. Considering how fast and cheap storage is these days, it's still very popular. Same with gaming. There's still a demand for physical media, because media that isn't physically accessible is being lost when companies don't want to fund online access to that media anymore.

I'm not disagreeing with you but I think your gettin bogged down in the detail too much, the wider point I am trying to make. In the early 2000's the music industry was stuggling due to the amount of piracy going on with the likes of Napster and other torrenting sites were so easy to access. As a whole this has dwindled down to hardly anything. Most people have accepted streaming sites like Spotify because of the huge libraries and are realitvely cheap therefore torrenting isn't really worth the hassle.

I'm trying to say pirating happens because of the lack of affordability and inaccessability to something and Scottish Football has made its self too inaccessable by putting its self behind multiple expensive subscription fees, ticket prices and associated treatment and costs of attending games. People are pirating the coverage becuase of all this and these things need to be addressed to an extent so people don't feel the need to do this. As others have pointed out nothing has been done about this yet but it's only a matter of time before it becomes a problem as money is being diverted away from sky and the football clubs.

[HarpOnHibee]

I'm not disagreeing with you but I think your gettin bogged down in the detail too much, the wider point I am trying to make. In the early 2000's the music industry was stuggling due to the amount of piracy going on with the likes of Napster and other torrenting sites were so easy to access. As a whole this has dwindled down to hardly anything. Most people have accepted streaming sites like Spotify because of the huge libraries and are realitvely cheap therefore torrenting isn't really worth the hassle.

I'm trying to say pirating happens because of the lack of affordability and inaccessability to something and Scottish Football has made its self too inaccessable by putting its self behind multiple expensive subscription fees, ticket prices and associated treatment and costs of attending games. People are pirating the coverage becuase of all this and these things need to be addressed to an extent so people don't feel the need to do this. As others have pointed out nothing has been done about this yet but it's only a matter of time before it becomes a problem as money is being diverted away from sky and the football clubs.

I'm not disagreeing with you on this point either. :greengrin

Simply pointing out that piracy even when it comes to music is still very much a thing and may even be on the rise again. When legitimate ownership becomes impossible, piracy becomes a necessity. Not very many people like the feeling that something can be stripped away from them at any time and with the lack of physical media these days and media being isolated to streaming platforms, the only way to own a copy of this media and to ensure secure access to it is via piracy.

I point this out, because it's a very important thing to remember when corporations start wagging the anti-piracy finger. They don't want people owning anything. Subscription services keep the money flowing in. Subscription services that they can change the terms and conditions of at any time without your consent via forced arbitration.

I agree that something needs to be done in regards to access to live football games. I don't know how much companies like SKY and BT Group spend each year chasing down piracy. What I do know however is that they have many additional channels that remain idle 99% of the time. Channels that could be used to host more games. It may not be hugely profitable for them to host 6 SPFL games each week on these additional channels. But it could potentially reduce piracy and save them money on hunting down illegal streaming services.

[JohnM1875]

Wonder how the new Sky Sports EFL deal is affecting bums on seats at games? Though saying that, still think there's a Saturday 3PM blackout.

[andrew70]

Think there’s seven matches across the leagues that are 1230 ko on a Saturday. Some long early journeys so far which again goes against the travelling supporters in the EFL.

[cabbageandribs1875]

Wonder how the new Sky Sports EFL deal is affecting bums on seats at games? Though saying that, still think there's a Saturday 3PM blackout.


Leeds will be increasing capacity at Elland road from 37,500 to 53k, 49ers set aside £10m for Architects etc etc, that's one benefit of being a one-club city though. same Architects that done Anfield

[Musselbound]

I wonder if maximum pricing would help more get to games? £20 for an adult?

Or is the game too far gone nowadays?

I don’t have a firestick personally but with subscriptions to sky, bt, premier and others I am seriously tempted, albeit I don’t think that will stop me going to Hibs games.

The easiness of said sticks is what strikes me. As Jones28 said £80 for every game is madness when it’s near £30 to get to Tannadice before anything else.

If a cap or cheaper ticket (eg £20) was applied to home games then yes I would get to a few. I used to go to the cheaper League Cup group games but even that I felt was too expensive this year. Hibs also did the odd discount offer for a tenner (I seem to remember St Johnstone and virtually a few house a couple of seasons back) but even that seems to have fallen by the wayside as things seem to get more corporate and less well off fans are priced out of ER in my opinion.

[Irish_Steve]

There are plenty of websites out their that let you watch the football for free but the older I get, the less interested I am in watching all the games. Sometimes if a game is on the TV, I will end up just listening to it on the radio (usually Five Live) as I do other things around the house.

Mind you, I haven't bought a dvd or book for years as again, they are usually free somewhere if you know where to look

[tonyrougier123]

90% of games hibs have been able to make available to stream I have bought if I haven’t been along to the game.
The problem is sky and other broadcasters stopping the PPV or at least very limiting it to a few games a season. If they don’t choose the game for tv I believe we should have access via PPV straight to club coffers the dough.

