TV Deal

[jimhacker]

All that lovely prize money should be donated to us -as our players are demanding training facilities and footballs and stuff.

In return, we promise to win the league.

[Roo69]

This is one of the beat thing the FAI have ever done ! fair play to them. Great news for everyone involved in the eircom League.

Does anyone know when the rights of the name of the league are up ? I'd say there will be any amount of company's wanting to be associated with this now.

[pete]

I think describingt he announcement as remarkable is a bit too much.

Plus points:
- 5 year Plan
- None of the "we can't show matches cos don't have rights" crap from the past.
- Should open the door for europe games to be shown as different broadcasters will be familiar with the league clubs involved.

Changes from last season
- 4 extra FAI Cup matches by TG4
- 7 live league matches by TG4
- 5 live 7 5 as-live matches by Setanta

No real change from RTE as they've always shown FAI CUP semis & final & would usually show 3-5 league games. Difference is they comitted to 5 years of coverage.

Questions:
- Will clubs who shown on tv receive any direct payment for this?
- Is the 400k extra money or just to be used to pay team shown on tv their match fee?

Would like to see:
- Try move the live games to different time if possible.
- Schedule of tv games to be announced in advance. None of the few days notice stuff from the past.
- Proper highlights show.

[Bald Student]

Setanta to screen 10 games, 5 live and 5 “as live”

...

Niall Cogley, Chief Executive, Setanta Sports, said; “We are delighted to add the eircom league to our already strong portfolio of football rights from both at home, through the Setanta Cup, and abroad. The partnership with the FAI and the eircom League is good news for Irish Soccer and good news for the viewers,” he concluded.EndsDoes this mean that these 30 odd games are in addition to the Setanta Cup?

[Poor Student]

Are these 'as live' repeats of matches from the other channels? Why can't they just be live? :confused:

[Sheridan]

- Proper highlights show.
According to the Indo, eL Weekly will continue to be broadcast by TV3. Not that it constitutes a "proper" highlights show in its present format.

[Schumi]

Great news. 29 games plus the Setanta Cup.

Presumably EL Weekly will use the coverage from the other companies' live coverage for their highlights so there'll be decent quality for one match most weeks. That might motivate them to improve their coverage of the other games too.

[ThatGuy]

Are these 'as live' repeats of matches from the other channels? Why can't they just be live? :confused:
In fairness, I think that is nit-picking.

Only 5 games from the minium of 29 league games broadcast will be "as-live". Presumably because RTE etc have other programmes, soaps etc, to show too.

The deal is fantastic for the league, with absolutely no faults to it whatsoever IMO.

[harpskid]

I would also like a schedule to be released and see on it that the cameras will make a few trips outside the pale :rolleyes:

[Schumi]

The delayed games are only on Setanta. They're probably mixing the live games with Celtic League rugby so they can't show all of them live.

[footballplease]

Agree Harpskid, i hope this isn't going to be just the Shels and Bohs show with guest appearances by Cork!!!

Overall though - fantastic deal, well done John Delaney (nearing election time!! )

[patsh]

€400,000 over 5 years is not that great.
An improvement but not great.

Still, should complain too much, this is a major step forward all right.
I just hope City get over our TV jinx....:(

[fosterdollar]

€400,000 over 5 years is not that great.

But is it not the case that that will be the prize fund EACH year...? €400k over five years (€80k pa) would be €18k less than what they say was available last year.

[Schumi]

The FAI is delighted also to provide a 400% increase in prize money for the eircom League”, Delaney said. The total cash available to the League is now a record €400,000, up from €98,000 in 2004.
That would indicate that it's 400k a year rather than 400k over 5 years, assuming they mean prize money is 400% of what was there before rather than 400% increase.

[ThatGuy]

€400,000 over 5 years is not that great.
An improvement but not great.

Still, should complain too much, this is a major step forward all right.
I just hope City get over our TV jinx....:(
It's €400,000 a year

[GavinZac]

this is a big deal :D and this is why cork city need to win the league, not shels. for the good of the league.

next time 'round, get sky in on this. they'll have to when they see an eircom league team in the champions league group stages.

