In this week’s Reader Mailbag, we answer questions that range from Ligue 1, Paramount+ as well as a CONMEBOL championship tournament.
Before we jump into the answers to your questions, be sure to post new questions in the comments section below. Then, every Tuesday, we’ll answer your questions in the Reader Mailbag column.
Nosferatu: Why does Paramount+ take so long, relatively speaking (compared to Peacock and the NBC Sports app and ESPN+) to get replays of games up?
World Soccer Talk: We’ve heard this from many readers before, so we decided to do a test last week. We analyzed three games to see how long it takes for matches to be available on-demand. The games we monitored were:
Fiorentina vs Sampdoria (Coppa Italia)
Real Betis vs Barcelona (Supercopa de España)
Fulham vs Chelsea (Premier League)
All three were shown live on Thursday, January 12.
So what did we find? All three of them were available on-demand via their respective streaming services in under two hours after the games ended.
While it doesn’t mean that all games are available within two hours after they end, Paramount+, ESPN+ and Peacock all passed this test with flying colors.
Christian: Can you tell me if the CONMEBOL Under-20 Championship be shown on US TV anywhere? Online or on TV.
World Soccer Talk: As of press time, no broadcaster has picked up the rights to the competition.
Greg: Isn’t part of the Ligue 1 issue that the Qataris own both PSG and BeIN SPORTS?
World Soccer Talk: That’s correct, Greg. Plus, the chairman of beIN SPORTS is Nasser Al-Khelaifi who is also the president of Paris Saint-Germain. So while beIN SPORTS doesn’t have the global rights to Ligue 1, it’s in PSG’s best interests to continue being on beIN SPORTS in the United States. Executives at Ligue 1 may disagree, but when you have one team in the league with so much power, it’s not in the best interest of the league itself.
France’s Ligue 1 has big aspirations to grow in the United States, but no one television broadcaster is going to offer to show several games every week live on television and the others on its streaming service. If Ligue 1 decides to go to a different broadcaster for the 2024/25 season onwards, it’ll have to sacrifice not being on television. But by then, perhaps television isn’t going to be much of a factor anymore. Still, Ligue 1 doesn’t want to get lost on a streaming platform either.
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Don’t forget to post new questions in the comments section below. Then, every Tuesday, we’ll answer your questions in the next Reader Mailbag column.