[matty_f]

90% of games hibs have been able to make available to stream I have bought if I haven’t been along to the game.
The problem is sky and other broadcasters stopping the PPV or at least very limiting it to a few games a season. If they don’t choose the game for tv I believe we should have access via PPV straight to club coffers the dough.
It’s mad that the games aren’t available to purchase.

Hibs or Sky or whoever should be looking to sell club season tickets for TV games - tenner a month subscription and you get your team’s away games streamed in a high quality, reliable way either through an app or your Sky box or Now TV.

I’ve posted about it before but I genuinely think that if folk running the game (and some fans) changed their thinking about how the game is televised in Scotland we could revolutionise it with a huge increase in revenue generated that’s not just centred around the two Glasgow clubs.

[Paulie Walnuts]

It’s mad that the games aren’t available to purchase.

Hibs or Sky or whoever should be looking to sell club season tickets for TV games - tenner a month subscription and you get your team’s away games streamed in a high quality, reliable way either through an app or your Sky box or Now TV.

I’ve posted about it before but I genuinely think that if folk running the game (and some fans) changed their thinking about how the game is televised in Scotland we could revolutionise it with a huge increase in revenue generated that’s not just centred around the two Glasgow clubs.

Whilst I completely agree, I’m not convinced the powers that be have any real interest in revenue being generated and it not centring around the two Glasgow bellends. I genuinely think the SFA/SPFL will go into any of these negotiations with one eye on what it means for the Old Firm.

[nonshinyfinish]

When legitimate ownership becomes impossible, piracy becomes a necessity. Not very many people like the feeling that something can be stripped away from them at any time and with the lack of physical media these days and media being isolated to streaming platforms, the only way to own a copy of this media and to ensure secure access to it is via piracy.

How common is it for music to be available only through streaming? I use streaming for convenience but also buy loads of music (partly because I want to own it for the reasons you describe and partly because I want the artists to get more than the pennies from streaming). Struggling to think of a case where I couldn't buy either a physical copy or a download.

[green day]

My Virgin subscription comes with TNT fitba, so already covers a lot of Champions League, and EPL matches.

We also pay for Netflix (I like the 4k picture) and my wife has Prime for her business. So we already have a lot of "subs" in the legal world.

Looking at this in a binary way, we would remove most of these and just have the Internet and IPTV - but, like most fitba fans I know, I have a Hibs ST and just use IPTV so I can watch Hibs away matches.

[Southernhibee]

Excuse my total ignorance but how does the fire stick work to get streamed matches. I have BT tv, sky sports, Netflix and Amazon prime for matches as I can’t get to Easter Road very often. If I buy the fire stick will I be able to watch Hibs matches home and away. Oh and I also pay for Hibs TV. I’d be very grateful for some advice.

[Hibs4185]

Ive never done IPTV or a firestick. Was always dubious about the quality but one of my mates told me his is no different to sky. Is that true?

I thought it would be buffering and poor quality.

I’m in the borders, any recommendations where I can get one??

[andrew70]

Ive never done IPTV or a firestick. Was always dubious about the quality but one of my mates told me his is no different to sky. Is that true?

I thought it would be buffering and poor quality.

I’m in the borders, any recommendations where I can get one??

I’ve been the same, pay for the lot but having seen my mum and dads firestick in action I am
considering getting myself one. That’s what made me think about the article and the thread starter.

quality was near perfect.

[Bishop Hibee]

If I’m desperate to watch sport which I don’t have a subscription for, I use an illegal streaming site. Usually an excellent feed.

[ekhibee]

It’s mad that the games aren’t available to purchase.

Hibs or Sky or whoever should be looking to sell club season tickets for TV games - tenner a month subscription and you get your team’s away games streamed in a high quality, reliable way either through an app or your Sky box or Now TV.

I’ve posted about it before but I genuinely think that if folk running the game (and some fans) changed their thinking about how the game is televised in Scotland we could revolutionise it with a huge increase in revenue generated that’s not just centred around the two Glasgow clubs.

I think that's an excellent idea Matty, the only reservation I would have would be that the club would probably overcharge, or at any rate charge considerably more than what you'd be paying for a firestick, but at least the money would be going to the club. If they kept prices reasonable it would be a nice little earner for Hibs imo.

[SHODAN]

If I’m desperate to watch sport which I don’t have a subscription for, I use an illegal streaming site. Usually an excellent feed.

Something like NoScript is handy for this as well because it allows you to prevent all the malvertising pop-ups from running whilst only watching the javascript feed of the game itself.

[WeAreHibs]

☝🏻 Fair!

[Daydreamer]

The quicker everyone gets a Firestick the better. After that Sky, TNT and Premier will go out the box and then there will be no football on TV. If you want to watch football you have to go to the game !!!! There will be no streaming.

