Reading FC on U.S. TV: check here for updates

[RoyalChicagoFC]

This Friday evening 2nd January from 8:00 PM Eastern, FSC will screen in full Reading in their FA Cup Fourth Round tie away to Birmingham from 27th January 2007. Not at all a bad thing for Friday nite's featured match on FSC, it's got to be said

As for that Watford match that's been moved for UK TV to a 3:00 PM EST kickoff on Friday 9th January: the reasonable expectation was that Setanta US would have picked it up for live screening --but instead they've got some rugby thing scheduled for that hour

It's subject to change between now and when kickoff arrives, and I'll advise if it does. The smart play at this point would be to assume that it will not and to line up a way to watch on the Internets

Meanwhile, tune in to FSC on Friday nite from 8 Eastern if you get a chance. HNY and all that

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Friday's home match with Watford, moved for UK TV, will not screen on Setanta US as we had hoped and --with Setanta being the exclusive U.S. carrier of Football League fare-- had reason to expect (live rugby instead, in case anyone was wondering)

Since the date and time of the match were moved for live TV in the UK, I recommend that one who seeks live-streaming options on the Internets will be rewarded for one's faith and persistence. Kickoff is set for 3:00 PM Eastern U.S. time on Friday

Setanta Canada will carry it live. Good for oxf*rd Canada I guess

No other fixtures between now and the end of the road have been rearranged for UK TV purposes, but that's subject to change. I'll keep an eye on it and report here if anything comes up

[PremAddict]

And for that reason, I cancelled my subscription to Setanta. Actually I cancelled it several months back pretty much assured that Setanta would choose crap matches between SheffU or Derby instead of showing Reading.

[Royal Yank]

And for that reason, I cancelled my subscription to Setanta. Actually I cancelled it several months back pretty much assured that Setanta would choose crap matches between SheffU or Derby instead of showing Reading.

Just done exactly the same. I can always re-subscribe should they choose to show a game or two as the season goes on.

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Well, to be fair to the ignorant bastards --and not that they deserve it-- we should be golden in the event that anything should get switched by Sky to 5:20 PM UK/12:20 PM Eastern on Saturday.

Everything is spoken for thru the first weekend in March as far as that goes, and we ain't involved.

Not at all a bad move pulling the plug on your subscription, though. They're complete idiots undeserving of your money and really would do well to learn a few things about what the minimum level of acceptance is from the standpoint of an American consumer and to waste no time in applying those lessons.

[seahawk10]

Make that another disgruntled former subscriber. I switched form Setanta to Reading World at the start of the season. Consistently being able to hear the radio broadcasts was more important to me than the odd showing on Setanta Broadband. And the few times that Setanta is showing Reading you can be sure you can find it on the internet via sopcast or some other dodgy method.

So in summary: Setanta = dump.

At least for this year.

[unclewal]

Apologies if this has already been reported elsewhere but has anyone tried ESPN360- a legit internet option?
I watched the Birmingham game live on it while lounging poolside in FLA and as of two minutes ago they list:
Fri, Jan 9 3:00PM Football League Football League: Watford vs. Reading

Not everyone can get it I believe as it depends on the deal your ISP has but they have a fair number of CCC games plus eg Carling Cup.
Good hunting

URZZZ!

DJ

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Cheers D --yeah, I can't get it because all of my TeeVee goodness gets pumped in by DirecTV, and they're not hooked up with The Worldwide Leader, but it may of course be of use to others.

A heads-up on matters more immediate:
Sky moved Palace away into a featured slot on Saturday 21st March (5:20 PM GMT), and it would appear that Setanta US will pick that up for live screening and perhaps a repeat or two

Wouldn't hold my breath, and in any case we won't know until this coming Sunday or Monday, at which time the TV schedule thru the 21st should be posted online; will update thereupon

Also, it's that time of year again --with standard localized exceptions, U.S. clocks get moved forward by one hour overnite this coming Saturday/Sunday the 7th/8th, so when one awakens on Sunday morning, time conversions between the U.S. and UK/rest of the EU will be shorter by an hour; the latter move clocks forward an hour overnite on 28th/29th March, so it's gonna be this way thru, for our purposes, the end of this month

In practical terms, 3:00 UK kickoffs go from 11:00 AM Eastern for the duration instead of the normal 10 o'clock, and so on across North America; in other words, one runs a greater risk of showing up early than late. From a thoroughly RFC-centric perspective, it takes effect from next Tuesday's match at home to Charlton and remains in force thru the rest of this month's matches

