EFL Unveil New Streaming Service

This looks like all EFL matches could be available to watch online, in other countries, if the club have opted into the program.

Interesting as most online streaming sites will more than likely be able to put up more FL matches now but there is a large price to pay and it's only for overseas countries due to the rules about televising football on saturdays at 3 o'clock.



EFL: LIVE STREAMING PLATFORM IFOLLOW UNVEILED FOR GLOBAL FANS

Wed 03 May 2017
Author: EFL

The innovative new service will enable overseas EFL fans to follow their team’s entire 2017/18 season
The EFL has today unveiled iFollow, an innovative digital live streaming and content platform that will revolutionise the way football fans overseas can follow their EFL teams.

iFollow will, for the first time in English football, enable EFL fans based outside the UK and Ireland to watch their team during the regular EFL season. With an estimated 270,000 EFL fans based outside the UK, iFollow will allow clubs to enable their supporters to follow the action wherever they are in the world.

Kicking off at the start of the 2017/18 EFL season, overseas subscribers will pay the equivalent of £110 per season for the service which will provide coverage of up to 46 live games per club. More than 1,500 matches will be available in HD quality, with iFollow showing every EFL league match live unless that match has been selected by the EFL’s overseas broadcast partners.

Fans based in the UK and Ireland will still also have access to live audio commentary, highlights packages and exclusive content as part of the new offering, rebranded to replace the EFL’s existing PlayerHD platform.

At launch, the vast majority of EFL clubs have opted in to utilise the iFollow platform and those who have not will have access to the same live streaming opportunity and will provide their fans with access through their own club digital services.

Research commissioned by the EFL suggests that there is significant demand for a service like iFollow amongst fans based overseas. A survey of over 1,600 such fans showed that 73% would be very likely or quite likely to subscribe to a live match streaming service and almost half would be happy to pay an annual subscription fee to do so. The findings suggest over 55% of the EFL’s fans are located in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand where the potential audience for the iFollow platform could reach into the hundreds of thousands.

EFL Chief Executive Shaun Harvey commented: “The launch of iFollow is a notable development and will revolutionise the access thousands of overseas fans enjoy when following their EFL team.

“The new iFollow platform represents a potentially significant new revenue stream for Clubs, while enabling enhanced engagement with existing fans now living abroad.

“iFollow will also present the EFL with an important opportunity to stimulate the interest of new groups of supporters who follow our clubs overseas, which in turn will help support the growth of our competitions on the international stage.”

The live streaming of matches will be available from the start of the 2017/18 season in conjunction with a brand new digital presence for clubs via official websites and apps, together creating the largest sporting digital network in the world. US-based company NeuLion, a market leader in online video delivery, whose clients include the NFL, NBA and the Premier League, have developed the integrated streaming service alongside UK company Realise who have built the club websites. The two suppliers were appointed by the EFL in July 2016 following a competitive procurement process.

Read more at http://www.efl.com/news/article/2016/ef ... MFm5jcP.99

That means EVERY game will now be available via Sports Devil and the like.

That means EVERY game will now be available via Sports Devil and the like.

Yeah I thought that but surely that will be too many to handle for some streaming sites and also £110 is alot i dont know how they get the links for other games but I would assume someone has to have a subscription to the broadcasters to be able to stream the channels.

Still very good for any overseas fans to watch their favourite club if they aren't able to be there.

That will be easy to stream via the official site. Download a VPN so your computer thinks your abroad and it should work...

And also illegal streaming sites will be able to tap in making it easier to find illegal streams so happy days.

That will be easy to stream via the official site. Download a VPN so your computer thinks your abroad and it should work...

And also illegal streaming sites will be able to tap in making it easier to find illegal streams so happy days.

Happy days indeed, should be able to catch more away games that I can't make it to now

That will be easy to stream via the official site. Download a VPN so your computer thinks your abroad and it should work...

And also illegal streaming sites will be able to tap in making it easier to find illegal streams so happy days.

Happy days indeed, should be able to catch more away games that I can't make it to now

Yeah, it's ideal for me too because I work away and spend alot of time abroad!

That will be easy to stream via the official site. Download a VPN so your computer thinks your abroad and it should work...

And also illegal streaming sites will be able to tap in making it easier to find illegal streams so happy days.

You would have to register and where are you going to get an overseas address, no vpn can give you that

This is great news for us Bluebirds in Australia. I can't bloody wait. How do I find out if City have signed up for this?

This is great news for us Bluebirds in Australia. I can't bloody wait. How do I find out if City have signed up for this?

I don't think there is any sure way of finding out for now, but from reading the article it says the 'vast majority' of EFL clubs have agreed to the use the iFollow platform, so I would guess they have as I'm sure they could earn a small amount from this and they know we probably have a decent following around the world, in Malaysia especially with the Tan connections.

Does anyone think this may negatively effect attendances? Or have some positive impact on ticket prices maybe?

That will be easy to stream via the official site. Download a VPN so your computer thinks your abroad and it should work...

And also illegal streaming sites will be able to tap in making it easier to find illegal streams so happy days.

You would have to register and where are you going to get an overseas address, no vpn can give you that

Easy to find addresses online. As far as WWE Network and HBO Now are concerned, I live in a McDonalds in Brooklyn, NY.

Can't sleep so have been fiddling with the iFollow subscription page on the CCFC official site.

Setup a standard free account giving legit UK details including address and credit card.

It showed only the audio package which I selected. It said I had a credit card on file so just press "buy now" to purchase.

Logged out, powered up a free VPN and logged back in.

iFollow then offered me the HD video package for $140. Selected it and was AGAIN told I had a credit card on file so just press "Buy Now" to purchase.

Didn't do it as not abroad working yet but it would seem that they did not go back and check my address or credit card location.

They are going to have to have tighter restrictions than that to avoid abuse unless, like Netflix, they are just happy for the cash and leave the dodgy access for the authorities to sort out.

Obviously there may be checks done when pressing "Buy Now" but I doubt it having got that far. No foreign address required either.

As my username suggests ... I'm now living in China.

I've been hoping and praying for something like this for a long time, as have a lot of expats no doubt. I filled out the necessary online forms and required fields etc. - then, when it came to a payment method (in my case a debit card), it asked for the billing address. Now, like so many others who've moved abroad, I've retained a UK bank account and my Visa card is linked to this. I thought that using a UK billing address might raise a red flag ... it didn't.
The transaction went through smoothly enough, however, I do remember giving my Chinese mobile 'phone number, although I can't recall if this was a required field or not? In retrospect, I think that had I given a UK phone number that might have tipped things against me, who knows?
The only thing I need to guard against is using my VPN when logging onto iFollow - here in China a VPN is a MUST have requirement for Internet surfing and I have it enabled most of the time, nevertheless, my worry is that I'll forget to disable my VPN and they'll use some high-tech software to detect it just like the National Lottery do and freeze my account or something...

I do remember giving my Chinese mobile 'phone number, although I can't recall if this was a required field or not? In retrospect, I think that had I given a UK phone number that might have tipped things against me, who knows?
The only thing I need to guard against is using my VPN when logging onto iFollow - here in China a VPN is a MUST have requirement for Internet surfing and I have it enabled most of the time, nevertheless, my worry is that I'll forget to disable my VPN and they'll use some high-tech software to detect it just like the National Lottery do and freeze my account or something...

I did not out my mobile number in as it was not a required field.

The National Lottery ask me to confirm I'm in the UK even when I'm in the centre of Cardiff.

I noticed my bank account has had a £1 request from ifollow so they have Obvioisly checked I have the funds even though I've only fine for the free account.