Liquid Gold
Well-Known Member
Lets be honest, an annual ifollow pass really isn't worth it anymore
Blackburn not on ifollow (10 Viewers)
- Thread starter Liquid Gold
- Start date
larry_david
Well-Known Member
Does that mean some shitty link will be available for us to view though?
Earlsdon_Skyblue1
Well-Known Member
I've been considering cancelling mine to be honest.
Sick Boy
Super Moderator
Same here.
It would ok if they refunded the games that you couldn’t watch but I reckon more than a quarter haven’t actually been shown.
It’s a major pisstake.
It’sabatch87
Well-Known Member
Hesgoal will have it on I suspect.
chiefdave
Well-Known Member
Said it many times but when the illegal service is more reliable than the legal one you're going to end up losing revenue.
Liquid Gold
Well-Known Member
You can get a monthly video pass. I think I'll end up doing that and just buying months when I won't be going to most of the games.
They really have got this wrong. I think it would be best if you could do something like buy a 10 game pass then activate the games when you need them.
They really have got this wrong. I think it would be best if you could do something like buy a 10 game pass then activate the games when you need them.
Sick Boy
Super Moderator
It makes no sense to not show games to overseas viewers just because it’s being shown in the UK or on a channel around the other side of the world.
peace ndlovu
Well-Known Member
The other thing that pisses me off is that they don't even bother notifying subscribers by email. This thread is the only way I have heard about it
Legia Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
You are looking at it from a UK based angle, and rightly or wrongly as of now you are not supposed to access the matches from the UK unless they are mid-week games. I think there is an option to pay match by match, but for those overseas I would argue the annual match pass is still great value. I will probably see 30+ games over the season regardless of these ones lost to Sky games etc which works at about £5 a game. If necessary I would probably be prepared to pay £10 a game through the i follow platform, so I still see it as pretty good value.
Incidentally the last time they had one of these games blocked for overseas coverage it was still available though i follow in India, so maybe set your vpn to India and you might get lucky.
Liquid Gold
Well-Known Member
It isn't just a UK perspective. There are people on this thread who are out of the UK that are frustrated that the product isn't worth it with so many games being blocked.
I think it's absurd that if a game was being shown on tv in Canada you couldn't access the season pass you'd paid for from Sweden.
Sick Boy
Super Moderator
I’m overseas and think it’s a rip off unless they refund games that aren’t being shown.
robbiekeane
Well-Known Member
I live abroad and think it’s a piss take. I pay for the annual membership which isn’t cheap and I do so because I want to watch every game. However it’s becoming way too common for a random game to be broadcast somewhere else (not the country I’m in) and for some reason that means I can’t watch it on iFollow.
Why am I not refunded? Often I have to go and splash out on an espn or beinsports monthly membership so that I can watch it, so I’m paying double?
As someone else has mentioned too they don’t even have the courtesy of emailing to say as much, and provide details on where it’s being broadcast. Instead of have to rely on it being posted here and then asking people where I can watch it.
They need to sort it out.
Legia Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
I signed up for i follow in the full knowledge that certain games would not be shown, which was made clear by them from the start. We have had more games affected than we probably expected but unfortunately that is a side effect of having a good season, in that TV will want to show more of our games. Would you all rather we had a shit season just so you get to see more games?
Even so come the end of the season i follow will have shown well over 30 of our games working out at about £5 per game. Is that not good value? Would you rather go back 5 years when there was no i follow and no hope of seeing us play if you were abroad? I remember being so frustrated at seeing us play live only maybe a couple of times a season - i follow has made it so much easier to follow from abroad. Unfortunately I think a few of my fellow expats have grown a bit spoilt by the coverage we have now grown accustomed to, when they start feeling ripped off watching our games at £5 a pop, while regular supporters in the UK don't have that same option (legally at least).
Even so come the end of the season i follow will have shown well over 30 of our games working out at about £5 per game. Is that not good value? Would you rather go back 5 years when there was no i follow and no hope of seeing us play if you were abroad? I remember being so frustrated at seeing us play live only maybe a couple of times a season - i follow has made it so much easier to follow from abroad. Unfortunately I think a few of my fellow expats have grown a bit spoilt by the coverage we have now grown accustomed to, when they start feeling ripped off watching our games at £5 a pop, while regular supporters in the UK don't have that same option (legally at least).
Sick Boy
Super Moderator
I understand what you’re saying but it’s obvious they don’t show the UK Sky and foreign TV games on iFollow because they know people in the UK are streaming them. I’d rather pay a bit more and actually be able to watch every game and the money invested in preventing VPNs accessing it, much like BBC and Now TV do.
usskyblue
Well-Known Member
While I get the angle, that’s a bit OTT. How the team performs and how much exposure it attracts doesn’t have a correlation with people hoping we have shit season so they can watch more games.
