bangkok blue Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Here is an open letter I have sent to TRUE, The Bangkok post and the F.A I am writing from Chiangmai, Thailand as a very frustrated football fan. Last night the F.A Cup was not shown in this country, myself and many other Thai football fans were denied watching the exciting opening matches which pitch the giants and minnows together. From my research I have found that ESPN hold the broadcasting rights for Asia, however this excludes Thailand. A media company called M-League apparently own the rights for Thailand but have failed to distribute them in the correct manner. I also believe TRUE have not lived up to their statement as "the king of soccer" by failing to negotiate a deal to show these matches. I find it astounding that the FA of England would sell the broadcasting rights to a company that makes Thai broadcasters pay too much for these games thus depriving football fans in Thailand of this great competition. I also find it equally astounding that the price of subscribing to gold and platinum packages in order to watch the football does not generate enough income for TRUEVISIONS to buy the rights to this competition. I urge the F.A of England to investigate this company (M-League) and find out how they choose to distribute these rights to the people of Thailand and why they were allowed to gain the rights if they had no intention of letting the public access these matches. I also urge TRUE to serve their customers in the correct manner for the price we have to pay to watch the football here. I await a reply from TRUE, although having experienced their dreadful customer service once too many I am not holding my breath! Yours Faithfully ....... You can contact true @ [email protected] Bangkok post: [email protected] The FA have an online contact facility. http://www.thefa.com/feedback/ You have to register in order to e-mail, stupid I know but it only takes a few mins.... What is going on is completely unacceptable. Not sure if It's True, M-League, The F.A or all of them. But as paying customers to UBC we deserve answers. At the very minimum as subscribers we should have been informed about the change in rights issue and the FA cup would no longer be available. If all else fails I suggest we all don our football shirts for our teams and stage a protest outside TRUE tower, not allowing the workers to leave until some deal is sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zodiac Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Bangkok blue writes: " if all else fails I suggest we all don our football shirts for our teams and stage a protest outside TRUE tower, not allowing the workers to leave until some deal is sorted" We could always take over the airport? (just kidding) Well done bb you've done well taking the initiative. I will email TRUE and ask them strongly to try to get us the FA Cup games and would suggest other subscribers do the same quoting one's subscription number to TRUE. Have to say it is likely the problem goes back to the community shield 6 months ago as that was excluded too, so this appears to be an entrenched and long time matter. Nevertheless we can at least try. Surely also there must be lots of football people , Thai's and Westerners,denied the FA cup who are not with TRUE but they too should make representations to the other TV companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSingh Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Good luck Fella, would be interested in seeing what reply you get, if any... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lite Beer Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Good luck Fella, would be interested in seeing what reply you get, if any... I am sure the FA would not be too happy that their product is not being shown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeungKen Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 bangkok blue, Take a pat on the back, You at least got up off your arse and did something constructively positive. Which is a lot more than I, and a few others, have done. Mind you if Man Utd / Southampton game isn't on tonight I'll be grumpy enough to do something for the revolution - I can be very revolting at times ........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSingh Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Good luck Fella, would be interested in seeing what reply you get, if any... I am sure the FA would not be too happy that their product is not being shown. Let's hope so & let's hope the FA would do something about it now it has been brought ot their attention by Bankgkokblue.. However, our FA doesn't instill me with confidence in anything so i won't hold my breath... