The English Premier League (EPL) has been making changes in its broadcasting presentation for a few seasons now – we’ve seen improvements made to colour schemes (the iconic purple), a new logo, modernizing pre-match shows and more.
Image credit: Third Sector
The next step for England’s top-flight league however, seems to involve going off the tele and going onto the internet – EPL CEO Richard Masters have revealed plans to launch a Netflix-like service that lets customers outside of the UK to stream live Premier League matches.
This is a huge deal coming from a football fan – at the moment, you’re talking about subscribing to the sports channels; all of them in fact, on Astro if you want to catch your favourite team’s games. The benefit of Astro is that you get to watch matches from other leagues too. But realistically, most Malaysians only watch the Premier League – so subscribing to every sports channel on Astro can seem a bit unnecessary.
Image credit: Astro
But what if you only want to watch the EPL? Then being able to stream matches online would be the ideal way to go about it – sure, services like these exist now, but the ones that are free are of course not legal. The ones that are have to be from the clubs’ own streaming channels and websites – meaning you only get to watch your own team play.
With a Netflix-like service, I expect content to be more than just live matches – think pre-match pundit shows, behind the scenes series, documentaries and more.
Image credit: The Anfield Wrap
In a report by TalkSport, Richard was also quoted as mentioning a £9-a month subscription fee for the service – that’s RM48.12 a month, which is about the same as Netflix. Plus, we could very well see a ‘family package’ too so you can split the bill with your friends and relatives – making the subscription even more worth your money.
With Malaysia’s massive following of the top four clubs, I can see the service coming to the country – if there was a league table for viewership in the region, Malaysia would be at the top, like Liverpool. #YNWA