Supporters want to watch their team, they’ve paid to do so and some games are being switched away (as the season progresses) from the platform they paid upfront for. iFollow advertise a ‘season pass’. It’s like paying upfront for your TV license, then the BBC deciding not to show random episodes of Eastenders because the plot’s getting exciting.*
*If that ever happens
Legia Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
Fair point. Its definitely difficult missing out on a game when you're used to seeing the team play week in week out.
Legia Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
They advertise a season pass but clearly state that certain games are not included, there is no great deception going on. TV games are selected as the season progresses so there is always an element of uncertainty about exactly how many games you will see. It is obvious therefore that the better your season the more times TV will want to show your games and the less that will be available through i follow. I understand and share the frustrations when a game isn't shown but still maintain the i follow service is good value, and one I would miss terribly if it were suddenly to stop.
Liquid Gold
Well-Known Member
The point is you pay a certain amount thinking you’ll get most of a season and miss a few. When it gets to missing a quarter or more games the value isn’t worth it .
The club needs to encourage take up and not disillusion people as the revenue goes down.
As I said earlier I normally pay for a season pass but next year I’ll do monthly ones or even just buy the odd game. The club are going to end up taking less in as I decide not to spend the money for times I have other plans or am feeling a bit skint.
It may not be their fault but if it’s out of their hands then they should be communicating to supporters that they are petitioning for change.
Liquid Gold
Well-Known Member
To add I know of a U.K. based fan based over 5 hours away from the arena. They hadn’t been for years but signed up for an ifollow season pass a couple years ago and got well back into it again, ended up buying merchandise again and so was putting back into the club for the first time in probably 15 years.
Now they said they won’t renew next season because they can get enough of a fill from sky so the club won’t get any income from them at all.
Now they said they won’t renew next season because they can get enough of a fill from sky so the club won’t get any income from them at all.
chiefdave
Well-Known Member
this has to be an EFL thing. the company that runs ifollow also does that NHL, and many other leagues, and the only games that aren't available to stream in the UK are the ones on Premier Sports, not any game that's on in Germany or wherever.
There's no way they're building a bespoke system just for the EFL, they'll all be running off the same backend so somewhere along the line a decision has been made to operate like this.
Sky_Blue_Dreamer
Well-Known Member
I think the idea that you buy credits to use up as and when you want and so you don't lose out when a game isn't available is an option worth considering. You could charge the same price per game as now but negate the perceived poor service availability and increase income if fewer games are shown abroad.
As you say the price seems decent value but the problem is if you sell a 'season ticket' and games are removed regularly due to overseas broadcast but not being shown where you are it feels like you've been short-changed, even when that warning is included when you buy, creating a negative customer experience and feedback.
I'm not sure how much control over the service the club has though.
Sick Boy
Super Moderator
I’m sure the club has next to no control over it. From my dealings with ifollow it’s easily one of the worst customer experiences I’ve ever had.
LilleSkyBlue
Well-Known Member
Nail my colours to the mast: I think ifollow is ace.
Moved abroad in 2003 so fair enough, I've had to accept I just won't get to many games. Life choices.
But with ifollow I follow the City home and away and that's just been unbelievable.
While it is annoying to find out such and such a match won't be shown, as an overall package it's always been well worth it.
The most vexing part used to be the endless buffering and loss of picture, particularly early on, like 2017-18 and 18-19. Hardly any of that anymore.
Also been excruciating watching teams like Luton, Hull, Fleetwood and many others practise arrant shithousery and time-wasting, but I'm fairly certain ifollow can't do much about that.
Moved abroad in 2003 so fair enough, I've had to accept I just won't get to many games. Life choices.
But with ifollow I follow the City home and away and that's just been unbelievable.
While it is annoying to find out such and such a match won't be shown, as an overall package it's always been well worth it.
The most vexing part used to be the endless buffering and loss of picture, particularly early on, like 2017-18 and 18-19. Hardly any of that anymore.
Also been excruciating watching teams like Luton, Hull, Fleetwood and many others practise arrant shithousery and time-wasting, but I'm fairly certain ifollow can't do much about that.
TwistAndShoutCCFC1987
Well-Known Member
I know this is random mate but i’m going on holiday in the summer and can’t decide between lille and san sebastian (and bilbao in one trip). Would you recommend lille?
Liquid Gold
Well-Known Member
I know you didn't ask me but you should go to the Basque Country if you have the chance.
People and scenery are incredible.
fernandopartridge
Well-Known Member
Worth asking @pipkin73 he lives in Puerto Rico
FulltimeWum
Well-Known Member
If you live outside Coventry you have to pay to listen to the radio coverage.
Pay £4 to listen to hear some at times very inaccurate commentary or watch Premier League- ableit via a stream of questionable legality for free.
Forever confused why EFL make their content so hard to access.
Pay £4 to listen to hear some at times very inaccurate commentary or watch Premier League- ableit via a stream of questionable legality for free.
Forever confused why EFL make their content so hard to access.
Many thanks, very much appreciated.
TwistAndShoutCCFC1987
Well-Known Member
Cheers mate
pipkin73
Well-Known Member
DAZN have the rights but not picked it up. It's on beIN Sports Mena though and most bars have it.