Here's how March breaks down on the kickoff times:
WED 3rd Wednesday (A) 7:45 PM GMT/2:45 PM EST
SAT 7th Plymouth (A) 3:00 PM GMT/10:00 AM EST
TUE 10th Charlton (H) 8:00 PM GMT/4:00 PM EDT
SAT 14th Ipswich (H) 3:00 PM GMT/11:00 AM EDT
TUE 17th Doncaster (A) 7:45 PM GMT/3:45 PM EDT
SAT 21st Palace (A) 5:20 PM GMT/1:20 PM EDT
Weekend 28th/29th No match; international break for World Cup qualifying
British/EU Summer Time begins overnite 28th/29th March, from which point regular time conversions apply

Will update with news of Setanta's plans to screen Palace live in the States on Sunday or Monday then

[PremAddict]

hmmm - since DirecTV allows subscribing a month at a time, maybe I'll throw-down 15 the day prior (in case Setanta change their minds!).



Then I'll wait the necessary 30 days and drop it once again.

BTW RC, thanks for the work you put in to keeping us abreast of the opportunities to watch our Royals!

[seahawk10]

Cheers Chi, good stuff as always!

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Oh you guys lol

Good shout PremAddict on what you report to be the friendLOLy subscription terms of Setanta US via DirecTV (my provider, as it happens). Our cousins over across looking on must be green with envy, to go on the basis of tales of their regular battles with the thieving Hibernian satellite posse as reported here.

So fifteen bucks for one RFC match, plus everything else over the next month (inc. UEFA nations' WC qualifiers on the 28th and April Fools'), is cheaper than round-trip public transit down the pub and the obligatory beers. I'll definitely be giving it some thought (and ringing up DirecTV before I'd pull the trigger on such a move in any event).

My sports package on DirecTV --FSC and GolTV inclusive, in addition to all the other goodies-- just went up by a buck a month, or so I surmise from the torrent of poorly assembled verbiage in an email that I got from DTV. Seems they haven't heard that money's tight out there these days.

Just a general note: Anybody else Stateside noticed how ESPN and its channels have begun to scroll football scores on their crawl @ the bottom of the screen --like, for Prem, Serie A, Primera and the Bundesliga? Found out during happy hour in St. Paul last week Tottnum had beaten Hull one-nil --and I hadn't even asked.

Kinda makes me wonder what they may be getting up to...and if indeed it's what I've been predicting.

[seahawk10]

What have you been predicting Chi? I had lunch with Royal Yank when he was out here in LaLa land on biz. We got to talking and one of the topics was soccer viewing in the States. My premise is that someone smart has to figure out that there is money to be made just showing a Prem game of the week. Forget shoving MLS down our throats, but if they would just expose U.S. Americans to enough quality football and I truly believe it would catch on. People like me, choosing a club and sticking through thick and thin.

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Well, not to swerve the thread, 'hawkerz --but since you ask lol

I happened to be MSN'ing one afternoon with a Reading native and much beloved 'Nobber about this time a year ago and excused myself to hop on the phone and call the Score. Bernstein was on vacation, so it was Abbatacola their lead producer on with Boers, and those two hate football and I know it (and of course I'm an obsessive and they know it).

The topic on the table was "the changing landscape of sports," and of course I had to get in on that. I basically framed it thus (and I had the 'Nobber I was IMing w/ log on to the Score's stream): the question of "will [football] ever make it in the States" is kind of a bogus proposition when one considers that even if the market niche amounts to 5 percent of the population, that's a third the population of England and a quarter that of the UK as a whole right there.

That's a hell of a lot of wallets, and you turn up your nose at it at your own peril if you're in business to make money by selling things to people, in particular to a generally more financially secure demographic as football fans over here tend to be (indeed, we won't be a real threat on the world's stage until the stars of our national team come from places where they have to confront the real possibility of fighting their way to and from school every day --which sort of contradicts my own argument, but not really if one reads it carefully).

Anyway, I posited that ESPN --who already do a very slick presentation of the Champions League with a live game on ESPN2 (Derek Rae all the way) and a delayed screening of another on Classic each matchday-- would get in on the game in a major way within the next three to five years. It only makes sense, what with 3:00 kickoffs coming @ 10 AM Eastern and the first college gridiron games kicking off from noon Eastern during the fall (and the same with buckets in the springtime); I think that the number of folks tuned in to watch Liverpool v. Newcastle, Arsenal v. Villa and so on would be greater than that looking for Lee Corso to blather on at a tailgate party in Tuscaloosa for three hours (or Dickie V doing the same from the concourse at Cameron indoor in February).

