iFollow Streaming
Next season overseas supporters of English Football League clubs will be able to watch their club play via live HD streaming called iFollow, a streaming system that Aston Villa have opted out of, in order to provide their own version to overseas Villa supporters.
While overseas Villans will still have access to live streaming, the presentation and the way they pay will be different.
MOMS asked Villa CEO Keith Wyness at the latest Fan Consultation Group meeting, if Villa’s system would also be an annual subscription like iFollow, but he stated that instead it would be something that will be offered on an individual match basis. A little like boxing pay-for-view.
Wyness also said, it would be ‘competitively priced’, so it will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the standard price (below) that other EFL club fans will pay.
The advantage of the booking it on an individual match basis is there will be no waste, as league matches selected for live TV coverage, including those on Sky Sports and one other Saturday 3pm kick-off that will be broadcast internationally, will NOT be available to stream on iFollow or Villa’s platform.
So, it makes sense for Villa to charge individually per game, if they go onto have a successful season and get a lot of pick-up from Sky TV.
Fans based in the UK and Ireland will still also have access to live audio commentary.
EFL iFollow Pricing
The price of iFollow which will allow EFL club fans the chance to watch up to 46 live games in HD quality during the 2017-18 EFL season is as follows:
A Season Pass for overseas subscribers to the live streaming product is priced at £110. A Season Pass to live audio commentary is priced at £45.
The currency breakdowns are as follows:
Australia – AUD$185
Canada – CAD$190
EU – €130
USA – $140
A Season Pass for domestic subscribers (UK and Ireland) to live audio commentary is priced at £45.
Both overseas and domestic subscribers can obtain a Free Pass which will grant them access to exclusive content, outside of live match coverage, for free.
To see what Villa’s new Commercial Chief Luke Organ also had to say about Villa’s live streaming, check out the interview with him here.
Villa Preseason Free Live Streaming
In other news, Villa have confirmed this week that they will be streaming on YouTube their friendly games, which we will host on My Old Man Said’s website too.
The following games have been confirmed:
July 12 – Telford v Aston Villa, New Bucks Head, 7.45pm
July 12 – Kidderminster v Aston Villa, Aggborough, 7.45pm
July 15 – Shrewsbury vs Aston Villa, New Meadow, 3pm
July 18 – Walsall vs Aston Villa, Banks’s Stadium, 7.45pm
Screening TBC – July 23 – Cup of Traditions, Schauinsland Reisen Arena, Duisburg, Germany, 1pm
Screening TBC – July 25 – Vitesse Arnhem vs Aston Villa, Venue TBC, KO TBC
July 29 – Aston Villa vs Watford (Graham Taylor tribute match), Villa Park, 3pm
UTV
The Canadian price at $190.00 is steep! You can get over half a season at the Whitcaps for that. Many Canadian supporters while frustrated at not being able to watch their team, I predict will opt for the local option with their cash.
Larger clubs will benefit from keeping things in house it’s always good to cut out the middle man . And on the free streaming of this year’s friendly fixtures it”s another great gesture from a club that looks to put the fans first unlike previous owners
harsh really harsh on fans in this country, we get continually ripped off by sky to watch our own league , whereas people from all corners of the globe can watch for free, should be other way around IMO