Should iFollow continue?

we_are_Superior said:
Interesting piece in the Sunday Times today about whether iFollow should continue?
Personally I’d like to hope it will. Won’t change my attendance habits but be nice to see us play someone on the South Coast on a Tuesday night without having to rely on the radio.
Click to expand...


I guess the question is will it stop people going to the ground? Possibly - but you'd also have to weigh up the financial gains for some that don't go and some that go to some games but not all of them and the number of tenners rolling in each week. That could sway it in financial terms.

Will be interesting to see. No doubt IFollow will be desperate for the status quo to continue. The fact Covid is still about maybe sways it for another season to reduce the number of people travelling.

Good question.
 
No get rid too many watch for free on IPTV.
Just one illegal site had 14k views when we played Sunderland no stream no way of watching for free and until you take away the illegality of it your wasting your time.

It brings in a few quid now but how long before fans stop going to games which is bound to happen in the long term bottom of the table why would the youth go.
 
I'd like to see it stopped, but it won't be. Thin end of a wedge for me. The game already gets run for the benefit of the Sky subscriber, this would make it worse.
 
poolseasider said:
No get rid too many watch for free on IPTV.
Just one illegal site had 14k views when we played Sunderland no stream no way of watching for free and until you take away the illegality of it your wasting your time.

It brings in a few quid now but how long before fans stop going to games which is bound to happen in the long term bottom of the table why would the youth go.
Click to expand...


The streams will still be there as iFollow is available to all non UK residents
 
If train prices stay as they are now it will have a nasty effect on the number of home matches I can attend so iFollow would be great.
 
Macseasider said:
I guess the question is will it stop people going to the ground? Possibly - but you'd also have to weigh up the financial gains for some that don't go and some that go to some games but not all of them and the number of tenners rolling in each week. That could sway it in financial terms.

Will be interesting to see. No doubt IFollow will be desperate for the status quo to continue. The fact Covid is still about maybe sways it for another season to reduce the number of people travelling.

Good question.
Click to expand...
No Normal person would ever watch telly if you can attend a live tangerine game👍🍊⚽️
 
Tango1953 said:
The streams will still be there as iFollow is available to all non UK residents
Click to expand...
So stop non UK residents watching it tough shit until it can't be streamed for free or get it to become a Netflix mode so cheap it's hardly worth ripping off.
£80 in a month to watch us is hardly cheap.
 
It was great to be back on Friday night. I would much prefer live football. But for people who are house bound, work or live too far it is a boon. And as long as the club gets some of the revenue.
 
I'd always go to a game if I could but equally I'd still like to watch the game live if I couldn't be there.
My partial solution would be that you pay match day ticket price for Saturday afternoon games although that won't stop the IPTV'ers.
UTMP
 
I’d go to most home games but probably give a few midweek ones a miss. Think ifollow still show midweek games normally due to work commitments and a lot of them being deliberately long journeys to maximise more local Saturday attendances
 
I-Follow has been a godsend during Covid and couldn't see it cutting gates as it cannot compare with the match day experience. It needs to be kept as an option for season ticket holders or pay on the day supporters provided the club benefit from it.
 
I've had a season pass for I follow now for two years. It's had its ups and downs but generally it's a decent way for an expat to watch the game. Last year just before Covid hit I was in the UK and took in three games which was just an entirely different experience. I think for domestic audiences it would be good to carry on. Teams like Blackpool who have a fan base scattered all over the country enables them to stay connected but I do think the revenue model needs to change.
 
I live in Manchester, and can get to about 6-8 home or away games a season.

This is the first season I have been able to watch every game and I feel so much closer and connected to the squad than ever. Being able to watch the team develop has made this season all the more exciting.

I would be gutted if they didn't carry it on.
 
I think itvshould carry on, most fans would still attend but elderly or disabled fans might prefer to watch at home. It's all about choices.
 
dodgy_surname said:
No Normal person would ever watch telly if you can attend a live tangerine game👍🍊⚽️
Click to expand...
I agree with that, if the train fares are around the same figure as I was paying previously...........allowing for inflation, I'm there, it's a definite ST. iFollow would be great for the away games and home games I couldn't attend ie evening kick-offs.
 
