Live streaming from Bicton 5*…..would you pay £25?!

[quizzie]

I see that in a news article on H&H, that they are proposing to live stream Bicton 5* via Horse and Country TV, for £25 (or £20 if you already subscribe to H&C). …Giving some of the proceeds to increase the prize money.

Now I may well be a reactionary old fogey…but there is no way I would pay that much ( and I have been eventing for over 40 years at various levels, so have an established interest.)….I am wondering if they have over estimated their potential audience?

Given that for the princely sum of £4.99, one could get a months sub to Discovery + to watch unlimited Olympic coverage….what do other people think?

 

[Michen]

Nope I'd pay about £10

 

[TGM]

Wow, that is a lot of money for one event. Whilst I appreciate it must cost a lot to film the XC particularly, they might be better having a lower price which would probably attract far more subscribers.

 

[TPO]

Plus H&C TV isn't exactly renowned for their uninterrupted service

 

[milliepops]

Plus H&C TV isn't exactly renowned for their uninterrupted service

this is a big issue! but agreed £25 is really steep, i'd probably cough up a fiver (am very tight )

 

[ihatework]

Yes I would, because I understand how much the event will cost to put on and how little revenue they are likely to get from tickets and trade.
They need prize money to attract more entries which are currently anticipated to be low.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

If, if they could guarantee good coverage, then yes I probably would as its cheaper than travel and gate ticket.
But, as already posted above, they are renowned for 5h*t coverage.

 

[quizzie]

Yes I would, because I understand how much the event will cost to put on and how little revenue they are likely to get from tickets and trade.
They need prize money to attract more entries which are currently anticipated to be low.

I totally understand that argument, but think by putting the pricing at a relatively high level, they are limiting their uptake to those who wish to have an altruistic input into financing the event, and will exclude those who simply want to watch for fun....I suspect that their overall "take" is likely to be lower this way.

If the motive is to increase revenue and entries, then a lower fee to watch plus an optional donation to the prize fund in return for acknowledgement/voucher for next year or something similar would be far more likely to raise more funds in my opinion.

 

[ihatework]

I totally understand that argument, but think by putting the pricing at a relatively high level, they are limiting their uptake to those who wish to have an altruistic input into financing the event, and will exclude those who simply want to watch for fun....I suspect that their overall "take" is likely to be lower this way.

If the motive is to increase revenue and entries, then a lower fee to watch plus an optional donation to the prize fund in return for acknowledgement/voucher for next year or something similar would be far more likely to raise more funds in my opinion.

Well the question was ‘would you pay it’ so my answer was yes.

If the question was ‘how much should they charge’ I probably wouldn’t say £25

 

[HollyWoozle]

I like to watch eventing but I couldn't justify it for £25 unfortunately and with that in mind it's a "no" from me. I understand that sometimes needs must and that events are costly to run, but I wouldn't trust what I would be getting in return for the money (H&C coverage not my favourite). I'm also not familiar enough with Bicton to justify it in my mind either - for example if someone suggested £25 to watch the whole of Badminton with really excellent coverage and good commentary then I'd probably think that was fair.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I would pay £10 but £25 would be a stretch for me in the expense/reward ratio.

ETA: Same as above, a larger show wth guaranteed good coverage I would pay it. Guaranteed good coverage I would possibly stretch to £15. I agree that they have mis-judged the sales/income ratio here. Better to have 1000 at £10 than 250 at £25

 

[Orangehorse]

I suppose they think that anyone watching has not paid for an entrance ticket or travel. We sit and watch racing on the TV!

I wondered how the ERM competitions were making money, as it was all available for free to watch.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

No, it's not worth it

That's close to a tub of supplement where my money would be far better spent!

 

[shortstuff99]

Lets hope it runs, currently there is only 7 entries!

 

[ihatework]

Lets hope it runs, currently there is only 7 entries!

Yes that is the mild concern I suspect.
They did call around before confirming the fixture to gauge interest. Most will enter on the ballot after Hartpury. It won’t be a big field though.

 

[teapot]

I suppose they think that anyone watching has not paid for an entrance ticket or travel. We sit and watch racing on the TV!

I wondered how the ERM competitions were making money, as it was all available for free to watch.

ERM was funded privately; that funding has since stopped hence why there haven't been ERM comps this season.


Would I pay £25? I mean in terms of what you'd pay to attend a 5* for the four days, it's cheap, BUT not comparable at all. H&C doesn't bother me personally - never had an issue, and their coverage of the Bicton 4* was good.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Badminton sent out a 'how much would you be prepared to pay for full tv coverage' questionnaire when it was thought that the event might be able to go ahead behind closed doors. I selected the £20ish option. £20 is a lot less than we normally stump up to go just for the Thursday, inc camp site and entry fees.

Would I pay £25 to view Bicton? It would depend very much on which entries they can attract.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I would if the coverage was good and the event list was reasonably full with some big names.

For 4-5 days of coverage, £25 sounds ok value for money to me.

 

[ester]

I probably would for the whole thing if I were available to watch the whole thing.

 

[shortstuff99]

What happens if you want to watch it on demand, can you still do that?

Also bare in mind that it only includes XC and SJ as dressage is being shown as part of H&C anyway, so the £5 off isn't a discount it is what you are paying for anyway.

 

[asmp]

We were pretty horrified to hear the fees. I recently subscribed to H&C mainly for the live eventing and as much as we would like to watch Bicton, I’m not going to pay an extra £20. An extra £5 or £10, maybe.

 

[teapot]

What happens if you want to watch it on demand, can you still do that?

Also bare in mind that it only includes XC and SJ as dressage is being shown as part of H&C anyway, so the £5 off isn't a discount it is what you are paying for anyway.

H&H saying available for 90 days afterwards.

 

[Kat]

Nope.

A fiver maybe, I appreciate it would cost more to attend but it isn't the same. I think a lower charge, with an optional donation would be better. If they want to raise additional money then perhaps some VIP content or something.

 

[sportsmansB]

I would pay this, as to be honest I'd normally be at Burghley spending a whole lot more
HOwever
I do subscribe to H&C, and for both Luhmuhlen and Bicton had massive issues getting logged in to see the coverage. I raised a whole hissy fit on H&C TV's facebook page and they sent a link, which eventually worked, but not sure why if their standard website link didn't work, they didn't send the active link to the subscribers before they had to get all angry about not being able to see it

They also don't make the live coverage available to watch later until a day later, so if you want to watch say the dressage in the evening after work but before the XC, you couldn't.
The quality of the coverage and accessibility of it, as well as the ability to rewatch sooner would need to be improved for £20/£25

 

[shortstuff99]

The coverage is being supplied by Paul Tapners new company and selling it through H & C, so in theory is supposed to be better.

 

[Nicnac]

I don't subscribe to H&C but would pay £25 for seeing dressage, XC and SJ. It's less than a XC day entry to a normal 5*.

 

[asmp]

I’ve posted above but we are now watching Hartbury for nothing on live streaming!

 

[conniegirl]

No, i might pay £5 but certainly not £25

 

[fidleyspromise]

No.
That money would be better spent on my real horse. £5 I would consider.

 

[lannerch]

Yes I would, because I understand how much the event will cost to put on and how little revenue they are likely to get from tickets and trade.
They need prize money to attract more entries which are currently anticipated to be low.

And me