[patsh]

It's €400,000 a year
Well thats a great deal!..:)

Still need City get over our TV jinx....:( ;)

[elroy]

ya very true-its a long time since city have played well on tv. They were very poor in the game at home against shels last year.

[eirebhoy]

Anyone's views on Delaney changing yet?

[ThatGuy]

Anyone's views on Delaney changing yet?
Doesn't give a **** what people think of him and isn;t desperate to make friends with EL heads. Good to hear, he will just get on with the job and do what's best and not a lick-arse like Franner

[sullanefc]

I must say I was anti Delayney when he was appointed, but if these sort of deals keep coming the league's way then I'll be his number 1 fan. A lot more to do though, government funding needs to be addressed also.

[ThatGuy]

I sincerely hope that there isn't a condition that Div 1 games have to be shown too.

That would be disastrous.

[thejollyrodger]

Brilliant news for the League. Great prize money as well. That on top of the Sentanta Cup there is more money in Irish soccer than ever before. Well done to Delaney (the muppet) I didnt think he had it in him to deliver on such a deal.

I have just one point, TV3 have to expand their coverage. A hour long show is a requirement. They should put it on a saturday morning or even sunday morning !

[harpskid]

I sincerely hope that there isn't a condition that Div 1 games have to be shown too.

That would be disastrous.

No it wouldn't.

I can't see them showing any Division one games but if they do I for one will welcome it. The whole league will hopefully benefit from this deal. I would like to see a decent highlights package which should focus on more games from the first. This year's First Division will be a competitive one and the teams there will benefit from the exposure on TV.

If TV3 are going to continue showing eL weekly then there needs to be some changes - put it on at a respectable hour of the week and improved camera work as well as making the show longer - an hour long show would be perfect. Would also like to see a few features o eL weekly a-la the Soccer Show from Net2 - now there was a good show!

Surely they'll come out of the pale for a few games - Harps V Derry in April would be a great ad for the league! :cool:

[pineapple stu]

I sincerely hope that there isn't a condition that Div 1 games have to be shown too.

That would be disastrous.
I disagree. I know it's an exception, but the Harps-Dundalk game in November would have been a great ad for the league in general. In terms of quality of football, the top few teams last year would have served up some entertaining games (e.g. the UCD v. Bray ties).

I know that the likes of the grounds and the size of the crowds in the grounds wouldn't look the best, but no reason to discriminate unconditionally against the clubs surely? I'm sure if they tried - announcing the coverage two weeks in advance, giving the club some time to get a bit of a local news and promotion going, maybe picking a local derby like Sligo v. Galway - it could work out. I think the First Division has been ignored long enough to be left entirely out of this too.

[yur man]

i enquired with tg4 today if they are broadcasting their games on their webcast and the guy said no (looks like it never came up in the meetings)

but he did see my point that it would get people abroad(like me) to subscribe and that he would find out if they can do it

i know the quality wont be great but i'd still enjoy watching

heres hoping

[Colm]

The first game to be broadcast as part of this deal will be Bohs v Rovers on the opening day of the season.

http://www.bohemians.ie/news.htm#Bohemians%20V%20Rovers%20Live%20On%20TV:: :25/02/05

[Breifne]

I sincerely hope that there isn't a condition that Div 1 games have to be shown too.

That would be disastrous.

thats extremely insulting to the clubs that comprise the first division, granted the standard of football might be lower in this division, but i think most people wouldn't mind watching a game between any of Kildare, Dublin City, Sligo, Galway & Dundalk. They have as much to offer the league as any other club in the country.

[Éanna]

looks very very good. I still don't trust Delaney or the FAi, but this is a big step in the right direction.

[pete]

Effectively means 22 league games to be shown per season.

Allowing for possibility of 2 games on some weekends cops of "as-live" ones probably be at least 2 league games live month.

When include the FAI Cup & also the Setanta Cup games will mean be hard not to have eL clubs on live tv at least every forthnight. Should keep eL football in the public eye which will hopefully raise the profile of the players.

[dcfcsteve]

This is tremendous news.

None of us trust or like Delaney - but fair play to him, he's the only one in Merrion Square who seems to have delievered anything for our league.