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkok blue Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 I will be calling the F.A's customer relations dept in the next few days to follow up my e-mail and see what's being done. Will let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoad Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I will be calling the F.A's customer relations dept in the next few days to follow up my e-mail and see what's being done. Will let you know. Probably fuc_k All, they don't really give a hit about the football fan, only the money that feeds their gravy train. Bunch of old farts IMO. As for Turdvision, this is typical of them and theri crap service. When I move next month, it's time to get a dish so I can pick up the other channels outside of Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieH Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I will be calling the F.A's customer relations dept in the next few days to follow up my e-mail and see what's being done. Will let you know. did you send your email through the online form, BB? you might have a bit more joy copying it to the following: [email protected] - fa director of communications [email protected] - fa director of international relations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkok blue Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Seems the F.A have a lot to answer for.... Take a look at the last paragraph. The Football Association (FA) has announced that ESPN Star Sports, IMG and M-League will have exclusive rights to broadcast FA Cup and England matches within Asia for the 2008-2012 period. The majority of rights within Asia have been acquired by ESPN Star Sports, The FA's current partner within the region. IMG has acquired rights for Japan and the Indian sub-continent with M-League acquiring all broadcast rights for Thailand. The Asia partnerships together represent the largest regional market in The FA's new range of deals for its international broadcast rights, the total of which is over $300 million, a 275% increase on the current four-year $ 80 million deals. FA Group Commercial Director, Jonathan Hill said, "We are delighted that we have renewed our relationship with ESPN Star Sports in what was an intensely competitive market and we look forward to continuing to grow our brands in Asia with ESS's significant marketing support and leverage." FA Head of Broadcast, Stuart Turner added, "We are pleased to be continuing our relationship with IMG who have a very strong presence in Japan and the sub-continent and we are thrilled to have a new agency partner in M-League who are committed to maximising exposure of the property in the key market of Thailand." I have tried to email Stuart Turner at the FA, his e-mail is not disclosed on the FA's website but have took a stab in the dark at [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected] See if I get a reply... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lite Beer Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 FA Head of Broadcast, Stuart Turner added, " and we are thrilled to have a new agency partner in M-League who are committed to maximising exposure of the property in the key market of Thailand." I wonder if he will be so thrilled when he realises that they are not actually showing it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieH Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I wonder if he will be so thrilled when he realises that they are not actually showing it? should think he'd be slightly furious in all honesty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbojangles Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 bangkok blue, Take a pat on the back, You at least got up off your arse and did something constructively positive. Absolutely. Well done Bangkok Blue. Funnily enough, no FA Cup matches were shown here in Saudi either. And normally the coverage for English football is second to none. I will have to try and find out who has the rights for the Middle East. Unless one of you guys knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zodiac Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 A few thoughts bb: Seems to me to try to keep this simple. ESPN/Star it says have the exclusive right to broadcast the FA Cup in Asia yet Thailand is being expressly excluded. Why? Must be unable to agree on money? Surely we need also to try to persuade all parties especially TRUE and ESPN/Star to get an agreement to broadcast the FA Cup matches live here. And you are right to try to put pressure on the FA too. I ask myself are ESPN/Star unhappy that TRUE have exclusive premiership game rights here, and is that part of what is causing the problem(?) To be fair to TRUE(forgetting the nonsence punters who no one can understand) they are generally-with a few exceptions- doing a good job broadcasting live all the actual Premiership matches simultaneously on different channels. Which is more then we got with ESPN/Star who decided which games we would watch. Maybe someone should write to that awful "Football Focus" and ask them to tell us what is going on? By the way I have already written this morning by email to TRUE and mentioned that many people very disappointed re no FA Cup and asked them to do something about it. I will post their reply when and if I get one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimjim Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 As you clearly note in your letter, UBC doesn't have the rights. It's not them that has let Thailand down, but the FA of England. Why not just let ESPN/Star keep it even if their bid is lower? They do a great job for the rest of SE Asia, so why make Thailand separate in the deal? Ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieH Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 As you clearly note in your letter, UBC doesn't have the rights. It's not them that has let Thailand down, but the FA of England. Why not just let ESPN/Star keep it even if their bid is lower? They do a great job for the rest of SE Asia, so why make Thailand separate in the deal? Ridiculous. the FA were criticised for something similar earlier this season when the rights to the england - croatia match were sold exclusively to setanta, which few people in england have, and who then hawked the highlights package the the bbc and itv at an inflated price. ordinarily the FA is supposed to write a highlights price clause into the broadcaster contract. unfortunately the FA is generally staffed by people who are lazy and / or stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSingh Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 FA Head of Broadcast, Stuart Turner added, "We are pleased to be continuing our relationship with IMG who have a very strong presence in Japan and the sub-continent and we are thrilled to have a new agency partner in M-League who are committed to maximising exposure of the property in the key market of Thailand." Wow, that makes it a lot more interesting.. Thanks again for all your effots on this BB & if you do get a posetive response, i certainly owe you a Bevvie so long as i can see my Hammers in action at Hartlepool in the next round & we don't get embaressed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimjim Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 (edited) Instead of owing him a beer, why not follow suit and write some emails? Everyone here should write emails to the FA, M-League, and True (although it isn't their fault, I say again, as they don't own the rights!). Perhaps something can change. It has in the past. When True almost dropped ESPN they were met with an outcry, although it's not known to what degree that affected their decision. Also, I don't know the extent of the outcry as it was mostly posters on here, only a few of whom said they wrote and/or called True/UBC. Edited January 5, 2009 by Jimjim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkok blue Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 O.K here's the latest.... Had a reply from True.... Could well be a fob off, but rest assured I will get a definate answer on this before 4th round date. Dear Mr. Clive: Once we have a good answer from Sport Department, we will come back to you. We are so grateful for your trust in our service and support us all time. Write us again whenever we can be of further help to you. Please contact us at 02-7252525 or [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Customer Information We have been implementing the Automated System lately; this is to broaden the convenient choices for you by just recording your phone number that you always use for example, mobile phone number, home fixed line number, except the office number that has extension number. You can give us at 4 numbers maximum. We will keep all these numbers in our systematic record. When you use one of them contact us, the system will retrieve your account automatically. We believe this will be finished by the beginning of 2009. So, please give us your phone numbers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wishing you a happy Christmas and happy New Year. Best regards, Mr. Wichian Chompoonog Officer - TrueVisions Care Support & Non-Voice Management Tel+66(0) 2725-2525 Fax+66(0) 2725-2500 Email:[email protected] As advised from another member on here have e-mailed the following people at the F.A [email protected] [email protected] Had an out of office auto reply from her so forwarded the mail to [email protected] I'm guessing the head of boradcasting stuart turner's e-mail is: [email protected] You could read his official statement at the joy of M-League showing the footy in Thailand here.... http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/NewsFromTheFA/P...tement_Asia.htm Get as many people as you know to contact the F.A I'm quite sure when they realise that M-League have made a pigs ear of distributing these matches then something will happen. Will keep you posted on events.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieH Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 nice one BB, i can't imagine stuart turner's email address being any different from the standard firstname.surname format. and jimjim's right, the more people make a fuss about this the more likely they are to jump about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 nice one BB, i can't imagine stuart turner's email address being any different from the standard firstname.surname format. and jimjim's right, the more people make a fuss about this the more likely they are to jump about it. since the new truesport stuff started a year ago, no FA cup games. chances are the thai channels will pick up in later rounds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSingh Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Instead of owing him a beer, why not follow suit and write some emails? Everyone here should write emails to the FA, M-League, and True (although it isn't their fault, I say again, as they don't own the rights!). Perhaps something can change. It has in the past. When True almost dropped ESPN they were met with an outcry, although it's not known to what degree that affected their decision. Also, I don't know the extent of the outcry as it was mostly posters on here, only a few of whom said they wrote and/or called True/UBC. Yep, you're 100% right Jimjim.. We should all stand firm on this Gents although certain Club's Fan's on here we shouldn't expect them too... Seriously, i'll be taking an hour out tonight to write something constructive, we all should... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieH Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Yep, you're 100% right Jimjim..We should all stand firm on this Gents although certain Club's Fan's on here we shouldn't expect them too... Seriously, i'll be taking an hour out tonight to write something constructive, we all should... doesn't need to be too in-depth, m, at least not to the FA. dear sirs, i note with dismay that despite the lucrative deal signed by the FA with broadcast partner m-league that the 3rd round of the FA cup was not available on television in thailand. . . .etc. soon as the FA realises that it's missing out on potential revenues in any part of the world they'll jump i reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbojangles Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 We should all stand firm on this Gents although certain Club's Fan's on here we shouldn't expect them too... You talking to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delboy Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 There is another possible explanation for no FA Cup coverage, Maybe ESPN/STAR didn't want to broadcast the FA matches to Thailand, so they specifically omitted Thailand from their bid. One of the sponsors of ESPN/STAR football and football related programmes is Tiger Beer, and their advert is always censored by True. Maybe they told ESPN that they would withdraw their sponsorship if the matches were broadcast in Thailand. IMHO that's a bit sort sighted as, although we are unable to see their ad, we can still see the name of the product. This would explain the Premier League matches switching from ESPN to True two seasons ago. It's possible that ESPN didn't include Thailand in their bid then and True stepped in to save the siuation, but True are not willing to pay for coverage of teams such as Hartlepool and Histon. We all know that the appearance of the smaller clubs is what helps to add to the magic of the Cup, but the average Asian viewer just wants to see the big boys in action. We don't know the whole story but, if ESPN is cutting coverage of football to Thailand so as to please their sponsors, then what will happen when the Champions League contracts need to be renewed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 There is another possible explanation for no FA Cup coverage, Maybe ESPN/STAR didn't want to broadcast the FA matches to Thailand, so they specifically omitted Thailand from their bid. One of the sponsors of ESPN/STAR football and football related programmes is Tiger Beer, and their advert is always censored by True. Maybe they told ESPN that they would withdraw their sponsorship if the matches were broadcast in Thailand. IMHO that's a bit sort sighted as, although we are unable to see their ad, we can still see the name of the product.This would explain the Premier League matches switching from ESPN to True two seasons ago. It's possible that ESPN didn't include Thailand in their bid then and True stepped in to save the siuation, but True are not willing to pay for coverage of teams such as Hartlepool and Histon. We all know that the appearance of the smaller clubs is what helps to add to the magic of the Cup, but the average Asian viewer just wants to see the big boys in action. We don't know the whole story but, if ESPN is cutting coverage of football to Thailand so as to please their sponsors, then what will happen when the Champions League contracts need to be renewed? I believe the FA Cup and EPL was part of the bid that ESPN /STAR put forth to True. But when True decided to go another direction, out went the rights to the FA Cup. As for your last point, I would not worry. Champions League will be shown here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSingh Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 We should all stand firm on this Gents although certain Club's Fan's on here we shouldn't expect them too... You talking to me Honestly i wasn't, it was a dig at T*ttenham ( can't resist ) & they're lack of " standing firm " ( or together as i have witnessed numerous times down the Seven Sisters Road & Green Street ) when things go against them but no one bit, it's a London thing... Anyway, quiet, it's concentration & writing time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSingh Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 (edited) I'm done... From: M Singh Import Export <msingh*****@yahoo.co.in> Subject: FA Cup Broadcasting in Thailand To: [email protected], [email protected] Cc: "M Singh" <msingh*****@yahoo.co.in> Date: Monday, 5 January, 2009, 7:45 PM Good day, It is to my dismay that this weekend we were unable to see any 3rd Round FA Cup Games at all in Thailand, the Country where i live.. According to my research, the FA sold the rights to the FA Cup this year in Thailand to a Company called M-League, now i can only assume that M-League are pricing out the local Thai Channels/Broadcasters & simply not one minutes action was available to us either Live or as