The Premier League. Supposedly the best football league in the entire world, at least according to their own PR. Which then leaves me rather surprised at their media strategy with the BBC.
You see if we step aside for a moment and look at some other sports we can start with a look at the Football League, then we see that they have taken a decision to embrace the "digital media". Not only can you stay up until past midnight on a Saturday evening to watch the highlights show from all three leagues on the BBC, but if you visit each teams BBC webpage, you'll see that the latest video highlights are there to click and watch whenever you want. The highlights programme is also available on the BBC Sport website, and via their Red Button interactive TV service. Even live matches in the Football League are available for viewing up to seven days after it took place on the iPlayer.
Now look at Formula One - one the biggest, worldwide sports there is - and you'll see that you can watch qualifying and the race for up to a week after the event through the iPlayer.
The same is true for Rugby, MotoGP, Horse Racing, Swimming and The Olympics. All available to watch up to a week after they were shown.
Why is this not the case for the Premier League? You either stay up late on a Saturday night, or get up very early on a Sunday morning to watch Match of the Day, and if you miss those two times, tough luck buddy. No highlights for you.
Can't the suits who run the Premier League see how making Match of the Day available on the iPlayer will widen the audience of the show? Can they not see that it would introduce younger viewers to the league? Or is the fact that the iPlayer is free to view the key factor here; there is no profit for the Premier League by allowing the highlights to be viewed up to a week after the show.
After all, the only way you can view a live match in the Premier League is to buy into a sports package with a satellite / cable provider (and if you want to watch ALL their live matches, then you need to buy two separate packages as they have cleverly divided the live matches between two competing companies).
So, is this a conscious decision by the Premier League not to embrace the digital changes and the opportunities that the iPlayer offers them, or have they really decided that change isn't good, and that they would rather stay as a lumbering dinosaur whilst other sports evolve and adapt in an ever changing world?
