England game - TV?

[MarleyWasp]

It's not the easiest watch, but The Man in the High Castle is exceptionally good. One of the best series I've ever seen.

[Raggs]

It's not the easiest watch, but The Man in the High Castle is exceptionally good. One of the best series I've ever seen.

Forgot about that, yes another worthwhile series.

[westwaleswasp]

I must admit I won't be signing up for a trial.
I will make do with C4 for the Ireland games and S4C for the Wales games, plus highlights.
I just don't want to encourage Amazon (or anyone else) at all. Still annoyed by Sky losing England rights but retaining the Lions. For those that do sign up - enjoy the match.

Why don't you want to encourage companies to bid on rugby?

If all the rugby went to Amazon, then that is different,  but what I do not want is for some to go to them, some to BT, some to Sky, some to Premier, etc.  I would still need Sky for other sports too like cricket, which is a personal consideration.

Here in Wales the 6n is  feels as big as the soccer world cup is in England, the supermarkets empty and match day buzzes if Wales are in with a shot, and that is because everyone and their granny watches it on terrestrial, whilst in some  cases watching no other rugby the rest of the year.. I would be loathe to lose that very special atmosphere to a non terrestrial broadcaster.

Many companies taking a slice and competing is good for the authorities, but bad for the consumer if the cake is split between multiple broadcasters.

It is also worth noting that BT started at a tenner a month. The moment Amazon expand seriously into regular EPL soccer the price of the subscription will likely go up.

[Raggs]

This isn't the 6n. These haven't been on terrestrial for a long while.

And if we can get away from the sky commentary team then that's wonderful.

[westwaleswasp]

Amazon were reportedly using this as gauging interest for a 6n bid. If you already have contracts with Sky and/ or BT why on earth would you welcome it going to another provider you do not have and would eventually have to pay for?

[Raggs]

Amazon were reportedly using this as gauging interest for a 6n bid. If you already have contracts with Sky and/ or BT why on earth would you welcome it going to another provider you do not have and would eventually have to pay for?

Because it's good for the game you love? Because in these times especially the more Tv money the more likely our game and our teams survive.

[MarleyWasp]

They chose Amazon as they offered the most for the Autumn Nations Cup, and the sport cannot afford to turn money away right now.

What contract does Sky have of note for European Rugby?

The 6 Nations sides will be selling a bundled rights deal for November tests moving forward. The only thing Sky have left is the England Barbarians match and a handful of Championship matches.

They do have Super Rugby and the Kiwi and South African Provincial Championships but the viewing figures are low.

If they were to get the autumn tests, you can get a month's pass on NowTV for £33.99. If you shop at Tesco, you can exchange Clubcard vouchers for NowTV credit at a rate of £1.50 credit for every 50p of vouchers, meaning that for £11 in vouchers you can watch a month of Sky Sports for 99p. I've calculated that you could utilise this for the Lions Tour (one month pass on 3rd July and then a day pass on 7th August is £43.98) and by using £14.50 of Clubcard vouchers you would only have to pay 48p to watch the entire tour. No need to worry about the Japan match (although it's not confirmed as being on Sky yet) as we'll be at Twickenham for the Premiership Final that day.

I've done this for the F1, exchanging £44.50 in Clubcard vouchers for £133.50 of credit and utilising deals such as 3 months for £25 and planning when to buy passes (for example my pass was due to be renewed on 2nd November. With no race last week, I cancelled it and will resubscribe this evening so it'll cover the rest of the season) I've managed to spend £131 of my credit and not a single penny of my own money.

With BT Sport, if you have a contract with EE that gives you a "swappable benefit", you can get BT Sport for free to watch on a phone or tablet or possibly a laptop. For £5 extra you can use Chromecast or a smart TV app to watch it on a TV.

[Trevs Big Tackle]

One benefit of Amazon over the other paid services is they have a rolling monthly contract so you can pay your £7.99 or whatever per month for the 2 months of the Six Nations and then cancel the contract. For Sky or BT you'd be tied in for a full year.

[Covkid48]

Amazon Prime is easy to join and even easier to cancel. if you take the free trial try watching Hunters.

[Raggs]

Amazon Prime is easy to join and even easier to cancel. if you take the free trial try watching Hunters.

Keep meaning to get around to that, but it's something I want to watch with my missus, which usually means we end up watching just the first half of the series.

[mike909]

Amazon were reportedly using this as gauging interest for a 6n bid. If you already have contracts with Sky and/ or BT why on earth would you welcome it going to another provider you do not have and would eventually have to pay for?

Because it's good for the game you love? Because in these times especially the more Tv money the more likely our game and our teams survive.

I certainly "get" what Raggs and MarleyWasp are saying. Certainly in the short term, the money will be very useful. The frustration is that in wanting to watch sports it seems to get more fragmented. I realise a monopoly or duopoly are unlikely to maximise the money going to the sport. But that's not the only consideration for me. The exposure of the game is important too and that seems likely to be narrowed by a fragmented offer. I won't be looking to go Amazon Prime this time. I already pay for a range of sports offers and I have to draw the line somewhere.

[Raggs]

Amazon were reportedly using this as gauging interest for a 6n bid. If you already have contracts with Sky and/ or BT why on earth would you welcome it going to another provider you do not have and would eventually have to pay for?

Because it's good for the game you love? Because in these times especially the more Tv money the more likely our game and our teams survive.

I certainly "get" what Raggs and MarleyWasp are saying. Certainly in the short term, the money will be very useful. The frustration is that in wanting to watch sports it seems to get more fragmented. I realise a monopoly or duopoly are unlikely to maximise the money going to the sport. But that's not the only consideration for me. The exposure of the game is important too and that seems likely to be narrowed by a fragmented offer. I won't be looking to go Amazon Prime this time. I already pay for a range of sports offers and I have to draw the line somewhere.

As I've said, check around your local community rugby clubs, very good chance one of them has signed up to Amazon's offer. If not, I can link you to a semi local club of mine (my local don't seem to ahve done it), so at least it goes back to the local game somewhere. You get 30 days free trial, and can cancel it after with no charge, and the club still get £3 regardless. You pay nothing, you get to see the games, and you earn for a grass roots club.

[hopwood]

I must admit I won't be signing up for a trial.
I will make do with C4 for the Ireland games and S4C for the Wales games, plus highlights.
I just don't want to encourage Amazon (or anyone else) at all. Still annoyed by Sky losing England rights but retaining the Lions. For those that do sign up - enjoy the match.

Is the S4C coverage of the Wales v England game in English or Welsh?
 

[Neils]

I must admit I won't be signing up for a trial.
I will make do with C4 for the Ireland games and S4C for the Wales games, plus highlights.
I just don't want to encourage Amazon (or anyone else) at all. Still annoyed by Sky losing England rights but retaining the Lions. For those that do sign up - enjoy the match.

Is the S4C coverage of the Wales v England game in English or Welsh?

It will be Welsh but may have English Subtitles on Red Button.

[westwaleswasp]

It will be bad for both the fans and the game when visibility drops.
That is why cricket is trying to get back onto  terrestrial tv. This is a slippery slope and it ends up not with rugby in one place but in many,  and none of them terrestrial. I am with Mike, above I am afraid.
The line drawn here for me too.
Thanks for the advice vis a  vis Tesco  EE etc. Sadly I don't shop there and am tied to BT Sky for the foreseeable anyway.
If Amazon go into Prem League soccer, as they want to, it won't be 8.99 a month and rolling contracts.