Anyone hoping to listen to live radio commentary of Liverpool’s decisive Champions League tie with Spartak Moscow on Wednesday will not be able to do so after the club made the decision to restrict audio access to the match to their official website.
Liverpool had been in negotiations with BBC Radio 5 Live, who along with Talksport broadcast Champions League matches in this country, about full commentary of the fixture since the 3-3 draw with Sevilla on 21 November, when a late collapse by Jürgen Klopp’s side denied them guaranteed qualification to the knockout stages of the competition and meant they require at least a draw against Spartak at Anfield to progress.
BBC 5 Live fully expected to secure the necessary rights, only to discover on Saturday that the club is limiting them to a reporter who can send brief updates and post-match interviews with the managers and players from both sides.
There is shock at the BBC over the decision, with one insider describing it as “monumentally restrictive” as it will deny a likely listener base of more than one million people the chance to listen to the Group E fixture as it unfolds via a traditional radio service. There is also the suspicion at the station that this is a taste of things to come as major clubs, and Liverpool in particular, look to take live broadcasting of their games, on TV as well as radio, in house.
Liverpool have defended the decision by pointing out that live commentary of each of their five Champions League group matches so far this season have been broadcast via their website and that access to the service for the Spartak match will, like with the others, be free. All would-be listeners have to do is register to the site.
Such a move does somewhat exclude non-Liverpool supporters who may want to listen to commentary of the game as they are unlikely to register to the club’s website to do so, and also excludes anyone who does not own a laptop/home computer/smartphone or access to the internet. Anyone who wants to watch live television coverage of the fixture will require BT Sport to do so, with the channel having retained exclusive rights to show Champions League fixtures in March.
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Rights to live radio commentaries of Champions League matches in England are negotiated directly between broadcasters and clubs and done so on a game by game basis. BBC 5 Live has yet to do full commentary of one of Liverpool’s European games at Anfield this season, primarily because they have consistently played on the same evening as Tottenham Hotspur, whose fixtures, namely those against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, have been more high profile. They did broadcast Liverpool draw with Sevilla last month, for which they did not have to pay a rights’ fee as it took place in Spain, and were confident of also having a commentary team on Merseyside in midweek, so much so that full live commentary of Liverpool v Spartak Moscow has already been listed on the schedule page of 5 Live’s website.
Liverpool insist that their decision is not the start of a process that will see an increasing restriction of live broadcast of their European matches to their official channels and that they will continue to make decisions on a game-by-game basis. Klopp’s team are guaranteed European football in the new year as even if they lose against Spartak, with whom they drew 1-1 in Moscow three months ago, the lowest they will finish in Group E is third, which would see them qualify instead for the Europa League.
Anyone hoping to listen to live radio commentary of Liverpool’s decisive Champions League tie with Spartak Moscow on Wednesday will not be able to do so after the club made the decision to restrict audio access to the match to their official website.
Liverpool had been in negotiations with BBC Radio 5 Live, who along with Talksport broadcast Champions League matches in this country, about full commentary of the fixture since the 3-3 draw with Sevilla on 21 November, when a late collapse by Jürgen Klopp’s side denied them guaranteed qualification to the knockout stages of the competition and meant they require at least a draw against Spartak at Anfield to progress.
BBC 5 Live fully expected to secure the necessary rights, only to discover on Saturday that the club is limiting them to a reporter who can send brief updates and post-match interviews with the managers and players from both sides.
There is shock at the BBC over the decision, with one insider describing it as “monumentally restrictive” as it will deny a likely listener base of more than one million people the chance to listen to the Group E fixture as it unfolds via a traditional radio service. There is also the suspicion at the station that this is a taste of things to come as major clubs, and Liverpool in particular, look to take live broadcasting of their games, on TV as well as radio, in house.
Liverpool have defended the decision by pointing out that live commentary of each of their five Champions League group matches so far this season have been broadcast via their website and that access to the service for the Spartak match will, like with the others, be free. All would-be listeners have to do is register to the site.
Such a move does somewhat exclude non-Liverpool supporters who may want to listen to commentary of the game as they are unlikely to register to the club’s website to do so, and also excludes anyone who does not own a laptop/home computer/smartphone or access to the internet. Anyone who wants to watch live television coverage of the fixture will require BT Sport to do so, with the channel having retained exclusive rights to show Champions League fixtures in March.
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Rights to live radio commentaries of Champions League matches in England are negotiated directly between broadcasters and clubs and done so on a game by game basis. BBC 5 Live has yet to do full commentary of one of Liverpool’s European games at Anfield this season, primarily because they have consistently played on the same evening as Tottenham Hotspur, whose fixtures, namely those against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, have been more high profile. They did broadcast Liverpool draw with Sevilla last month, for which they did not have to pay a rights’ fee as it took place in Spain, and were confident of also having a commentary team on Merseyside in midweek, so much so that full live commentary of Liverpool v Spartak Moscow has already been listed on the schedule page of 5 Live’s website.
Liverpool insist that their decision is not the start of a process that will see an increasing restriction of live broadcast of their European matches to their official channels and that they will continue to make decisions on a game-by-game basis. Klopp’s team are guaranteed European football in the new year as even if they lose against Spartak, with whom they drew 1-1 in Moscow three months ago, the lowest they will finish in Group E is third, which would see them qualify instead for the Europa League.
