ifollow info please

I am all for allowing streaming of all games. Most away games I used to listen to radox, now I can use a VPN and watch while also giving money to the club. Going to all home games is enough commitment for me I need the other Saturdays back when we are away.

However I feel the crux of the debate will be around groups all watching for a tenner between them (or screen sharing in zoom) thus reducing income, but then I guess you can do the same with any subscription including sky sports
 
Don't understand the argument of TV games detracting from attendances one bit. Where I live (Bremen), all games are shown live on TV. Doesn't mean the 42k stadium isn't sold out for every game, with a close to 8 year waiting list for a season ticket and "queue skip season ticket" club memberships going for thousands of euros on ebay every summer. On match day, you still have pretty much every bar in the city showing the game, and packed, and you'd struggle to find a single street to walk down without hearing the game being played in people's houses. More coverage and more people watching means greater interest and more fans, and if the games weren't on TV I don't think it would allow the whole city to feel part of the club in the same way - a very very large proportion are very glad they can watch and be part of the occasion when they can't get a ticket, share a season ticket amongst a larger group, or can't afford to go to an away game.

I know Oxford aren't in the same situation regarding selling out the ground and season ticket sales as a club as big as Werder, but I still think that more TV games would help bring in more fans as there would be greater publicity. I really don't think many people think watching on TV comes anywhere close to being in the ground as an experience. But why would someone who's not been before go and see the game of a club they've never seen play on TV and therefore know little to nothing about? Even just local pubs showing the the games would do wonders I think
 
Last edited:
MarkG said:
You’ve got it a**e about face. The alternative to seeing a game live on 3pm Saturdays is that you don’t legally from the uk . (Unless during the bizarre World Cup ).

RyanBirdio has come up with many alternatives for streaming that should be looked into , but there needs a fair share of revenues between the clubs and the league.
Click to expand...
Going to games for me is an £80 expense for each game for travel and ticket (assuming I also buy nothing to eat or drink), and 6 hours away from my pregnant partner and son. I cannot remotely afford that, and would never put that pressure on my family. What I can afford is £10 a game to stay at home, eat my own food and drink, be there to help my pregnant partner with whatever she needs, and I can be there to make lunch and dinner for the family so my son is happy and my partner stays resting. By your logic I am parasitic scum for choosing that option?

If the revenue share is bad, that's on the EFL. Lack of access to stream games for those in the UK, that's on the EFL/governing bodies. There would have been plenty of Charlton fans using a VPN on their club site to watch the game, and plenty more will do so when they come to the Kassam - so where's this horrific loss of revenue? If everyone choosing to use a VPN followed your train of thought, it wouldn't fix anything, it wouldn't make the revenue share better, it would just remove iFollow revenue from the clubs entirely.

Your disdain towards fellow supporters for choosing financial stability/family/health/whatever over the club(s) is wildly misplaced. Blame the EFL for living in the dark ages. Don't call fellow supporters doing what they can to support the club in incredibly tough times "parasitic scum".
 
Not having games available to watch (at a price) if you cannot get to the game in person just seems loopy to me. The reason people use a VPN is not to avoid paying (you'd be hard pressed to find a dodgy stream of Oxford v Wycombe!), it is because they want to watch the match and cannot go, but are in this country! As an exile, I cannot even *listen* to games without using iFollow (or getting in my car to drive 10 miles down the road to where I can get RadOx coverage, but sitting in a carpark in Northampton for a couple of hours to listen to it is just a bit too weird even for me!).

I am a home season ticket holder and an occasional away tripper, but will need to miss a few matches shortly due to family circumstances and having to care for someone - it's a pity I cannot use my 'season ticket' to watch those games on the computer.
 
horseman said:
A few people on here have given as health reasons why they cannot attend, so here's an idea.

Let's cut off the Pipeline that enables them to support their club and also gives them something to look forward too and focus on come match day.

When other things then dictate their spend, Don't be asking why they don't turn up anymore.
Click to expand...
Due to severe mobility problems plus living on the Isle of Wight, it has meant I have been unable to attend match days for a good number of years. I have supported the Club since 1949 and since the advent of I Follow it has been a pleasure to actually watch my beloved U's again, irrespective of results, good or not so good! It also means I am contributing in a small way to the Club finances. Every little helps! Long may the arrangement continue.
 
Kudos to @Jolteon @ZeroTheHero @cecantena for providing an insight into the reality that all clubs will need to embrace!

The way people buy & consume "stuff" is changing, and that is not limited to going to a physical shop or buying online, it has spread to how people live their lives and watch their sport.

Adapt or die, much as we may not like it.