Maribor's point earlier was right - the Channels involved need to recive a flood of 'thank you/well done' e-mails from us. It's all very well us moaning at them over the years - we need to have the balls to congratulate them as well. Plus, it'll make them feel good about the decision too.... :D

sport@rte.ie
setanta.irl@setanta.com
Can't find a tg4 one ?

[Buller]

GREAT NEWS!!! :D This should mean that the winner of the premier league should win around 75,000 Euro instead of the shabby 18,000 shels won last year! (98,000 by 4.1 is 400,000) so (18,000 by 4.1 is 75,000) :rolleyes:

[crc]

In the words of a great thinker: "woo-hoo!" :D

[Réiteoir]

and a very good match to open the coverage with!

Now all I have to do is somehow get an Irish Sky Card with Setanta on it over here in England

[Slash/ED]

Agreement is for 5 years through to end-2009 season
Minimum 29 matches to be broadcast during each season
Minimum 24 matches live, with 5 “as live”
RTÉ to screen 8 games live – 5 eircom League and Carlsberg FAI Cup
Setanta to screen 10 games, 5 live and 5 “as live”
TG4 to screen 11 games live – 7 eircom League and 4 Carlsberg FAI Cup
Record prize fund for eircom League increased by 400%
Total of €400,000 now on offer to eircom League clubs


Throw in a minimum ten Setanta cup matches and, I would assume, more coverage of the European games than before and we're onto a winner here. I'd imagine this will mean that even the first matches in the UEFA and inter toto cup will be shown, espically by Setanta who have very little mid week action.

Sorry I forget who said it but I totally agree with the guy who said that we should send in a few e-mails saying well done, we were all quick to have a go when there was no coverage, and rightly so, so it's only fair we give credit where it's due.

And I never thought I'd say it but.....Fair play to ya Delaney!

Also I assume that TV3 will have access to the proper coverage for their highlights show, when RTE broadcast live games the EL weekly that week was able to show the games with RTEs coverage, ie decent looking and with proper replays from more than one angle, so the knock on effect should be a good improvement on the EL weekly front too. Also Setants said, a while ago when they were considering doing ten league matches a season (The number they are doing) and ten Setanta cup matches a season, again what they're doing, that they would have a el specific show that didn't include just live games, hopefully another highlights package. I'll see if I can dig out what they said for anyone interested.

Great news, what we've been waiting for for ages. And I think it's worth mentioning for those who were cheering against Shels last year in Europe, that the run in Europe we had probably helped convince the stations to jump on board, so there is a clear knock on effect of how clubs doing well in Europe and raising the profile of the league can help everybody else out.

[Slash/ED]

that they would have a el specific show that didn't include just live games, hopefully another highlights package. I'll see if I can dig out what they said for anyone interested.


I found my old thread that had that in it, have a read here (http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=16502) if you're interested. That'd just be the icing on the cake really.

[MariborKev]

sport@rte.ie
setanta.irl@setanta.com
Can't find a tg4 one ?

Fired away a quick email to each

If everyone makes them aware of the benefits it can only be good for the game

[Kerry Blue]

I sincerely hope that there isn't a condition that Div 1 games have to be shown too.

That would be disastrous.
Totally disagree! :mad:
I know it would probably be a lot to ask to show a live First Div game this season but it should be considered for the future. Certainly there should be some highlights shown of a couple of games from the Div. There can be just as entertaining matches in the First as in the Premier. You can't deny that a promotion deciding game at the end of the season wouldn't be worth watching.
All in all the new TV deal is great news. It should also help to generate more revenue for clubs looking for new sponsorship deals in the future.

[thejollyrodger]

I sent an email off there to RTE saying what a great deal they did. Im usually first to mouth off about them, so fair play RTE.

Yeah, I agree with Slash/ED, I think the run Shel's got last season in Europe has shown the intrest everyone has in Eircom League clubs in Europe.

Everything looks that much stronger this time round so there is no reason Shels cant make the same progress or even break through to the Champions League or UEFA Cup this time.

