The English Premier League started last week with packed grounds. (Photos: AFP)
After stellar track and field performances by Jamaican athletes in Oregon (USA), Birmingham (UK) and Cali (Colombia), the nation geared up and prepared for the start of the English Premier League (EPL) season. last week Friday (August 5). However, to the dismay of many, the viewing of the first weekend of the new season was wishful thinking.
None of the major cable television providers – FLOW and Digicel – were able to show the desired content to their subscribers as their rights to offer the same expired at the end of last season, in May this year. The two telcos had previously offered the EPL on their joint venture sports channel, hurryfrom the 2019/20 to 2021/22 season but, for reasons still unknown to most, the rights to broadcast the world’s most popular sports league were acquired by Verticast Media Group (Vertical cast) for the 2022/23 to 2024/25 season.
The joint venture between FLOW and Digicel, based in St Lucia, was launched in July 2019 under the umbrella of Caribbean Premier Sports Limited (CPSL), and their combined reach brought EPL content to the majority of cable/IPTV subscribers across the region of the Caribbean. Vertical cast is said to have finalized deals with cable operators in nearly every Caribbean country, but, if their presence in Jamaica is anything to go by, that’s not saying much. It has been widely reported that local signatures include Hometime Cable and Cornwall Communications, which operate in limited parishes (particularly in western Jamaica) and limited areas within those parishes, while Digicel’s coverage is more extensive (particularly in more remote areas populated areas of Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine) and FLOW is licensed by the Broadcasting Commission to operate island-wide.
In addition, if the reports are true, in addition to the rights to broadcast the EPL in the Caribbean for the next three seasons, Verticast has also acquired the rights to the National Football League (NFL) – including the Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, EURO 2024 and EURO 2028 plus other European football competitions such as the UEFA Nations League.
to Verticast i loan, apart from them’CSports‘and’CSports 2Cable channels that are currently available to subscribers of more than 40 cable operators in the region, they opened their streaming website (csport.tv) last week on Thursday (August 4), just ahead of the EPL kick-off between Arsenal and Crystal Palace the following day. The website offers the same programming as cable channels – after a painless sign-up process – and Vertical cast has announced its availability at no cost until the end of August 2022.
For those who spent the better part of last Friday afternoon, then Saturday and Sunday morning glued to the screens of their televisions, tablets and smartphones (presumably excluding iPhones), watching The Verikasts offers through their browsers, the question now remains: What will happen at the end of August? Surely a cost will be applied to this ‘base’ once appetites have been whetted with what the EPL has to offer this season? Not to mention the possibility of being the only place to watch the NFL, and worse yet, the World Cup, which starts in late November. These commercial questions will be answered in due course, but until then, a large sector of Jamaican cable subscribers – who are EPL fans – are holding out for what they can get while still looking for all the possibilities of others.
It has not been announced (publicly) how much Vertical cast paid for EPL broadcast rights in the region, but it has been reported that overseas broadcast partnerships will for the first time be worth more than the domestic rights deal. International deals are expected to reach £5.3 billion ($7.1 billion), up 30 percent on last year, while domestic deals are expected to be worth £5.1 billion ($6.9 billion), with trade partnerships e bring the total to £10.5 billion ($14.2 billion). of Vericast The contribution to this hefty sum must be recouped from a market of 44 million people, spanning 26 countries, including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic and Barbados. One can only imagine that their offers to the telecom giants must have come at a considerable price.
As things stand, FLOW and Digicel cable subscribers will sit on the proverbial bench – at least for this season – while another quarter (roughly) of Jamaican subscribers are actively engaged in the starting 11. If the buzz on social media (and discourse on the street) is anything to go by, some subscribers have threatened to switch allegiance to other providers that broadcast EPL content, especially with the view that the World Cup will be offered under the same dict in November.
Needless to say, FLOW and Digicel will continue to offer viewing of other sports including UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga, Diamond League, West Indies cricket and new exclusive World Wrestling Entertainment content coming later this year. but this will do very little to satisfy the appetite for the EPL. Most Jamaican football fans have a favorite EPL team that they will passionately support, come hell or high water, win, lose or draw.
Speaking of which, the first weekend of the season provided all the usual thrills and spills that the EPL has to offer – reigning champions Manchester City, despite losing the services of Raheem Sterling (to Chelsea), Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko (to Arsenal), had a dominant 2-0 win over West Ham with their new signing Erling Haaland netting twice. Sergio Aguero, in 2011, was the last City player to score twice on his league debut. In contrast, rivals Manchester United started the season with the same struggle they ended last season, losing 1-2 at home to Brighton and Hove Albion – same bus, different driver, same route.
Last season’s runners-up Liverpool, with Sadio Mane leaving for FC Bayern Munich, were lucky to come away with a 2-2 draw away to Fulham. New signing Darwin Nunez came off the bench to provide the Reds with a much needed save, scoring once and assisting on their other goal. Tottenham Hotspur FC sent a clear message, beating Southampton 4-1 in a come-from-behind victory after trailing in the 12th minute – with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min unmarked.
Arsenal and Chelsea both enjoyed their first wins of the weekend, beating Crystal Palace and Everton respectively in what is shaping up to be a very memorable season.
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Arsenal’s England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale makes a save during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal at Selhurst Park in south London on August 5, 2022.
