mikebv 10,269 Posted January 31, 2022 2 hours ago, Fortythirtyeight said: Just what is the ‘ relevance and reward ‘ then ? How is winning the league in Poland different to winning the league anywhere else ? For me, its similar to winning the Premier League in football against winning say, the Vanerama North or South.... (I would have said a few years ago the 5th tier Conference, but many of those clubs get 3000 plus crowds, and have a wider impact on their localities).. One comp gets national coverage which resonates across a nation, whilst one comp gets "some" coverage and means something more at a "town" level, to a (at most), few thousand... And you then obviously also have the massive financial disparity in rewards against Poland. Much of it down to a heavily invested national company sponsoring the top tier, and the fact that (similar to the Premier League in football), TV companies have to compete against themselves tendering for the rights to show the sport. With the result being very big contracts getting signed by the TV Companies.. With that TV money then getting shared amongst clubs to deliver "huge" contracts to riders in the top tier in particular, in comparison to the UK equivalent.. You can also add in team sponsorship money to the differential mix which again is invariably national company involvment rather than a local business... Winning a league over in Poland brings national recognition, (hence national companies get involved), large financial win bonuses, and obviously huge crowds and admission income as the season comes to a conclusion... However, with such "rewards" also comes great pressure to not only maintain standards but improve them, which the UK given their chosen operating model dont have to face, therefore Poland have to ensure that the sport remains "current", and "relevant", otherwise the massive deals and large following would reduce.. The UK on the other hand can keep using it's current operating model without any real pressure, particularly as crowds are not far off consistent every week at most tracks, (just as long home wins mostly get delivered), and, as we have seen before, "success" can close clubs down, so finding that sweet spot between entertainment and results is, for many, more key to UK Speedway than individual on track success for me.. Those I would suggest are the key reasons it means so much more, with a "fans outlook" addition being that their team truly is "their team", and, unlike over here, not too many in Poland go home from a night at the Speedway, "happy", after seeing close exciting racing but ultimately defeat, whereas plenty of Speedway fans in the UK can go home pleased to have seen great racing regardless of result, and look forward to the next meeting to see more of the same.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fortythirtyeight 840 Posted January 31, 2022 So little difference then. The ‘ winning ‘ fans are happy, the sponsors are happy and the club get a shiny trophy , only the scale is different . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,359 Posted January 31, 2022 3 hours ago, Fortythirtyeight said: Just what is the ‘ relevance and reward ‘ then ? How is winning the league in Poland different to winning the league anywhere else ? Winning in Poland means “your”Team won the League and the Prestige means something to riders and Sponsers.Over here “your “ Club won the League using every other Clubs riders during the season.Not a lot of Credibility in that IMO. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fortythirtyeight 840 Posted January 31, 2022 2 hours ago, Fromafar said: Winning in Poland means “your”Team won the League and the Prestige means something to riders and Sponsers.Over here “your “ Club won the League using every other Clubs riders during the season.Not a lot of Credibility in that IMO. Are you referring to the use of ‘ guests ‘ ? which some teams used more than others or the ‘ doubling up ‘ scenario that blights our sport ? Although riders in Poland ride in other teams in other countries too so not much difference but I do agree, in general, speedway has very little credibility now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,359 Posted January 31, 2022 12 minutes ago, Fortythirtyeight said: Are you referring to the use of ‘ guests ‘ ? which some teams used more than others or the ‘ doubling up ‘ scenario that blights our sport ? Although riders in Poland ride in other teams in other countries too so not much difference but I do agree, in general, speedway has very little credibility now. Yes. Poland don’t use them.Riders riding in other Countries has always been the “norm”. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,634 Posted February 9, 2022 So you can register for the new BSN Streaming service from March 1st with coverage commencing in April. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss 10,779 Posted February 9, 2022 1 hour ago, Skidder1 said: So you can register for the new BSN Streaming service from March 1st with coverage commencing in April. You got a link please? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,634 Posted February 9, 2022 5 hours ago, Bagpuss said: You got a link please? via BSPL website. They have facebook, Twitter and Insta pages too. Theres no specific details yet until March. when prices and registration will no doubt be announced. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScunnyDan 335 Posted February 9, 2022 Get your Early Bird Passes in March! Catch all the excitement of Championship Speedway with a BSN Monthly or Season Pass. Passes give viewers access to all of BSN's online content, including live meetings and replays on demand. Around 35 meetings will be streamed live on BSN in 2022, meaning the average cost of a stream is just over £3 for those signing up early. All our live-streams will be available to purchase individually too, priced at £11.99. #watchspeedway Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enotian 562 Posted February 9, 2022 Reasonably priced for the season if you're inclined to watch all the content. Monthly feels a bit step compared to say Netflix or Disney Plus but they have economies of scale and no doubt it's priced to incentivise annual pass purchases which is better vfm. Not sure what happens if you pay for a month and all the live matches are postponed?? The one off price is interesting. If you're a family of four you'll make quite a saving staying home to watch your team. They'll be hoping the extra income from away supporters and neutrals who wouldn't have travelled will offset. Also with each club only featuring 2 or 3 times you're not going to lose those families permanently. Match selection will be key. You put on a dominant home team vs strugglers (say Poole at home to the Diamonds) you might get a host of home fans taking the stream option with little or no away or neutral interest. Hopefully the knock on effect will be that the promoters at last realise that evenly matched teams and competitive matches on properly prepared circuits can now attract a much wider audience and the "as long as we win at home" theory can be shelved..... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,634 Posted February 10, 2022 13 hours ago, enotian said: Reasonably priced for the season if you're inclined to watch all the content. Monthly feels a bit step compared to say Netflix or Disney Plus but they have economies of scale and no doubt it's priced to incentivise annual pass purchases which is better vfm. Not sure what happens if you pay for a month and all the live matches are postponed?? The one off price is interesting. If you're a family of four you'll make quite a saving staying home to watch your team. They'll be hoping the extra income from away supporters and neutrals who wouldn't have travelled will offset. Also with each club only featuring 2 or 3 times you're not going to lose those families permanently. Match selection will be key. You put on a dominant home team vs strugglers (say Poole at home to the Diamonds) you might get a host of home fans taking the stream option with little or no away or neutral interest. Hopefully the knock on effect will be that the promoters at last realise that evenly matched teams and competitive matches on properly prepared circuits can now attract a much wider audience and the "as long as we win at home" theory can be shelved..... Lets not forget streaming is primarily for away fans so that clubs still get an income stream. I would think that the BSN service as well as any individual club streams (as Edinburgh last season) will have a block put on them within a specified distance from the home track!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alanf2 18 Posted February 10, 2022 I lived in US for 22 years until last week, now back home in Oxford. I would have given my right arm for the BSPA to find a way of monetising my interest. Would happily have paid. I think there are a lot of interested expats like me who currently generate £0 revenue for speedway. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enotian 562 Posted February 10, 2022 2 hours ago, Skidder1 said: I would think that the BSN service as well as any individual club streams (as Edinburgh last season) will have a block put on them within a specified distance from the home track!! Maybe for one match passes but if I've paid an annual/monthly subscription I'd be a bit miffed if then I was blocked from watching my local teams home matches. The fact that matches are going to be spread across all the venues should minimise lost home revenue. Totally understand if individual clubs are streaming all their home matches that they'd want to exclude local purchases but disappointing if the BSN did likewise. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,269 Posted February 10, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, alanf2 said: I lived in US for 22 years until last week, now back home in Oxford. I would have given my right arm for the BSPA to find a way of monetising my interest. Would happily have paid. I think there are a lot of interested expats like me who currently generate £0 revenue for speedway. And if circa 20-25,000 take in a live match each week, I would suggest, (by estimating using past TV viewing figures, and how Cardiff gets 45,000 or so with many being different from year to year), that the sport has 60,000 to 80,000 who will still call themselves "Speedway fans", but either no longer have a local track, to attend, or dont bother took much about meeting results from any team perspective, due in the main to the way the sport runs itself.. Another measure as to the sports following is that many of the clubs official (and unofficial), Facebook pages have a fair few thousand followers. Some, no doubt, will cross over from one club to the next but it does suggest a decent potential market for streaming... Pricing it right is key, but hopefully it will provide another revenue maker for those who do it... Edited February 10, 2022 by mikebv Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enotian 562 Posted February 10, 2022 I wonder if lots of the streaming subscriptions are from 'lapsed' fans, who no longer have a local team to follow, if the BSPL will reconsider allowing teams without a home track to compete? For example if there are a load of Cradley Heath fans out there would you get more subscribing if a team representing them was in action? Obviously not as a league team but maybe in a stand alone pairs of 4TT competition, where you wouldn't need to stage a home fixture. Sure the link would be tenuous but if there was a fixed pair or four branded as the Heathens then those 'lapsed' fans could identify with them. In general if you're trying to sell streaming matches/subscriptions to as many folk as possible the more teams involved in each fixture broadcast the better. That way you're appealing to a wider market and less reliant on neutral customers. Ultimately will a successful streaming channel end up in the formation of a bespoke pairs or 4TT competition, to maximise subscriptions? Leaving the 7 man team league competition to the hardcore following? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