I do hope TV3 get RTE's coverage and make a proper highlights programme.

on a side note, maybe with the camera's more regular at the grounds the players wont get stage fright for a better word. I think that affect some of the players last season.

[higgins]

Its good news to have 400K coming in to the league but its far far better that we are getting the TV exposure.

Id be very careful of Delaney and his 400K prize fund.

This TV money should not go anywhere near the final league positions prize fund. He is trying to kill two birds with the one stone. He knows only too well the €18,000 for a league winner is way too low so is thinking of using TV money to bump this up?

Any club would be mad to accept this offer. In the indo today it says a meeting will be held and I hope that most clubs steer well clear of the TV money for prize money idea. The figure of TV money is under 400K but this should be shared among the 22 clubs, lets say 50% of it? Then the remaining money going to teams who are shown on TV.

I dont think 400K is a great deal but Im very happy that we will at last get to see Eircom League on the TV. Now all we have to do is go annoy the barman on a Friday night to turn it on :D

[GavinZac]

To setanta:


Hello;
We here at www.ShedEnd.com would like to commend your organisation for its great efforts to aid and publicise our national league, the eircom National League. So long deprived of good publicity, your station has begun to turn the tide. By not only offering to show many more games than the league has enjoyed in previous years, but also being party to deals that has seen the prize money on offer to clubs rise from €40,000 to €250,000, you have earned the respect of not only the Cork City fan's at www.ShedEnd.com, but fans all over the country.
We hope that our relationship grows even stronger and that both organisations benefit from this great deal.
Looking forward to signing a subscription,
Gavin Golden
www.ShedEnd.com

To RTÉ


Hello;
We here at www.ShedEnd.com would like to commend your organisation for its great efforts to aid and publicise our national league, the eircom National League. So long deprived of good publicity, your station has helped to begin to turn the tide. By not only offering to show many more games than the league has enjoyed in previous years, but also being party to deals that has seen the prize money on offer to clubs rise from €18,000 to €100,000, you have earned the respect of not only the Cork CIty fan's at www.ShedEnd.com, but fans all over the country. We hope that our relationship grows stronger and that both organisations benefit from this great deal. Our national broadcaster has finally accepted that it is not only its responsibility, but an opportunity, to air National league games.
Looking forward to switching on again,
Gavin Golden
www.ShedEnd.com

note the slight differences :)

[A face]

So what is the story ? Will the €400,000 a year be divided evenly between clubs, first and premier ?? Thats the way it should be done anyway.

[GavinZac]

the press so far suggests its going into prize money, rather than being evenly distributed.

why make a new thread?

[harpskid]

€200,000 to be taken out of that to pay clubs who are shown on live games.

The rest to be used as prize money - €150,000 for the premier and €50,000 for the first.

I've heard that yer man Mc Caul wants every club to get a share of the prize money

[GalwayFrancis]

I've heard that yer man Mc Caul wants every club to get a share of the prize money

well if all clubs dont get some money, it will just make the strong teams stronger and they'll leave the rest behind... if shels win the league and setanta cup then tell be miles ahead on the money front....plz dont forgot us down in the first division when the money is divided out

[Maz]

I agree using it as prize money puts those who win it even further ahead of the pack. The divide is big enough, A fair distribution would be grand

[Xlex]

disagree, why would a re-elected team get much out of that money... You sow what you reap....

300,000 - Premier Division
100,000 - First division.

scale depending on position, make every position count, not just at the very top or at the very bottom....

rewards have to be success driven...

[higgins]

This is covered in another thread but heres my thoughts......

Delaney I think is doing a decent job so far but he's a CLOWN for coming out with his 400K prize money crap :mad:

The TV deal amounts to 300K as far as I can see...

The idea of him linking this into a prize fund is to cover the fact that we only have €18,000 now for our League Champions and thats not good enough. He wants to pretend that he got a good TV deal and also fixed the issue of a poor prize in the one go???

The TV money should not go towards prize money!

The TV money should be divided between all clubs in some way shape or form. Maybe 50% equally between all 22 clubs and then the rest divided between those who are covered on the TV. Or even a straight forward 30% split between the first division and 70% for the premier or some other ratio.