Highlights.. Please enquire as to how M-League are distributing the FA's showpiece Tournament, a Tournament revered around the World including Thailand as, & i quote FA Head of Broadcast, Stuart Turner, "We are pleased to be continuing our relationship with IMG who have a very strong presence in Japan and the sub-continent and we are thrilled to have a new agency partner in M-League who are committed to maximising exposure of the property in the key market of Thailand." Thanks in advance for your reply.. Regards. Mr Murali Singh. Edited January 5, 2009 by MSingh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSingh Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 O.K here's the latest....Had a reply from True.... Could well be a fob off, but rest assured I will get a definate answer on this before 4th round date. Dear Mr. Clive: Once we have a good answer from Sport Department, we will come back to you. We are so grateful for your trust in our service and support us all time. Write us again whenever we can be of further help to you. Please contact us at 02-7252525 or [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Customer Information We have been implementing the Automated System lately; this is to broaden the convenient choices for you by just recording your phone number that you always use for example, mobile phone number, home fixed line number, except the office number that has extension number. You can give us at 4 numbers maximum. We will keep all these numbers in our systematic record. When you use one of them contact us, the system will retrieve your account automatically. We believe this will be finished by the beginning of 2009. So, please give us your phone numbers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wishing you a happy Christmas and happy New Year. Best regards, Mr. Wichian Chompoonog Officer - TrueVisions Care Support & Non-Voice Management Tel+66(0) 2725-2525 Fax+66(0) 2725-2500 Email:[email protected] As advised from another member on here have e-mailed the following people at the F.A [email protected] [email protected] Had an out of office auto reply from her so forwarded the mail to [email protected] I'm guessing the head of boradcasting stuart turner's e-mail is: [email protected] You could read his official statement at the joy of M-League showing the footy in Thailand here.... http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/NewsFromTheFA/P...tement_Asia.htm Get as many people as you know to contact the F.A I'm quite sure when they realise that M-League have made a pigs ear of distributing these matches then something will happen. Will keep you posted on events.... I notice the Yanks in the NFL Thread have got a good enough reply from True about the Play Off Games this/last week, from the same Person too so we'll see.. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/American-Foo...fs-t233430.html From TrueVisions, received today: We have to admit to you that we could secure the license to broadcast all NFC playoff games but not for AFC games that have been secured the license by another company. Nevertheless, we have planned to live the final game between the NFC and AFC on February 2, 2009 at 6:00 am. On TrueSport 4. TrueVisions is striving to offer the best of our service for the majority of our subscribers and hope that these answers will meet you satisfaction. We apologize if this should disturb the viewing experience and assure that this was never our intention. On behalf of True Visions, we would like to thank you again for taking your time for these constructive comments. Thank you for your letter. Write us again whenever we can be of further help to you. Please contact us at 02-7252525 or [email protected] We are so grateful for your trust in our service and support us all time. Best regards, Mr. Wichian Chompoonog Officer - TrueVisions Care Support & Non-Voice Management Tel+66(0) 2725-2525 Fax+66(0) 2725-2500 Email:[email protected] เปิดชีวิตมุมมองใหม่ เปิด ทรูวิชั่นส์ True Visions Public Company Limited 118/1 Tipco Tower, Rama VI Road, Samsen Nai, Phayathai, Bangkok 10400 www.truevisionstv.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsfbrit Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 (edited) MSingh, Well done. Lets face it my team Forest-Derby wont be on in any case, but its disappointing that no games are on anywhere in Pattaya that I could find. Tomorrow I will get off my 'lazy backside' and send a similar email as yours to someone. Not sure who yet. Any ideas. I suppose like you, these would be a start: - [email protected], [email protected] - [email protected] I am a Platinum member of UBC and surprised not to get ANY of these games. Edit: I just sent this to the addresses above, suggest everyone does this as well, may get some action??? Dear FA and True TV, I live in Thailand and was very disappointed that the FA CUP, one of the best cup competitions in the World, is NOT being shown anywhere in Thailand. Both the Thais and Expats over here love the FA Cup, so why can we not see it. I have a Premier Membership with True and am very disappointed. Please could someone look into this. Thailand is a massive market and this seems like poor marketting to me regards Edited January 5, 2009 by dsfbrit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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