[overdrive]

I'm surprised, given Amazon are now in the live sport broadcasting business that they aren't tightening the Fire Stick OS so you can't sideload third party apps and removing the IPTV apps that are on their app store. I know it is just a cloned android OS but you would think they would permanently hide the side loading functionality. Yes, there's other devices that you can use to watch the services (and indeed some allow you to use a web browser) but Fire Sticks seem to be by far the most popular way of accessing these services. I appreciate that you can be using some of these apps for legitimate purposes but it wouldn't surprise me if they get stop it if it is costing them too much in lost revenue from subscriptions.

[HarpOnHibee]

The quicker everyone gets a Firestick the better. After that Sky, TNT and Premier will go out the box and then there will be no football on TV. If you want to watch football you have to go to the game !!!! There will be no streaming.

Or they'll be forced to offer up fair and affordable services to draw customers back, rather than giving up the cash cow completely. Isn't that how capitalism is "supposed" to work?


I'm surprised, given Amazon are now in the live sport broadcasting business that they aren't tightening the Fire Stick OS so you can't sideload third party apps and removing the IPTV apps that are on their app store. I know it is just a cloned android OS but you would think they would permanently hide the side loading functionality. Yes, there's other devices that you can use to watch the services (and indeed some allow you to use a web browser) but Fire Sticks seem to be by far the most popular way of accessing these services. I appreciate that you can be using some of these apps for legitimate purposes but it wouldn't surprise me if they get stop it if it is costing them too much in lost revenue from subscriptions.

They won't do it because they know one of the main selling points of the Firestick is peoples ability to do this with it. Firesticks also tend to have a life span of a few years or so, meaning people forking out for the newest version of the stick every few years.

The other reason is that Amazon realize what a waste of time, money and resources it would be to try and lock the Firestick down, as people will always find vulnerabilities and work arounds. We see the same thing with game consoles. The security always gets defeated in the end and it becomes a battle of endless security updates and work arounds to those updates. It won't be worth the cost to them.

[JohnM1875]

I'm surprised, given Amazon are now in the live sport broadcasting business that they aren't tightening the Fire Stick OS so you can't sideload third party apps and removing the IPTV apps that are on their app store. I know it is just a cloned android OS but you would think they would permanently hide the side loading functionality. Yes, there's other devices that you can use to watch the services (and indeed some allow you to use a web browser) but Fire Sticks seem to be by far the most popular way of accessing these services. I appreciate that you can be using some of these apps for legitimate purposes but it wouldn't surprise me if they get stop it if it is costing them too much in lost revenue from subscriptions.

They've ‘removed’ the developer option section so you can't install third-party apps. Obviously there’s an easy way around it.

[blackpoolhibs]

Advertisers dont care if you've paid £100 a month or £5 a month to see their adverts.

[Tambo]

Only the past few seasons I have bought a sky sports pass with nowtv, can usually get a good deal from time to time, currently paying £26 a month for 6 months then I think it goes up to £34.

Throw in the other subscriptions and it's costing a fair bit so no wonder people still watch illegally.

You can stop selling them, will always be a new device, i can remember as a teen my father bought a black box for the cable and that was like early 2000.

[Just_Jimmy]

The quicker everyone gets a Firestick the better. After that Sky, TNT and Premier will go out the box and then there will be no football on TV. If you want to watch football you have to go to the game !!!! There will be no streaming.Some folk can't afford to go to games, and if you think it's expensive now, it'll only be worse when it's a closed shop.

Uk fans don't fund the TV culture that's ruined the game. It's sent all over the world.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk

[Allant1981]

Not related but I just found an old ticket of mine from 1998, 2nd may against dundee utd, was only £11 for a kids ticket then, only a few quid of a difference now for a kids ticket which is not bad in 26 years. Also have one from 1997 for celtic park, was only £12 for a kid

[Bishop Hibee]

Not related but I just found an old ticket of mine from 1998, 2nd may against dundee utd, was only £11 for a kids ticket then, only a few quid of a difference now for a kids ticket which is not bad in 26 years. Also have one from 1997 for celtic park, was only £12 for a kid

Inflation means a £12 ticket in 1997 would be £23 now.

[matty_f]

The quicker everyone gets a Firestick the better. After that Sky, TNT and Premier will go out the box and then there will be no football on TV. If you want to watch football you have to go to the game !!!! There will be no streaming.

TV isn’t the reason fans don’t go to games. The English Premiership is probably the most televised league in the world and their stadiums are full every match.

Those attendances have been made possible because of the TV and the marketing around the game.

If you want full stadiums, improve the standard and sell the game properly.

Pirating the games is a necessary evil just now but the answer is to make it accessible legitimately.

The Firesticks are, in my experience, much lower quality than a legitimate feed, often lag, often have sound slightly out of synch with the video, are behind the real action (making checking your phone a no-no to avoid spoilers), lack the ease of use of legitimate methods, can go off at any time with no chance of a refund, and fund other criminal activity.

There are plenty reasons why it’s in everyone’s interests to find a better option as the music industry did.

[Glass half full]

TV is convenient but quality and experience is not comparable with going.

Today I'll be away for 8 hours due to bus times. That's the whole day and with family that can be hard to do. I make the time and effort for home games but away games, appreciate anything online.