Like self service tills............................ :mad::mad:
 
Marked Ox said:
Can I just say I dislike watching on iFollow as you miss a lot of the off the ball runs etc and it is far more nerve-racking than being at the game live. Now my pointless contribution is finished, please carry on.
Click to expand...
I agree, and the radio commentary (when it's even *less* clear what is really going on) is even more excruciating than that! Nothing is as good as being there of course, but it is nice to have an alternative...
 
Marked Ox said:
Can I just say I dislike watching on iFollow as you miss a lot of the off the ball runs etc and it is far more nerve-racking than being at the game live. Now my pointless contribution is finished, please carry on.
Click to expand...
ZeroTheHero said:
I agree, and the radio commentary (when it's even *less* clear what is really going on) is even more excruciating than that! Nothing is as good as being there of course, but it is nice to have an alternative...
Click to expand...
I'll add to the above by saying that if the choice was an easy one to make, then we would attend in person every time. The atmosphere, camraderie and the ability to pick and choose what we view is a winner every time.
 
Marked Ox said:
Can I just say I dislike watching on iFollow as you miss a lot of the off the ball runs etc and it is far more nerve-racking than being at the game live. Now my pointless contribution is finished, please carry on.
Click to expand...
The last live OUFC game I got to go to was at Rodney Parade in the League Cup in 2018 (lived in the Welsh valleys at the time so it was somewhat "local"). We went 2-0 up within 4 minutes with Shandon Baptiste scoring his first goal for the club. It was from then on a really rubbish game, including Jamie Hanson getting himself sent off, until Gavin Whyte scored a 3rd in injury time. 5 minutes of good live football and I'd sooner go back and experience those 90 minutes again than any of the brilliant games where I've been sat at home watching on iFollow.

There is no substitution for live football and if it was an option for me I'd be there in person every single time. But using a VPN to watch on iFollow is as close as I can get, and is a hell of a lot better than never seeing my team play. If that makes me parasitic scum then I guess I'm parasitic scum.
 
I
Marked Ox said:
Can I just say I dislike watching on iFollow as you miss a lot of the off the ball runs etc and it is far more nerve-racking than being at the game live. Now my pointless contribution is finished, please carry on.
Click to expand...
I agree it's more nerve-wracking, and defeat seems worse as you aren't with mates who can joke about it a bit or at least change the subject. I haven't watched us online at all this season, for the sake of my mental health.
 
Sounds like quite a few use VPN, they must know it is widespread but are not doing anything about it as the money looks good? Efl take a cut right. It must be enough evidence to see they should make it official
 
Well I've not used a VPN to access the game but I did usually use the PayPal option to pay.

I seem to recall it disappeared for a short while previously?
 
WokinghamYellow said:
Sounds like quite a few use VPN, they must know it is widespread but are not doing anything about it as the money looks good? Efl take a cut right. It must be enough evidence to see they should make it official
Click to expand...
For the first time, this weekend I had problems connecting to iFollow using my VPN. Not sure whether iFollow have tightened up their access controls.
 
Quite frankly more people will want to attend games in person instead of watching on a VPN if the match day experience is better (Pray for Stratfield Brake) & the team aren’t boring & shite like they’re this season.

Simple as that.
 
andystroud said:
For the first time, this weekend I had problems connecting to iFollow using my VPN. Not sure whether iFollow have tightened up their access controls.
Click to expand...

More likely that someone at iFollow HQ has pressed the wrong button..........
 
That does not make sense, if a fans mindset or reason to support is based on not being bored or watching perceived shi*e, then why would they bother going through hoops to watch via a Vpn.

It has been said many times, people have various reasons why they cannot attend and it doesn't come down to Attend or Ifollow as the decision maker.

using myself as an example, I cannot attend the Match or The Racecourse and during this period i've lost interest in many things. If there was no means to watch either then there's a fair chance that interest may go too. As it is I still have a Match day to look forward to and only the weekend just past I invested in another Racehorse, neither of which would or could happen if there was no alternative to attending.
 
No issues for me. It even carried on working after I turned my VPN off during the long stoppage in the game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Friday iFollow
Replies
3
Views
329
TOPCAT
T
Grumpy Git
Does this thing iFollow work?
2
Replies
24
Views
2K
Manorlounger
Manorlounger
O
End of iFollow
2 3 4
Replies
69
Views
8K
behindthegoal
behindthegoal
Neville60
ifollow not working
2
Replies
34
Views
5K
Manorlounger
Manorlounger
B
iFollow
2 3
Replies
42
Views
5K
Oxford57
Oxford57
Back
Top Bottom