Fulhams official line on justifying FulhamFcTV

[BestOfBrede]

Another money grabbing device to go alongside the overpriced food , ticket prices, etc, etc
I am glad to say that the £3 is not a major issue to me , but as a long time. loyal. season ticket holder ( like many of you ), I feel that a free service should be just that, especially to season ticket holders.

I wonder what percentage of season ticket holders actually used the free service before? I have to agree that if you are a season ticket holder then I do believe the service should be free!!

Well said Dave, I agre that the service should be free to season ticket holders, although I'm sure the club would slightly increase the price of a season ticket... Don't think there's much choice really.
Anyway, I wish this debate would now stop as it's becoming rediculous...

Either you want to see what's on offer on the minimum charge site or you don't!

If you don't, then don't pay and don't complain, surely?

[davew]

Yeah let's move on, far more important things to consider e.g. play offs!!

[H4usuallysitting]

I know I'm thick, but if the club were subsidising it before without getting fined - why can't they subsidies it for the future...... To me it's all smoke and mirrors and echoes this sustainability model that Mr Khant is always banging on about

[VicHalomsLovechild]

I wonder if the Club could take paid ads. Help keep the price down.

As per managing or mis-managing players. We know nothing about what occurred. I can't believe everyone at the Club is incompetent. I doubt we were able to offer what Villa or Celtic could.

Khan has always stated his aim is to make the Club sustainable. Which I guess means affordable deals and wages and fans having to pay for services.

[Southfield White]

I wrote my first complaint to Fulham in the entirety of my time supporting the club yesterday and got this corporate response back...


Dear *****

Thank you for email concerning the fulhamfctv subscription. Please allow me to respond and mention why this service has been implemented.

Since our relegation to the Championship, we have understood the importance of ensuring that fans have access to match footage because it is not so widely available as it had been in the Premier League. Therefore the Club took the decision to air them free, even though they came at a significant cost to us from the Football League.

As you may be aware the League is responsible for a centralised deal that puts all content behind a paywall on uniform designed club sites known as EFLDigital. Other club charges vary but are, on average, significantly more each month. The league protects the value of this deal by charging the clubs that are not signed up to it, to air their own footage on their own platforms. Therefore for two seasons Fulham has paid a considerable amount to the league, so that our fans could benefit from free content.

As I'm sure you can understand, that's simply not a sustainable model and we are, therefore, compelled to have a subscription service of our own. We will add value to this by ensuring that we create excellent content that fans will want to see, and produce features that are interesting and insightful. To add as much value to those subscribing as possible, our audio match commentary is included in the subscription. We will however continue to offer fans an alternative for free with the live match centre and social media updates.

The subscription service is in line with the many clubs in the league which are signed up to the EFLDigital platform, which is managed centrally. To protect this deal the League places significant restrictions on clubs that do not participate, including the broadcast of all match highlights and live commentary.

Therefore these had to appear behind a paywall or the Club would have been fined a significant amount by the League. We will still have to pay a percentage of the subscription fee to the league at the end of the season, so to continue subsidising this service - which we have since relegation – was no longer an option for us.  Premier League clubs are able to offer free content, because there is no centralised deal and therefore no restrictions other than live broadcasts.

I wanted to assure you that your comments have been noted, and they will be discussed.


Kind regards

Carmelo

No mention of the actual costs or any alternative avenues being explored which I'm dissapointed in. All in all whilst logic is there, it's still doesn't justify jeopardising the relationship fans are entitled to with the club through it's online content. It shouldn't be a subscription service. The last resort (which shouldn't ever be considered). Shameful. That said EFLdigital and all the fees and fines that are incurred if not subscriped is daylight robbery so there is significant causation.

You felt the need to blank out your name but was happy to name the person at the club who took the time to reply.

My take on it all  is Fulham dont have much option to charge, what they should of done in the first place is let fans know the full reasons why they were charging, maybe the fans might of understood better

[Lighthouse]

It wasn't out fault Guv. We waz ordered do to it. We are only following orders.

