Thetownend.com

http://www.swindontownfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10341~1027267,00.html

Does this mean BBC Radio Swindon no longer have access???

FFS that's a shit decision, ad breaks, shit presenters stupid bints trying to talk footie!!

Please let this be a very bad April fool.

fuck, if their match coverage is anything like their general programming, i'll be looking to teletext for updates of any matches i'm not at next year...

Is this the punishment for Ed allowing a balanced argument occasionally on their sports talk programme. Like you say what an utterly shit move

IMHO the station always came across abit amateur.

Can't beat Shaun Hodgetts.

Its all much of a muchness but if they have add breaks during the game i'll fire bomb them.

I wonder if there is a big sum involved?  :-))(

cunting cunting cunt cunting cunts.

does it matter?

possibly... BBC is public service broadcasting and as such is supposed to be impartial not sure if that would be the case with this lot?

Fucking Brunel FM what is this town obsession with Brunel?

Have you ever listened to Brunel ?

no

Utter utter cunts. I can't pick that station up from here, money shnaffling fucking crook twats!

Do you reckon this new contract will inhibit what they can say about the club ie no detremental coverage aimed in the direction of the boardroom

I only hope the wider Wiltshire area will be able to listen online, which is  better than nowt.

Will they poach Shaun and Ed though?

Propaganda FM  :nod:

Isn't one of the presenters an oxford fan?

yup! has mouthed off about swindon before. what a completely retarded move, this money-grabbing board really are a bunch of cunts.

The Oxford fan reminds me ......Was it Brunel FM at the match taking the piss out of the orange and protests if so propaganda FM it will be

This was the oxford fan presenter that took the piss out of us wearing orange ties at the Accy VIP day

I think Busheys Ex has a lot to do for them

indeed. what a cock jockey.

Craig Rance is his name and he is a Scummer ST holder

so at least he wont be doing the commentary then... :P

Can someone tell me Martyn Starnes e-mail address.

Isn't that the station started up by Rikky _unt ?

It's a bad bad move again.. What about coverage outside Swindon... Don't they realise that at least 50% of fans are outside of Swindon. ?
 :twak:
OR
(Cynical hat comes on)  :old:
Is this so the Swindon public can listen when they play at home at Junc 17
 :groan1:

totall f in shit bollocks.

I could get wiltshire sound but not brunel fucking fm. Total twats.

I am gonna email him and find out the facts.

I want to know if Brunel have exclusive match coverage or will BBC still be covering it.

If it's just Brunel then they haven't considered the huge percentage of fans that don't live in Swindon.

WTF am i gonna listen to in the car on the way home.

You can't even get Brunel FM in Highworth.

thats currently winging its way to the Adver as we speak. thats really, really annoyed me!

Exactly. At least when it's on BBC you can listen on Wiltshire Sound and still pick up the commentary in Chippenham, Melksham etc.

Brunel FM only broadcast in the Swindon Urban area (or so I believe) so that's a bit shit really.

Unfortunately the copyright for commentary is owned by the Football league which the radio station has to pay a license fee for.  

The club then has the right to sell the streaming Internet license to who they see fit through STFC world.  There is a license involved which Brunel will have paid for going into the clubs coffers.

Effectively that means the Beeb won’t be able to carry any of the match highlights over the Internet anymore but I don’t think that stretches to post match interviews and the like.

Fuck me I didn't even think about the "out of towners", Brunel only goes as far as Wootton Bassett, that's shit.

So yes Arriba it does matter.

And it's abit shit.

It's worse than Fox FM here in Scummer land.

This is just a complete utter load of bollocks, obviously the board have done this deliberately because they didn't like radio swindon and ed hadwin giving fans their views and making things even....

oh well. another reason to knock together a noose.

i'm actually fucking livid about this.

hodgetts is in charge of a lot of the programmes on bbc swindon so i doubt he will be making the move.

god know what ed will do.

trust me, with  adverts every 5 minutes it is gonna get very annoying.

HOW FUCKING DARE THEY NOT ASK US ARE VIEWS ON THIS.?

They claim in the week not to repeat a song from 9 till 5 (dig at gwr) but what they dont say is they play the same fucking songs in nearly the same order every day.

it is gonna be cringe worthy.

oh well maybe the club are doing this so they know people would much rather fork out £20 to watch the match than listen to that shite :o

Actually it goes atleast as far as Goatacre in this direction - pretty sure you can't pick it up in Calne thouigh and there are plenty of Town fans there. Will Brunel FM seriously be sending people to Hartlepool and Carlisle to commentate next season? I'm worried about people missing out

Can't get it here in Lyneham. I could even hear the match from Bristol in my car, bit crackly but still. what the fuck are these jokers playing at, they seem to antagonise the fans for the fun of it - well done to the board for shafting us up the wrong un again! What wil they do next, ask us to provide our own lube?

my god, we are run by complete and utter retards arent we.

Whilst it wont effect me living in Swindon, what about the people who cant pick up this small time no name radio station no one has heard of....then they cant listen to the match

Is it suppose to encourage them to go instead?

Madness, another decision made without talking to the people it will affect, ie the fans.

Maybe from a static location but not in the car, we lose it just after Bassett in the car.  Fuck me this area's shit for radio, Radio 1's wank, GWR's crap, Brunel awful...