It just makes sense for them to do it. They could outbid Fox for the rights next time the deal is up and then farm out games to others for a fee during times when they'd have conflicts with more popular programming (similar to how Fox does it now, AFAIK; they've got an exclusive deal via FSC with the Premier League, and Setanta pay them for the rights to show the early Saturday and Sunday games, a couple of the 3:00 Saturday games, the Monday nighters and midweek fare).

They've got the platform for it, their production values and studio backbone are better by miles than what FSC bring to the table (say goodbye to that fruitcake Max Bretos and those other clowns over there), and they can deliver the product in a way that doesn't treat their audience like a buncha ignorant bubblegummers --I really thought that they did an excellent job with the Euros last summer (with Andy Gray on loan from Sky and analyzing in the studio between games and during breaks a being a big piece of that, although our man Ark Royal thought the whole thing was excessively dumbed down).

Anyway, the best football in the world ain't played here, and I see no urgent need for us to compete on that level in a top-flight league (although of course I wouldn't complain if we did, but there are structural constraints that work against it happening anytime soon). It's too damn cold to play in the winter, and it's too hot in the summer --but the latter trumps the former, as fans won't sit and watch the Fire playing Columbus in Ice Bowl conditions. So you get sweat-soaked guys running around in July heat and humidity gasping for air and not tackling because to do so would leave them making rash two-footed lunges and destroying their opposition buddies' knees and ankles.

Same goes the other way for our own top sports --some hotheaded apologist for the World Baseball Classic called the same radio show last month bleating on about "promoting the game on the world's stage," and I laid utter ruin to his strictly emotional argument by pointing out in an email to the hosts that there's no need for the NFL or baseball or even the NBA (which would have the best shot at pulling it off IMJ) to site a franchise on the other side of the waves; TV is, as we know well and truly, a readily accessible and very useful way to feed the jones, and the utterly insatiable always can hop on a plane.

And so with that, everybody please note that Palace away may screen live here from 1:20 PM EDT on Saturday 21st March and that the U.S. moves most of its clocks forward overnite on Saturday/Sunday but that the UK and EU don't do so until the 28th/29th. Scroll up five posts for the full skinny.

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Confirmed, as discussed above: With Sky having moved Palace away into a featured slot on Saturday 21st March (5:20 PM GMT/1:20 PM EDT), and with Setanta US in the habit of picking up Championship fixtures on that day and hour, Setanta's schedule today reflects that the match from Selhurst Park will screen live in the States. No repeat screenings have been announced, but Setanta roll out their schedule a day at a time; I'll advise if and when there's anything to be said

Here's hoping that they make good on the promise of a live screening. Newcastle host Arsenal on the half-hour on FSC, so those bound for the pub will be competing with the global Toon Army and Gooner contingents for space. If I'm feeling especially bold on the day, I'll take the laptop and live-blog the thing

Please note also that Sheffield United at home has been moved forward for UK TV to a 5:30 PM GMT/11:30 AM EDT kickoff on Good Friday 10th April. With no Premier League fare currently scheduled for that date and hour, it is possible that Setanta US would pick it up for a screening, whether live or delayed; as a practical matter, it's just as likely that they'll find some rugby thing to show instead --but stay tuned for an update, which should be available by the weekend of 28th/29th March

MIND THE CLOCKS
Also, it's that time of year again --with standard localized exceptions, U.S. clocks moved forward by one hour overnite on the 7th/8th, so time conversions between the U.S. and UK/rest of the EU were lessened by an hour; the latter move clocks forward an hour overnite on 28th/29th March, so it's gonna be this way for a while

In practical terms, 3:00 UK kickoffs happen @ 11:00 AM Eastern for the duration instead of the normal 10 o'clock, and so on across the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave; in other words, one runs a greater risk of showing up early than late. From an RFC fan's perspective, it takes effect from Tuesday at home to Charlton and remains in force thru the rest of the month's matches

Here's how March breaks down on the kickoff times:
TUE 10th Charlton (H) 8:00 PM GMT/4:00 PM EDT
SAT 14th Ipswich (H) 3:00 PM GMT/11:00 AM EDT
TUE 17th Doncaster (A) 7:45 PM GMT/3:45 PM EDT
SAT 21st Palace (A) 5:20 PM GMT/1:20 PM EDT
British/EU Summer Time begins overnite 28th/29th March, from which point regular time conversions apply

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Invitation to the Third Annual HNA? Bracket Challenge @ Yahoo!® below...