Linking any of this money into the finishing places is a joke I think. There has to be some money giving to clubs who are televised as it does have an effect on the crowd.

[Slash/ED]

Linking any of this money into the finishing places is a joke I think. There has to be some money giving to clubs who are televised as it does have an effect on the crowd.

The opposiate is true, if anything. TV games are generally very well attended. The main reason to me seems to be that if people see a games on TV it'll get a bit more of a write up in the media beforehand and it'll get a bit of hype, so people are more likely to goto it. I can't think of (m)any examples where a game being shown on TV has meant the crowd was much lower than expected really.

Anyway


TV cash to benefit all League clubs
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independ...&issue_id=12149

ALL 22 clubs are likely to benefit from the €300,000 injection to the eircom League prize fund announced by FAI interim chief executive John Delaney.

The money has been generated by a new TV deal that will see up to 30 matches being shown live on RTE, TG4 and Setanta Sports every season for the next five years.

When added to last year's prize fund of €98,200, plus the €37,500 paid out in TV fees, it means the League has an enormous €435,900 to distribute this season.

Delegates from the clubs are scheduled to meet on Monday March 7, when they will be presented with the options available to them but it appears that predictions of a massive increase in prize-money will be off the mark.

The money is likely to be broken into three sections - prize money, TV fees and a participation fee - ensuring that each of the 22 clubs benefit in some way from the massive windfall, possibly to the tune of €5,000 per club.

Last season 10 of the 22 clubs received absolutely nothing in prize money or TV fees. The top six teams in the premier division shared €45,000 in prize money while the first division fund of €22,000 was split among the first four clubs. The last four in the League Cup shared £21,000 with the top two in each division's fair play table splitting €10,200.

Meanwhile, the €37,500 paid out to the teams involved in last season's five televised league games was shared between five premier division clubs.

If each club receives the expected €5,000 per club it will leave €325,900 to be distributed in prize money and TV fees.

The current fees for televised games are €5,000 for home teams and €2,500 for away teams and if this payment scale is maintained then it will mean payments of €217,500 for the minimum 29 matches guaranteed under the new deal.

That would leave just €108,400 to be distributed in prize money, an increase of 10.4 per cent on 2004. This figure will only be increased if the clubs decide not to introduce a participation fee or opt to reduce the TV fees.

No matter what happens on March 7, this deal represents a massive boost to the eircom League, not just because of the cash injection but the huge benefit to its profile.

RTE are committed to showing eight games live, three of which will be in the FAI Carlsberg Cup, while Setanta will show 10 games, five live and five 'as live' and TG4 will televise 11 games, four of them FAI Carlsberg Cup ties. TV3 will continue to cover the eircom League through their weekly highlights programme.

A committee, chaired by the FAI's TV consultant Laurence St John, will decide which games will be shown live. Fourteen days' notice will be given for each match. It has already been decided that the Bohemians v Shamrock Rovers game on March 18 will be shown on Setanta, while TG4 will screen the March 25 meeting of St Pat's and Bohemians.

"This ground-breaking deal will see unprecedented exposure of the game on TV," said Delaney. "I have always held the view that TV rights hold the key to investing in our domestic game.

"This deal shows the ability of the FAI to leverage extra prize money and TV revenues for the eircom League. In the context of a merger I believe that the family of football could increase the prize fund even more significantly if that is agreed for the season after next."

He added that he expects to announce commercial deals in the coming weeks which could lead to future prize fund increases. Companies buying FAI rights would also be sold eircom League rights and a percentage of the fee would be apportioned to the eircom League.

Delaney also stated that the FAI expect the cabinet to make a decision on the Sports Campus at Abbotstown within the next two weeks and he reckoned that the FAI could move out of Merrion Square within six months.

Gerry McDermott

[higgins]

Gerry has his figures wrong!

He adds in the money we got for TV last season with the prize money and then the 300K for the new TV deal.

Why he adds in last years TV money is strange? I thought that was last years :eek:

He doesnt even add the 3 figures correctly but fair play for him even investigating the issue as the FAI press release and Delaney worded it in a very positive way and had people thinking it was the best thing ever.