Posted on Saturday, 8th January 2011 by Deco
Hail Hail folks,
Well it’s nearly been a full week since we went to Ipox and stuffed our friends from the west side of the city and to be honest, I’m still buzzing. Bill Leckie, Graham Spiers and Cough-Gate have gone away and it’s onto Berwick Rangers. Krys will give us a great big match preview tomorrow so I’m not going down that road, but both these games are pretty relevant at where I want to go with my article this week.
I want to talk about the state of CSC’s here in North America and what’s next for us Worldwide Tim Parade fans. I know Chris did a similar blog a few months ago, but here is my take on where we stand today and in the future.
Last Sunday proved to be a double celebration for me, as not only did we really do the unthinkable with eight, now nine (after listening to the CU/LB pod) first team players out of the line up, I also became the President of the Aurora CSC. I do fear for the longevity of my role though. CSC’s the world over are a dying breed. Whether it’s people not going to the club to watch, or not jumping on the bus from Donegal, London or further afield to Paradise, the bottom line is numbers are falling. Sure last week when we traveled to the ZOO, there wasn’t a seat in the house, and sure it was a bumper payday for the clubs here, but I wonder how many will be there today to see whoever this team is I’ve never heard of play in the cup? Premium Sports (Setanta) will still want their pound of flesh for the transmission of this game, and trust me when I say pound, I mean a lot of £££.
Speaking of Premium Sports, something else has popped its ugly head up to curse some of the CSC’s over here. They turned off the old reliable Satellite feed as of January 1st and switched to Internet TV. For us in Aurora it worked perfectly, but I know a lot of clubs that either don’t have Internet access or don’t have enough bandwidth to support the large amount of data being sent down. To be honest, I don’t know how many clubs or bar owners (particularly in Canada, where you can’t serve booze with 90% of the current kick off times) will be happy to folk out an extra $100 for a monthly high speed line, time will tell there I suppose?
So why are numbers dropping? Is it the weather?
For me, I go to the CSC rain, hail, sleet or snow (lots here in my neck of the woods).
Is it the kick off times SKY/ESPN are demanding?
Well, Richard McKenna in the San Francisco CSC will be there watching at 4:15am while Brian McAvoy is watching the same game at the Sydney City CSC at 11:15 that night!
Is it over saturation of the football market the world over?
Every single EPL (plus every other league) is broadcast live into my house at a cost of $15 a month, not the $20 a game I’m paying to watch Celtic at my CSC.
So where is the answer?
Time for the cat amongst the pigeons,
Just before I moved over to Canada from Dublin about 10 odd years ago, I saw a document that was signed off by senior executives from Sky TV for Uefa. Without boring you, the jest of it was;
There are five teams in the EPL that have a major draw for the TV audience, (Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle) It went on to say, that they wanted a big seven, (my words) Celtic and the Orc’s.
Uefa at the time were listening as they were getting a bit worried about Mr. Rupert Murdoch’s Sky TV and where things were going. Would seven top teams in the EPL destroy the other leagues in Europe?
Time passed and then a get out of jail card arrived for both Uefa and the SPL
Setanta Sports UK with all it’s fun fair arrived on the scene, (we’ll take on Sky, blah blah) well we know where that ended up, yes down the toilet (thanks, i still watch over here).
I suppose where I’m going with this is that 10/12 years ago Sky went to Uefa and said we want Celtic and the Orc’s in the EPL, a few things got in the way back then, but now? Setanta failed, ESPN is just a puppet for Mr. Murdoch, the scene is set.
How I see things panning out?
Sky Sports is in for the long hall, it’s really their bread and butter in the Sky empire. They paid, what, close on £500M for three years EPL rights. Setanta tried to jump into the pond and were eaten up. When the next EPL deal is up for renewal, there is in my opinion no one to contest them; I use the Setanta example, and ESPN is just a finger of Sky.
Sky TV will say, we’ll give you £450m (50m less than current deal) for the next three years as it stands, or £550/600M if the Celtic and rangers come down. That was the plan years ago.
So back to the CSC’s, there will always be the diehards, myself included, that will go, but the future really is the EPL. Dermot Desmond is waiting and so am I.
I hope this little blog lights a good fire under your arse and get onto the comments. I promise there is more to this story, but I’ll save that for the comments part.
Deco.
Aurora CSC
Ghod Bless.
