Effects of ISU's media deal - Figure Skating on CBC but not Eurosport

[MGstyle]

The ISU never geoblocked Canadians from watching the Eurovision stream even when CBC had streaming rights to competitions, and I hope they don't geoblock Youtube either... I am not a fan of the CBC livestream at all. Youtube is far better...

Probably you got the extraordingary charm of Justin Trudeau to thank for :luv17:

 

[surimi]

Can anyone point me to the list of non geoblocked countries? Thanks!

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Yes, but will they, or will they just block willy-nilly according to their countries list? Separate channels would at least get them to pay more attention to this sort of thing and maybe not block figure skating where they’ve only sold speed skating rights (though it does sound as if all skating things have been sold together i.e. speed skating + figure skating and you can’t separate one out from the other).

Also the Skating ISU channel is likely to get clogged up with all sorts of other things like general news, plus other skating sports videos. Of course there’s playlists like they have for the Junior Grand Prix, but from a searching for old events point of view I would have thought it far easier to have separate channels, plus the blocking aspect may be possible to get more accurate, as above.

Completely agree. If everything is on the one YouTube channel, it is going to be a nightmare trying to find what you are looking for.

They need to set up a separate YouTube Channel for the Senior GP Series (like they have for the Junior GP Series) right now. And then, once the GP Series is over, they can evaluate how it has gone and decide what approach to take for Euros, 4 Continents, and Worlds.

But, I can imagine people getting very angry if we have everything (the general news and interview videos that currently get posted up there; the Senior GP Series; the Major Figure Skating Championships; and all the Speed Skating stuff) mixed in together on the single video upload list.

EDIT: I have just checked a whole pile of sensible addresses that could potentially be used for separate streaming channels, and none of them are in use. So, there is nothing to stop the ISU using any or all of these addresses.​

CaroLiza_fan

 

[MGstyle]

Can anyone point me to the list of non geoblocked countries? Thanks!

This is the list of the geoblocked countries, so theoretically if you don't see yours, you should be good to go. They may edit the list further, though.

 

[TryMeLater]

The ISU never geoblocked Canadians from watching the Eurovision stream even when CBC had streaming rights to competitions, and I hope they don't geoblock Youtube either... I am not a fan of the CBC livestream at all. Youtube is far better...

The geoblock may also depend on whether the broadcasting authority has exclusive broadcasting rights and/or streaming rights.

 

[Cutting the ice]

So I just checked the link https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/figureskating/broadcast and so far, the only figure skating streaming listed for the CBC on-line is the Ontario Sectionals Series Octoberfest competition this weekend. No mention yet of Skate America. But WTH, lots of time to update still - almost 48 hours.

The CBC streaming schedule for Skate America is now up so all is good.

 

[SnowWhite]

Completely agree. If everything is on the one YouTube channel, it is going to be a nightmare trying to find what you are looking for.

They need to set up a separate YouTube Channel for the Senior GP Series (like they have for the Junior GP Series) right now. And then, once the GP Series is over, they can evaluate how it has gone and decide what approach to take for Euros, 4 Continents, and Worlds.

But, I can imagine people getting very angry if we have everything (the general news and interview videos that currently get posted up there; the Senior GP Series; the Major Figure Skating Championships; and all the Speed Skating stuff) mixed in together on the single video upload list.

EDIT: I have just checked a whole pile of sensible addresses that could potentially be used for separate streaming channels, and none of them are in use. So, there is nothing to stop the ISU using any or all of these addresses.​

CaroLiza_fan

The more views a channel gets, however, the more its videos/streams will be suggested to people by Youtube. So I can see some benefit to having them on the same channel if it equals more views total. Besides, as long as the playlists are well-organized, I don't see it being a problem.

 

[s1alker]

I have decided that I don’t need all this stoopid drama in my life... and got myself a VPN. Been holding it off for years, but it was high time. So far, lookin’ good. Congrats, ISU, money was spent... but it didn’t go into your pockets. Oops!

With the VPN I don't need to pay the $70 for NBC Sports! I see all the events for the next few days scheduled up on YouTube now.

On a second note, do we know who (if at all) is doing the commentary? I'll miss Simon Reed and the Eurosport guys, despite imo not being too technical other than stating the names of the jumps.

 

[ice coverage]

Yes, but will they, or will they just block willy-nilly according to their countries list?

I don't know the answer, but ...

... Separate channels would at least get them to pay more attention to this sort of thing and maybe not block figure skating where they’ve only sold speed skating rights (though it does sound as if all skating things have been sold together i.e. speed skating + figure skating and you can’t separate one out from the other). ...