[Holders]

It wouldn't be seen as unreasonable if it were a new service, it's not expensive but what grates a little is that it's been free up to now.

Long before there were videos and interviews on the website we could call into the "clubline" premium rate number. That cost - most of our employers, probably.

[jarv]

Roger beat me to it. The website is just another cost centre to the business and has to be paid for somehow.  I am out at the moment but need to ask....does it offer exactly the same as it did when free? Living abroad, I listened to GJ. Apart from that I never looked at it. I will keep checking FoF to get opinions if/when I intend to sign up.

Anyone care to answer?

[ffc2004]

Roger beat me to it. The website is just another cost centre to the business and has to be paid for somehow.  I am out at the moment but need to ask....does it offer exactly the same as it did when free? Living abroad, I listened to GJ. Apart from that I never looked at it. I will keep checking FoF to get opinions if/when I intend to sign up.

Anyone care to answer?

Pre and most match press conferences, highlights, full 90 min replay, player interviews, Cottage Cam atm

[Neil D]

I have caved in after my principled stand of all of two weeks against corporate greed etc etc.  One thing I forgot to check was whether the subscription runs for 12 months or for just the season.  Does anyone know?

[Neil D]

I have caved in after my principled stand of all of two weeks against corporate greed etc etc.  One thing I forgot to check was whether the subscription runs for 12 months or for just the season.  Does anyone know?

Like a gullible sap, I had assumed that this introductory offer of £2 a month lasted for the entire initial subscription - not just a miserable month.  That isn't made clear or have I missed it?

[RP24]

I received the exact same message when I emailed the club as well. So I think this may just be a template they use to send to anyone that asks about it.
I did however get a personalised response when I wrote back and even had Sarah CC'd into the email, so hopefully they will consider some of my points.

[Neil D]

I can answer my first question - it's a monthly subscription so the 12 month issue doesn't apply.

[toshes mate]

The EFL procured the services of NeuLion and Realise, two companies with experience in on-line video production, the former handling American sport, NFL, NBA, and UFC, and experienced in the monetisation of on-line sport.   Hence the EFL has a clear responsibility via these contracts to impose charges to those watching.  Realise seem to be the arm providing the design and development of club media.

What is interesting in the Fulham FC response is that the Club say they would have been fined if they hadn't imposed the paywall and still carried match highlights and commentaries.   League rules 74 through 78 seem to impose very tight control over TV match material, post match interviews, press conferences and broadcast agreements with a passage that means no Club may breach the rules without written consent by the EFL.   I am not a lawyer and I am unable to say whether the rules clearly state a club could be, would be, fined if in breach of the League rules because there are many provisos written into what is clearly a scheme and contractual obligation on the EFL and its two partners to make money out of the EFL football coverage on the Internet.   Well over one hundred companies tendered for this contract which gives you some idea of how lucrative it was and is.

In summary it would seem the EFL are largely responsible for having entered into a purely money making scheme, and Fulham FC have simply followed the logic of that exercise but with a little more empathy with their fans.  By way of apology I'd like to take back what I have previously said about FulhamFCTV VFM and what I described as a miserly charge since Fulham seem to have charged a minimal fee for what is poorly proscribed contract the EFL have entered into.   The paywall could have been much, much larger.   

Fulham seem to have done their best with a pretty poor job and we should all worry as to what is happening to our game and how the EFL are manipulating when they should be facilitating.

[grandad]

 Sky show the limited high-lights for free, also, there are video's for free on 'Youtube', so they are out there.

Since when is a Sky subscription or Internet access free.?

[Fulham1959]

Sky show the limited high-lights for free, also, there are video's for free on 'Youtube', so they are out there.

Since when is a Sky subscription or Internet access free.?

The highlights are on the SKY website - you don't have to subscribe.