No changes since the last update --Palace away this Saturday 21st March (5:20 PM GMT/1:20 PM EDT) set to screen live on Setanta US. No repeat screenings are scheduled, and those planning to watch at a pub should note that Newcastle-Arsenal kicks off on the half-hour on FSC

Also please note that Sheffield United at home has been rearranged for UK TV as a 5:30 PM GMT/11:30 AM EDT kickoff on Good Friday 10th April

With no Premier League fare currently scheduled for that date and hour, it is possible that Setanta US would pick it up for a screening, whether live or delayed; as a practical matter, it's just as likely that they'll find some rugby thing to show instead --but stay tuned for an update, which should be available by the weekend of 28th/29th March


HNA? Bracket Challenge at Yahoo!®
In the meantime, with the NCAA Men's Basketball national championship tournament set to tip off shortly after noon EDT/4:00 PM this Thursday the 19th, I'd like to extend an invitation to all 'Nobbers to join the Third Annual HNA? Bracket Challenge at Yahoo!®

The what-it-is and how-to may be found here in the March Madness thread in the General Sport board.

For those not registered @ HNA?, the basics:
Click here to access the HNA? group page
Log in to your Yahoo! account if you aren't already
Group ID# is 25485
Group password is 18urz71
Fill out a bracket and join in the fun --again, submission deadline is shortly after noon EDT/4 PM GMT on Thursday, at which point everything is locked


MIND THE CLOCKS
With standard localized exceptions, U.S. clocks moved forward by one hour overnite on the 7th/8th, so time conversions between the U.S. and UK/rest of the EU were lessened by an hour; the latter move clocks forward an hour overnite on 28th/29th March, so it's gonna be this way until the Sunday morning after the next UEFA World Cup 2010 qualifiers matchday on 28th March

In practical terms, 3:00 UK kickoffs happen @ 11:00 AM Eastern for the duration instead of the normal 10 o'clock, and so on across the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave; in other words, one runs a greater risk of showing up early than late. From a totally RFC-centric perspective, normal service resumes once Saturday's match away to Palace is in the books

[unclewal]

Thanks W.

I'd like to point out that the Palace game is also live on the estimable ESPN360.com for those of you that can get it, and would rather stay home in your jammies and not have to bother fighting with Gooners for screen time.

URZ
D

[seahawk10]

Good tips on both the bracket challenge and ESPN360.com. I am in on both!

[PremAddict]

For the life of me, I can't understand why ESPN are so selective for their 360 offering. It would appear that only Verizon and ATT offer the service (and they don't offer nationwide coverage). I'd pay to get it as I'm sure tens of thousands would.

On another note, I was toying with the idea of having someone "host" a Sony LocationFree station in the UK and let folks tap-in to the stream. Now that Sony does not limit the number of clients, it might be something interesting (of course I was thinking of this at 3am while feeding my 3 month old daughter so maybe I'm nuts). Of course, I'd really only be interested if C'ship matches with Reading are broadcast more frequently than they are here.

If that's a no-go, I thought of setting-up the station for this Saturday's match and let you guys tap-in. thoughts?

BTW - SH and RC, are you expats or natives? just curious - I'm US citizen just completely enamoured with the Royals for some reason.

[seahawk10]

If that's a no-go, I thought of setting-up the station for this Saturday's match and let you guys tap-in. thoughts?

BTW - SH and RC, are you expats or natives? just curious - I'm US citizen just completely enamoured with the Royals for some reason.

Both Royal Chi and myself are US Americans just like you. There are quite a few others on here as well that have caught the fever for one reason or another.

I would love to latch on to your feed. I get ESPN360 at work since I work at a University, but at home on Charter it is not available.

My other option was just ignoring hobnob for the weekend and watching it on archive on ESPN360 from work on Monday. Drop me a pm if you do setup a broadcast.

[PremAddict]

If that's a no-go, I thought of setting-up the station for this Saturday's match and let you guys tap-in. thoughts?

BTW - SH and RC, are you expats or natives? just curious - I'm US citizen just completely enamoured with the Royals for some reason.

Both Royal Chi and myself are US Americans just like you. There are quite a few others on here as well that have caught the fever for one reason or another.

I would love to latch on to your feed. I get ESPN360 at work since I work at a University, but at home on Charter it is not available.

My other option was just ignoring hobnob for the weekend and watching it on archive on ESPN360 from work on Monday. Drop me a pm if you do setup a broadcast.

I'll get it hooked-up tonight and leave it running - then send you a PM on what to do so you can test it prior to the match - hopefully things will work ok, but I've never registered the client over the internet (it does support it, just haven't ever tried it).