If there are no restrictions on attendance then yep stop it. If any sort of restrictions in place which prevent people attending then yep continue with it.
 
so explain why liverpool, utd etc who are live on sky or bt virtually every game and when not you can get on iptv /internet sell outs 95 percent of games so having it on i follow would not stop the true fans
 
we_are_Superior said:
Interesting piece in the Sunday Times today about whether iFollow should continue?
Personally I’d like to hope it will. Won’t change my attendance habits but be nice to see us play someone on the South Coast on a Tuesday night without having to rely on the radio.
Click to expand...
Are they assuming we won't still be in lockdown and will be allowed back in stadiums next season? I'll believe it when I see it.
 
Ok if you live nearby but 300 miles round trip is beyond me at my age. I’ll probably make 12 games a season including away games but it’s been great to watch on ifollow this season rather than just commentary. Don’t think I can go back to just commentary.
dodgy_surname said:
No Normal person would ever watch telly if you can attend a live tangerine game👍🍊⚽️
Click to expand...
 
They have a choice to make, especially if they keep it for the expats, which I would be surprised if they didn’t.

If the get don’t do it in the UK many people will use IPTV, and thus cost them revenue.
 
we_are_Superior said:
Interesting piece in the Sunday Times today about whether iFollow should continue?
Personally I’d like to hope it will. Won’t change my attendance habits but be nice to see us play someone on the South Coast on a Tuesday night without having to rely on the radio.
Click to expand...
I hope it does continue. It’s been great. Only missed a couple of games. I will be getting a ST, whatever happens on Sunday.
Choo Choo Saturdays. Drive in mid week.
 
It should continue - my days of travelling midweek to the other end of the country are long behind me with work, kids etc. I'd happily pay to watch the game on iFollow. Home games would be a different story.
 
You could watch midweek games prior to the pandemic, just Saturdays where you cant watch (without a VPN of course).

If it carried on after restrictions are over, I'd imagine clubs might take sometimes a hit on away following and atmosphere as a result, but I imagine there is a business model that makes sense somewhere - Imagine a team on the south coast, Portsmouth maybe, with a decent fan base bring 500-1000 to Bloomfield road midweek lets say, but you can sell 5/10/15k TV passes to people who wouldn't be coming anyway, plus all our own ex-pats/exiles etc.

I don't know how much of my £10 the club gets, maybe the price would have to go up to encourage people locally not to sit in their living rooms...
 
As a minimum, I would expect that iFollow would continue for overseas subscribers. This was available before the pandemic struck and I would not be happy if it was totally discontinued.
 
It will boil down to finance. If clubs are making more money that before having it then undoubtedly it will stay.
 
Middlesbrough, for one, where directly linking sky red button to a decline in attendances and away support two seasons ago. Don't think yhey mentioned the crap football mind you.
 
we_are_Superior said:
Interesting piece in the Sunday Times today about whether iFollow should continue?
Personally I’d like to hope it will. Won’t change my attendance habits but be nice to see us play someone on the South Coast on a Tuesday night without having to rely on the radio.
Click to expand...
Yes especially for overseas fans
 
Continue.

Buy a ST for away games only, or at least pay for the right to buy- no POTD.

In this day and age anyone wanting to watch a game foc can do. They need to realise that is the case and accept some type of hit for some reward.
 
Someone has made a fair amount of cash from I follow from me this season (hope BFC has seen most of it) of course we should find a way for it to work
 
For one, I may well go less often. For 30 years made 300 mile round trip for most home games and a lot further for away games. In the middle of winter it's horrible and my son has moved elsewhere so I am companionless from Kendal northwards. It also costs a fortune in petrol. I love lice games but being honest. Ifollow will be tempting.
 
Yes continue home and abroad. I'm a senior and an early bird season ticket was about £10 a game, same as ifollow. I spent more than the cost of a ST with ifollow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top