(twitter @Auroraceltic and for podcast and website updates @TheLostBhoys)
Related posts:
Posted in Deco | Comments (13)
Celtic News 24/7
January 8th, 2011 at 12:27 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Aurora Celtic. Aurora Celtic said: RT @TheLostBhoys: What About the CSC's http://bit.ly/efOser by @Auroraceltic #LostBhoys #Celtic ? [...]
January 8th, 2011 at 4:11 am
Well said Deco, congrats on the presidency, as a fellow NAFCSC President our tenure is no longer everlasting.
No matter how much you try and convince the bhoys and ghirls to come down to the CSCs only the diehards are willing to support the clubs.
Some might say we are the fools paying Premium for the privilege when there are other media streams to watch the bhoys for a fraction of the cost and they are probably right.
I don’t know how long we will last, but as long as there are enough Tims willing to congregate in these far away shores to watch the bhoys every week then we will try and keep these clubs running cos I just can’t get enough!!!!!
KTF
Hail Hail
Davie
[Reply]
January 8th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Deco I don’t think there is any chance of us going down to England whatsoever. If anything clubs in the EPL this season are making a better fist of it in the european places against the so called big 5. They don’t need us in any way I don’t think and I don’t think fans of English clubs want us either.
[Reply]
January 8th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Hi Deco
Since the Lostbhoys Podcasts started the one continuous and clear message that we hear of is the decline is CSC across the world. It would appear the main reason for decline is the combination of the kick off times and the availability of the games direct to our own homes.
Unfortunately, for the CSC’s, its just a harsh reality of the times we live in. If you consider it logically, the main reason the CSC’s came to exist was so that ex pats across the world could actually watch some football from home. That main need is no longer there.
Brisbane CSC is a 1 hour drive from my home and kick off times here in Oz are actually not too bad for those of us who like a beer or a two. I personally would love to attend the club every week to watch the games but the thought of paying $200 in a taxi home or more for an overnight at a hotel just make it too expensive. (Albeit I have done it in the past).
The other down side to the clubs is that they are generally in licensed venues, therefore my 13 year old son would be unable to watch the game with his dad. Last week I thought about making the journey up to Brizzy and decided against it at the last minute as I could see the look of disappointment on my sons face. At the final whistle, with the two of us jumping around the living room like idiots and the neighbors probably thinking there was a large domestic taking place, I knew I had made the correct decision, I was ensuring another generation of Celtic Supporters in my family despite living 15 thousand Km from the real Paradise.
Watching the game yourself is crap, its a social thing, Chris & Jamie on the podcast talked about the night we won the league at Tannadice and the fantastic night they had. I was over the moon that morning, went to work just after it finished, nobody cared I was on top of the world and then it was a let down. Without ‘Twitter’ and ‘Facebook’ last Sunday would probably have been the same, I needed somewhere to gloat. Lost a few friends on FB along the way
Anyway, my point is that if the CSC’s want to survive they need to change the focus away from just watching the games. Johnny Mullaney, who you may remember from the very 1st LB Podcast, has done just that with the other guys at the Brisbane Club and created the Brisbane Celtic FC. I believe their numbers are as strong ever, and how good would it be to play in the hoops with your mates.
Hail Hail
Chris
Surfers Paradise,Oz
[Reply]
January 8th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
The number one rule in Business is;
Serve a good product at a fair price and your good to go.
The Advent of CSC’s did provide this, but as you said, times change. The Federation are telling Premium Sports the numbers are falling. There saying the Irish & Scottish dispora is growing here in NA. Both sides may not be wrong, but for sure the new wave of people coming are bringing there streams or whatever new media with them and not going to the clubs.
My hope is that with this new internet tv both sides can come to a common ground over the price of transmission.
Harper, IMO I do see us in the EPL, it’ll all come down to money. If and when Sky Tv says jump the premier league clubs will follow suit. BBC, ITV, none of them have the financial muscle BskyB have and going back to my article. Who’s to stop Sky from paying less than the current deal.
How I see this panning out is the old EPL2 idea. UEFA would be happy as they would be creating a whole new league.
And the rest is history. Realistically if we want Champions League nights again or even a run of truly winning the thing, we need out of the SPL.
Further to my point, if we left, it would benefit Scotland. Switch to summer football (I know we disagreed on this, and I still would if Celtic & the Orc’s were still there)
Fans from both sides can go and watch a good game of football on a July evening, while getting Celtic over the winter.
