Thoughts of whether we end the season in 16th or 17th spot, of who stays and who goes, even whether Lyon Duchere will gain promotion (their chances took a tumble at the weekend with a 3-2 defeat against OL’s second string) will have to wait a little longer. There’s someone (some people?) I would like to meet.
Now understandably the club is promoting on the official site the streaming option for Saturday’s final game of the season. But the actual offers presented raised a chuckle from me. You have the annual subscription, more on that in a moment. Alternatively fans can watch the game live with “a live stream match pass, which is priced at £10”, or, I kid you not, “a monthly CharltonTV subscription, which is priced at £35 per month recurring and will allow fans to watch every regular 2023/24 league match live”. Err, so I can pay £35 for a month, to watch one remaining game, or £10 for … that game.
So I really want the club to name anyone who takes up the monthly option. Those people would deserve some sort of prize, although how it would be worded could be a sensitive matter. I would like to meet them, I could do with a laugh.
In the piece the club continues to make the offer of “an annual CharltonTV subscription”. OK, what’s the problem? I have one which auto renewed in late December. Trouble is I don’t think it is guaranteed that CharltonTV will be continuing next season.
Under the new EFL/Sky agreement, which comes into force for next season and runs until 2028/29, Sky says it will show live a minimum of 248 League One matches, with 10 EFL games to be shown each matchday weekend, five of which will be from the Championship (ie 5 from League One and League Two). On this basis Sky says supporters of League One and League Two teams will “now benefit from greater coverage than ever before”. Well, if you’re talking overall live coverage of the two divisions that may be correct; if you are talking access to the games of the club you support its BS – and the games shown live on Sky will be played outside the 14.45-17.15 period, ie not the normal start time.
Sky goes on to say that its new coverage will “effectively replace … the EFL’s domestic streaming option provided via iFollow and club streaming services”, adding that “domestic (ie UK) streaming audio services will remain alongside existing audio-visual arrangements for international audiences via iFollow and club streaming services”.
So, if I understand things correctly, if you are based in the UK (and aren’t circumventing rights issues with the use of VPN), your CharltonTV service comes to an end after tomorrow (if anyone’s based in the UK and just taken out an annual sub you qualify for an award as above). If, like me, you are based outside the UK, it would seem that Charlton, like other EFL clubs, has the option to continue to provide the streaming of games live – in our case along with the excellent pre- and post-match show.
However, I’ve not seen any confirmation of this from the club. I sent an email back in January to inquire as to whether CharltonTV would be continuing next season – and if not how the club would deal with unexpired subscription periods. It took a resend to elicit a rather bland, corporatist, non-committal reply that at that point in time the club was “awaiting confirmation on streaming rules for next season”. OK, those rules were I assume confirmed in early April, so it would be good to know what the club is planning. I would suggest that if CharltonTV were to come to a stop it is invidious of the club to now be publicising the option of an annual subscription to the service.
I’m not privy to the club’s thinking on CharltonTV, or the finances of the service, ie the extent to which current subscriptions cover costs, or projections if the services were to continue and be available only for non-UK subscribers. Again, I think it’s reasonable to expect confirmation from the club whether or not the service will continue next season for International Addicks as currently provided, whether there will be a pared back service, and how much it is planned to charge for the service with no UK-based users.
To that I’d add that CharltonTV provides a massively important link to the club for us living abroad. Sky’s infrequent and probably impersonal service will provide no substitute. And beyond my personal interest there is the whole issue of the extent to which the club wishes to embrace and interact with its international supporters, for mutual benefit. It is appreciated that the club’s key focus has to be getting more fans back into The Valley, but ignoring the international fan base would, I believe, be short-sighted. These Addicks – I am a member of the International Addicks fan group – are a committed bunch (in every sense of the word, as all who have encountered the German Addicks in particular will testify) ready and willing to do what they can to help promote the club all over the world. The CATV streaming service is an irreplaceable lifeline for them, essential if they are to help increase an international fan base in the years ahead.
Also, let’s not forget, CharltonTV is bloody good. Steve Brown and Curbs, plus Scott Minto and others, come close to making bloggers redundant with the quality of their analysis. No doubt the number of EFL clubs providing a streaming service for its overseas fans will be reduced by the EFL/Sky deal. Retaining the service will only enhance the reputation of Charlton within the game.
Perhaps with the coverage tomorrow the CharltonTV team will indicate if it’s ‘see you again next season’ or ‘adieu’.
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