I am willing to reserve judgment until the YouTube streaming actually starts.

IMO, the following sentence from the official announcement is reason for at least some optimism that the ISU will give attention to "each series and/or Event" in terms of geoblocking:

The ISU will be publishing a “Where to watch” news with details of the geo-blocked territories ahead of each series and/or Event.​

The ISU did publish the "Where to watch" list specific to figure skating GPs, so it has started off on the right foot in living up to that sentence.

---

… Also the Skating ISU channel is likely to get clogged up with all sorts of other things like general news, plus other skating sports videos. Of course there’s playlists like they have for the Junior Grand Prix, but from a searching for old events point of view I would have thought it far easier to have separate channels, plus the blocking aspect may be possible to get more accurate, as above.

The potential "clogging up" issue already had crossed my mind too, of course.

I think/hope that the search function would make it reasonably straightforward to find old events. Works well for me in finding specific JGP videos/programs from the ISU JGP channel.

(BTW, at this point, I am not expecting separate videos of individual figure skating programs to be uploaded to the SkatingISU channel. If[?] the Eurovision site is any indication, it did not offer separate videos of individual programs. So I am imagining just one playlist that covers all of 2019 Skate America, for example.
Going by the Eurovision and SkatingISU YouTube archives for speed skating, it would seem(?) as if one season would require only a handful of playlists [or maybe two handfuls ]. Same for short track.)

 

[DSQ]

Does anyone know what "geo-restrictions COULD apply mean"? If I found my country on the list, is it 100 % sure that I can't watch the YouTube stream?

I live in Hungary and it says MTVA has the rights, but they don't have figure skating on the schedule for this weekend? They never showed the GP before, only Europeans and Worlds...

The whole Europe basically, North America, Korea, Japan and Russia are blocked. :disapp:

The UK looks like it’s unblocked and it’s in Europe.

 

[Miller]

(BTW, at this point, I am not expecting separate videos of individual figure skating programs to be uploaded to the SkatingISU channel. If[?] the Eurovision site is any indication, it did not offer separate videos of individual programs. So I am imagining just one playlist that covers all of 2019 Skate America, for example.

I hope that they do provide individual programs, but the fact they're using the Skating ISU channel rather than a ISU FS Grand Prix one does make me wonder. Also there's the issue of copyright blocking mentioned earlier on in the thread e.g. due to background music playing between skaters. It would be beyond annoying to wake up in the morning (I'm in Europe) only to find all the streams blocked by copyright claims and no individual programs to turn to - let's hope the ISU does provide these, plus based on the Junior Grand Prix it shouldn't be too many to do e.g. by my reckoning there's 42 Short Programs/Rhythm Dances for an entire Grand Prix. Similarly for LPs/Free Dances, but a Junior Grand Prix you often get over 30 Ladies, plus there's men, dance, and sometimes pairs besides, so hopefully it wouldn't be too onerous, and not just providing a single video for a single segment that might get blocked.

 

[madraykin]

Sorry if this was already posted, I skimmed the last few pages and didn't see it.

Scott Russell talks briefly about the CBC situation in this video: https://www.facebook.com/SkateOntario/videos/393451088232407/ (I don't have an exact timestamp but it's between 10 and 15 minutes in).

Essentially he said the figure skating and speed skating rights are a package and have to be purchased together, and that the asking price was exorbitant.

(He also says Worlds will be broadcast on CBC TV, not just streamed)

 

[IndiaP12]

New Zealand isn't on the list of countries that have broadcast deals, so you're presumably in the clear for YouTube, just like us Aussies!

Is the scheduled streams showing up for you on YT? Not for me...

 

[Harriet]

Is the scheduled streams showing up for you on YT? Not for me...

Not yet, no.

 

[ruga]

I see streams when going to ISU Skating channel but my country is on the list...

 

[IndiaP12]

I see streams when going to ISU Skating channel but my country is on the list...

It’s the other way round for me! You’re lucky!

 

[IndiaP12]

Not yet, no.

If I VPN UK they show up [emoji24] please tell me NZ/Aus aren’t blocked

 

[Harriet]

I see streams when going to ISU Skating channel but my country is on the list...

LOL. Wouldn't surprise me if they've got the settings the wrong way around!

 

[Winnie_20]

I see streams when going to ISU Skating channel but my country is on the list...

Same here (without using VPN, mind). Why am I not surprised? They found another way to mess with people's heads. :yes2:

 

[Harriet]

Same here (without using VPN, mind). Why am I not surprised? They found another way to mess with people's heads. :yes2:

Thank you, I am now pseudo-Dutch for YouTube and have the streams showing.

This is frankly hilarious at this point.