Chris, my club is based out of a Soccer Club, we have 7 mens and a ladies team. When have an Auroua Celtic (the best team and I’m not just saying that)
Pretty much all the clubs in Ontario have a club team.
I did pod 40 for chris around the time we have the Ontario indoor tourney for all Celtic Clubs. That’s coming up again soon. Hopefully Bramalea Celtic and there bangers giruy. Lol, sorry Henry!
[Reply]
Harper Reply:
January 8th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
Deco I hope your right as that’s where I hope to see us play. I also agree that if Sky wanted it they would probably get their way. I just don’t see why they would, I can’t see why they would think we would add value to the product.
[Reply]
Deco Reply:
January 8th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
The added value for them is you know have more high profile games. What’s a bigger seller for subscriptions and advertising for Sky? Man Who vs Celtic or Man Who vs West Brom? For emits a no brainer.
Also, how does it help EPL teams? Well as I said, all EPL games are broadcast live here in Canada. When one of the big five or six play, let’s say, Wigan, it’s a full house. When it’s Wigan vs Blackburn, place is empty.
We’d give EPL teams a full house like we do right now at away SPL games.
EPL 2 is coming, and we’ll be there.
[Reply]
Harper Reply:
January 8th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Honestly Deco I don’t think Sky are going to sell anymore subscriptions because Celtic are in the EPL. people subscribe to Sky/ESPN anyway. They don’t care if your bar is full or not they already have the money unless your talking PPV.
Deco Reply:
January 8th, 2011 at 10:49 pm
Maybe that is the next step. They do it here in NA. Celtic Tv via sky tv show 10 games, same with Man Who, Liverpool, whoever.
On top of that, having Celtic in the EPL helps the EPL brand worldwide. This comment might pi*s some people off, but if your Irish and follow football your a Celtic Fan.
At last count, there is 49m Irish passports out there. I’m not sure how many millions of Scottish passports are out there also, but sure it’s up there. My point is, if we go, everyone wins, only trouble, we have to bring them lot too:(
January 8th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Kick of times, availability of matches at home, and price are major factors in the decline of CSCs, but another reason I’ve observed is that the members of the CSC are dying off with no replacement to be found. At the CSC I attend, I am easily the youngest member by at least 20 years. While I’d estimate that we are a smaller CSC in North America, attendances have been steady this season and, as far as I can gather, the club’s finances are relatively stable due to the hard work of the members of the club. However, Celtic is losing it’s fan base in North America to old age and seems to have no plan in how to attract a new one. Football’s popularity is at an all time high in North America, yet Celtic is wasting time and an opportunity by ignoring it while the Man U’s, Barcelona’s, and others grow and prosper in this market.
[Reply]
January 10th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
I was a member of our local CSC a few years ago. I stopped going due to time/financial constraints as well as I found the atmosphere at our club poor. I became a CH67 subscriber.
If the broadcasters worked with the CSC’s to get the cost of the games to a more reasonable rate (i.e. $5-7/person), and the kickoffs were at 3 pm the majority of the time I think you would see the CSC’s strengthen. It is much better watching a Celtic game with others and all the more so if you can have a beer while watching. The 12:30 kickoffs kill that in N.A.
As far as the N.A. market, Celtic are in a Catch-22. Without regular TV coverage they won’t have the popularity of a ManU or Barca, but without the popularity they can’t get regular TV coverage.
If Celtic worked with the broadcasters to help the CSCs it would be a big step to increasing their popularity worldwide and adding to the fanbase.
[Reply]
Deco Reply:
January 10th, 2011 at 6:46 pm
Jamie,
The current deal with Premium sports ends at the end of next season. I know their were talks with Celtic about not selling their North American rights 18 months ago, but fell through and premium stepped in. At the time we didn’t know if we’d even get the start of the season shown over here.
I think at the time, was there a good enough and more importantly a cheaper method of delivering the signal to the clubs.
Now that were going the route of internet tv, I would not be surprised to see the 2012/13 season being distributed by Celtic themselves to the clubs via an enhanced Ch.67
With that in place, you can see a much cheaper price option for all concerned.
Time will tell I suppose.
Hail Hail.
[Reply]
January 25th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
[...] on from Deco’s (Click Here ) article a few weeks ago about CSC’s and his fear of the longevity of them here’s some good [...]