Moove Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 So this week Saints launched a paid SaintsTV service (£6 p/m, £70 p/a or £50 for members) to replace and expand on their free YouTube channel. With delayed full-match coverage of the first team, live streaming of reserves/academy/women matches, historic matches, behind the scenes stuff etc it sounds decent. Wigan have had a similar offering for a while and I'm sure other clubs have too. But it got me thinking about whether there's enough outside-the-box thinking across RL in terms of generating income beyond the obvious gate receipts, TV money, shirt sponsorship etc. I guess monetising stadia on non-match days is a biggie for clubs in control of that. We're hosting a Little Mix concert in June, not sure how much that's worth, think it might be the first one we've done. Hosting boxing events and the like have been talked about previously. Things like that I guess add up but might be difficult to schedule with a summer season. In football you see a lot of specific sponsorship deals - official drinks partners, medical partners, Man United even have a global lubricant partner (steady). Obviously RL isn't really operating in the same universe there, although there's a RedV golden ale on sale this year through a new drinks partner . There are 35 other 'partners' on the website but no idea what most of the links are. Are there any other novel funding streams other clubs have been, or could be, looking at to grow their finances and reduce the dependency on TV money in particular? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonM Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Widnes are planning to do a tv service this year too - similar pricing and content to what you've described for Saints - replays of all first-team matches etc etc. They reckoned about 1000 people would sign up for it - £50k a year isn't a huge amount, but better than nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marklaspalmas Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Fev have been doing this for about 4 or 5 years ago. Gets better every season. https://www.fevarchive.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 1 hour ago, JonM said: £50k a year isn't a huge amount, but better than nothing. I would like a "try before you buy" option. The problems I have with OurLeague, and the problem-free streaming of the identical content via Twitch means that, before I bunged anyone a few quid, I'd like to be sure that I could actually watch their content. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Plow Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Think this should be in the next TV deal, if your teams not being shown on Sky The clubs should be able to stream their games through their website for a premium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerrumonside ref Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Not a big fan of in house produced content myself. Main problem usually being biased commentary and interviews with the players that often refuse to criticise the club/team. I can see the appeal for the absolute uber fan, but I’d rather have content that covers the league in general myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonM Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 3 hours ago, Futtocks said: I would like a "try before you buy" option. The problems I have with OurLeague, and the problem-free streaming of the identical content via Twitch means that, before I bunged anyone a few quid, I'd like to be sure that I could actually watch their content. I guess the fact that these are replays rather than live streams should remove any bandwidth type problems. This is really just the modern day equivalent of the VHS/DVDs of games that many clubs used to put out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 8 minutes ago, JonM said: I guess the fact that these are replays rather than live streams should remove any bandwidth type problems. This is really just the modern day equivalent of the VHS/DVDs of games that many clubs used to put out. True; I was thinking of the live streams like Wigan TV etc. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Kevin Sinfield Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 I’ve got an idea for new revenue streams, offer a decent product in decent facilities, spend some money marketing getting customers buying tickets and filling stadiums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moove Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 3 minutes ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said: I’ve got an idea for new revenue streams, offer a decent product in decent facilities, spend some money marketing getting customers buying tickets and filling stadiums. That isn't a new revenue stream, which was the point of the discussion. Some clubs are already doing exactly what you're describing and are bringing in decent funds doing so, even if they could still do it much better. Regardless, not branching out into other potential sources of income would seem a little shortsighted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moove Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 5 hours ago, JonM said: Widnes are planning to do a tv service this year too - similar pricing and content to what you've described for Saints - replays of all first-team matches etc etc. They reckoned about 1000 people would sign up for it - £50k a year isn't a huge amount, but better than nothing. For a club in the Championship I'd say £50k is a decent enough wedge. You've also got to consider the knock on impact of fan engagement etc. Would be interesting to know what sort of subscription figures teams are already getting with existing services like this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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