Fans blast ‘atrocious’ £14.95 pay-per-view service on BT Sport Box Office with NO pre-game build-up, interviews or analysis before Chelsea’s clash with Southampton
- Supporters have criticised BT Sport Box Office for their ‘atrocious’ service
- BT’s first pay-per-view offering was Chelsea’s game at home to Southampton
- Fans were frustrated with there being no build-up despite the £14.95 fee
The first ever pay-per-view game in Premier League history has been slammed by fans as ‘atrocious’ and ‘absolutely ridiculous’ after BT Sport Box Office broadcast Chelsea vs Southampton with no pre-match build-up at all.
Supporters shut out from grounds due to the coronavirus crisis now have to pay £14.95 to watch each Premier League game that wasn’t originally scheduled to be shown live on either BT Sport, Sky Sports or Amazon Prime, and the first of those came on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.
However, the service was immediately criticised, with many bemoaning the lack of pre-game build-up, meaning the game did not have any of the interviews or analysis that viewers usually receive for TV games.
Fans criticised BT Sport Box Office for their ‘atrocious’ coverage of Chelsea v Southampton
Instead, a holding screen with simple text advertising the game stayed on BT Sport Box Office until just five minutes before kick-off.
One Twitter user wrote: ‘£15 and there’s not even a build up. BT Sport have the masks on’.
Another wrote: ‘BT Sport charging £15 for Chelsea vs Southampton, you would think that would include some pre-match build-up (interviews, analysis etc). But no… coverage starts at 2.55pm’.
Another user criticised the disappointing service and stated that it isn’t worth the money.
They wrote: ‘If the joke of £15 for a game through @btsportfootball wasn’t bad enough, the website is atrocious, it’s a pain to find how to buy, there’s no choice of payment options, clunky checkout and there isn’t even any pre-game buildup. Just tune in for kickoff and thanks for the money.’
Supporters had to pay £14.95 to watch the game but there wasn’t any pre-match build-up
Another individual described the lack of pre-game coverage as ‘ridciulous’.
They wrote: ‘Wow people are paying 15 pounds to have no pre match coverage, absolutely ridiculous!! Everyone stream it or go to pubs to stop this nonsense!!!’.
Supporters will have to continue paying £14.95 per game for matches that aren’t on television while they are unable to attend games, with Sky Sports having joined BT Sport in introducing a pay-per-view service. These fees are in addition to their normal Sky Sports and BT Sport subscriptions.
Some users criticised BT’s overall service, including their ‘atrocious’ website and ‘clunky’ checkout service
Marc Allera, the chief executive of BT’s consumer division, stated that the fee helps cover the costs of showing games, with additional revenue being used to help clubs that are struggling during the pandemic.
Towards the end of last season and in the early stages of this campaign the majority of games, apart from those on Amazon Prime, were shown live on Sky Sports and BT Sport.
Many fans are opposed to games being shown on pay-per-view, with the hashtag #BoycottPPV trending on Twitter.
The move was met with widespread backlash from football fans as they continue to be kept away from football grounds amid the coronavirus pandemic. And the situation has been made much worse with different households unable to mix due to the Government’s new restrictions.
Chelsea vs Southampton was the first PPV offering following the controversial move, with Newcastle vs Manchester United, Sheffield United vs Fulham, Leicester vs Aston Villa and West Brom vs Burnley also games that must be paid for on top this weekend in the Premier League.