There was totally unbearable poverty in 1905

[Cacat]

Why did the tsar fall - and why in Russia - and why such a big country became the evil empire - and threatened us all for over 80 years - and they are the most likely to send us all to our maker?

The first cannon shots rang around from the Neva in St Petersburg in 1917. Yes the entire Romanov family - including the little children were shot together by the Bolsheviks.

Now - Canada's cable TV cabal(rogers and Bell Alliance) made Canada the only western region without European soccer on cable!

I say - it has always been a right - we pay FIFA for membership - they MUST have soccer on cable!

Well - apparently not.

You can pay for a streaming service - in the case of soccer , it originates in the land of our Colonialist Oppressors, to whom we pay tribute by maintaining their Crown and the colonial institutions(Senate, GOVERNOR general and 10 dwarfs in provinces, free paid visits and vacations for the lot in this North American colony)

I say - European Soccer on Cable TV is not a matter of a bid going to the highest bidder - it is an inalienable right that all western countries HAVE!!

 CABLE!! QUALITY OF TRANSMISSION!! no fickle streaming at extra out of pocket cost!! No siree!!

[OLDYELLR]

I get your point. While 40 years ago soccer was just some European sport (even though world wide it was the most popular) that was only followed by immigrants, today it's a major sport both in schools and followed by many. The majority population of our major cities is comprised of immigrant stock. Personally it's not my cup of tea, but the following among the general population is undeniable.  So why is it not carried by cable companies like other sports followed around the world, like Formula One? It seems to me that avid soccer fans are so fanatical that they subscribe to all kinds of streaming services instead of waiting for cable TV to recognize the demand. The remaining fans just complain and moan about cable not carrying it while the biggest fans with deep pockets  have left. So what are you to do if you just want to stick with cable? You're left behind by changing technology and serious fans going to other sources.  Subscribing to higher cable packages won't get it for you no matter how much you're willing to spend.

[Cacat]

Thank you. It is up to anybody involved and any level and any capacity in soccer here to have this situation rectified. In a way, just like with our political overlords, the biggest betrayal stems from the parasites of the Canadian Soccer Association. They make a living from the sport but dare not at all about the level of performance achieved - just to lick the boots of the political establishment which pays them to keep us all subjugated and quiet. You know - the ones gleefully accepting that our national team went to the finals just once in history!

[57]

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@Cacat wrote:

I say - European Soccer on Cable TV is not a matter of a bid going to the highest bidder - it is an inalienable right that all western countries HAVE!!

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How funny you are.  😉

Unfortunately, this is happening more and more. All of the TV programming used to be on a few "free" channels 60 years ago, but things have changed.  As the number of programmes and channels grew, it became necessary to subscribe to a service provider (mostly cable) to get 30-40 channels (40-50 years ago).  However, today there are thousands of "channels" worldwide, plus many more streaming services, each carrying something that someone wants to watch. 

A few years back many people complained about the service providers and "cut the cord", however, all that happened is that many people who are interested in a fair bit of (varied) TV end up paying more for unlimited internet and for various streaming services that end up costing as much, or more than, their previous cable bills. 

Granted, some people, who are interested in commercial TV get 20-30 channels OTA, however, that is not adequate for those interested in "specialty" programming, especially sports.

Eventually everything will probably be "a-la-carte" (PPV) where you pay a few cents or in some cases many dollars to watch an individual programme.

Although I can still watch F1 on TSN via Rogers, I too have "lost" several of my favourite sports to streaming or very expensive channels (WRC, Dakar (for many years), MotoGP, SuperBike, some IndyCar races this year, etc).  I have simply decided to do without these programmes and find other things to do or watch.

[OLDYELLR]

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@57 wrote:

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Eventually everything will probably be "a-la-carte" (PPV) where you pay a few cents or in some cases many dollars to watch an individual programme.

Although I can still watch F1 on TSN via Rogers, I too have "lost" several of my favourite sports to streaming or very expensive channels (WRC, Dakar (for many years), MotoGP, SuperBike, some IndyCar races this year, etc).  I have simply decided to do without these programmes and find other things to do or watch.

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I agree with @57.  I miss a lot of motorsports that used to be on Cable, mostly the former Speed Channel. I also enjoyed the Red Bull air races, but now I see that I can watch them with the free Red Bull app on my Smart TV.  I too am waiting for true affordable  a-la-carte TV. Currently I'm exploring Execulink (my ISP) LINK TV (similar to Bell's Alt TV) to see if I can put together a bundle that covers what I'm getting with Rogers VIP and will justify switching. But the current business model is still comprised of groups of channels forcing you to get half a dozen channels if you only want two of them.  But technology now would certainly allow true a-la-carte, even if the price is less than a load of theme packs, because it should keep customers from jumping ship.

But getting back to the soccer thing.  That  " inalienable right that all western countries HAVE!!".  Soccer is the most popular sport all over the world, except North America. Here it's down the list, currently even behind the new temporary fad, basketball. I'm sure if you were in the UK you'd be able to get all the soccer for your heart's desire on their TV. Same for most of Europe and many other parts of the world.

[Cap07]

Bit confused. What's footy got to do with "unbearable poverty in 1905"?

[Cacat]

Good points!

It remains outrageous in the evil intent

streaming is garbage compared to wired in cable - always will - much more so with the bandwidth throttling practiced routinely by the same "culprits. British rooted commentators cannot ever provide what we want here in the colony of Canada - we have our naturalized Brits mixed with Canadian soccer commentators that are far better FOR US!!

They're gone now but they're irreplaceable to my estimate - most here in the colony will agree. Heck, they're even intelligible as they're adopting more and more of our words while losing the cockney and Scottish brogue. And - they all talk our language - totally unified with us - looking to see how we get our colony into the world cup for only the second time - and they follow some of our native boys who have to go through . to play overseas competitive level soccer. This is only another reason why we MUST - eventually - get our UEFA and Premiership back on CANADIAN CABLE FIRMS. we pay an outrageously high price for cable in Canada - and now they surreptitiously dilute our programming?? are we that complacent and plain cowardly to let this issue go?

[Cacat]

Excellent question , sir!

Its a Che Guevara cry - I am crushed by the little resistance our cable giants met with upon taking these actions over 2 years!! totally flattened, really. A little opposition and "civil dialogue" before accepting the knife to the bone never created changes - regrettably its only a revolution! Premiership?? UEFA Champions and Europa Cup? They've always and forever been part of the extremely dear prices we pay for cable in our British Crown Colony in North America.

Two skillful moves in nary a year and - voila - all gone. We giddily pay DAZN, get far worse transmission, use heaps of data, have no more of our own commentators and most of what we get is "civilized discourse"?? ReaLLY? Some of our youngsters just have so much soccer talent and totally needed to see the best in the world play ON CABLE and with our Canadian commentators!! Where is the boot licking CSA in all this?