[cunts]My mac doesn't support STFC World, so if I'm not at a game, does this now mean I don't get the BBC RS listen live option for pre/post match interviews etc..?[/cunts]

If so. Thanks a fucking bunch.

I'm fucking livid about it.

I hate this fucking board.

They are getting in a professional reporter.  Some comments here have been harsh, teh reporter is in her first year and hasnt even taken a penny for it, pretty sure many on here wouldnt do that.

Nonetheless to have a guy in charge who's Pox and openly doesn't give a damn about STFC grates with me - Sean Hodgetts for his faults is a dyed in the wool town fan, and they have dared to question the antics at SN1.  It seems to me that they have totally ignored any number of issues on the contract and just signed whatever they wanted.  I do know however that GWR have been an official media partner this season (perhaps before) and that hasn't seemed to have affected the Beeb output?

Sorry Bushey, I don't mean to be personal against the girl, but she sounds like she hasn't got a clue what the fuck is going on and the male presenters talk to her like she's a child.  If that's the style of coverage of games they're not really taking it too seriously, so I'd rather a decent station continued to cover the matches.

What the fuck is it with radio nowadays having to have some bird talking about football anyway??

And as for being the key reporter for town fans I expect most fans would jump at the chance.

Not meaning to have a rant, sorry.

I mean the station as a whole mate, not the reporter.

You have to understand why people are annoyed with the board though?

Is that why Brunel FM had a table at the Accie Stanley match then?  To celebrate their up coming deal?

I hope Wiltshire Sound continue in some capacity, ad breaks during footie coverage, on a music station just isn't gonna work.

Has anyone emailed Ed or Shaun to see if they know what's going on?

The truth is the girl in question knows more about football than the average male, believe it or not, spend 10 minutes with her and your find that out.

I dont give a fuck about the coverage due to the fact if your moaning get down to teh county ground and buy a fucking ticket....its simple.

I agree BBC do a grand job but until you see what happens next year you should all keep quiet.  They are a new station and as said they will have a experienced reporter in.

ad breaks, during football......is that for real?

Is that a fact or people guessing??

Fuck me some of you lot have anti board glasses on 24/7
 (not a dig at you DV)

Ash what about us fans that live out of town and listen to the after match reaction in the car on the way home??

We just go without now?

You know i go to every home match and spend a fortune watching this club.

PS - They had a table like posters on here did.  We all gave £60 each to teh club so try another dig

Then stay in the car park and listen  :D

Yeah thats helpful!

I'm not as rich as Mex though, so can't always make it due to travel costs.

I've made an effort not to be as anti board recently, to be more objective, but this has pissed me off, I can't deny that.

Problem solved?

You lot have made me smile tonight, fair play for biting so easily.  I will have a beer for you all tonight....

Not really.

And like Sussex said, not everyone can afford to go to every game.

Move to swindon problem solved?

Fuck off Bushey!

You're a little cunt at times.

So will there be any football coverage at all on bbc radio swindon even the build up prior to the match with edd and hodgetts.

To put it simply - fuck knows NR.

Nah Ralph, I am just not taking this forum seriously.

Janaage hit the nail on the head by simply saying no one knows ought at the mo

Is that some kind of sick joke?

No its problem solving at its best......

As a fan who lives bloody miles away in lonely suffolk i dont always get to the games and have to listen and rely on bbc swindon on line if this is going to  stop me and fellow fans from listening in the club should be shot.

To be fair its out of order for out of towners...

Newmarket - your be able to listen on line

To that fucked up Premium TV excuse for a streaming service? No chance. Continual drop outs in service and odd seconds of output vanishing? No thanks.

I'd like to point out the same thing happened with Reading when they sold the rights to a station in the same group as Brunel FM. When all the fans complained that BBC Radio Berkshire didn't have the rights - and whatever the station is there only broadcasts to the city - the club backtracked and let the BBC back in.

So **WE ALL NEED TO COMPLAIN** otherwise the club will take the cash and not give a fuck about us people who live in Bristol and Chippenham and all the other places we drive from to see the team we love.

COMPLAIN NOW or it'll never change!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2006/07/31/reading_commentary_0607_feature.shtml

This is the row with Reading/BBC Radio Berkshire.

Madjeski seems to be a lot more fan orientated than our board.


And since when did the board last take note of any of our complaints in the past

If we don't try, we don't know what'll happen ... That attitude won't help! Sorry!

I agree Chris.

i never said anything about not trying  :?

Then do something and TRY!!!

I'm emailing now - come on guys, let fucking get going, ALL OF YOU, email NOW!

I have written the following:



If you lot care about us people who live outside of Swindon, help now, and get emailing.

Another nail in the coffin of this hopeless board.

Anyone else get the feeling they are just doing what they can before they go to fuck us off.

Get a investor in then power may have to pay more for the club

Agree to groundshare with rovers

deprive alot of fans of coverage

Then fuck off

Hasn't actually been announced yet has it?!!

Guys - can I plead with you all: email the club and complain.

Do something good today!

the more I think about it, the less I give a fuck.

that applies to football as a whole

No but im saying it would not suprise me now if they did

A week ago you wanted to be on the trust  :D lucky escape there

piss off

Chill sonic  :D

What was that Fred... Craig Rancid did you say???
Rancid by name.....

i think the woman who does the commentary is shit but i would.

:soapy tit wank:

Looks like we're listening to BBC Whoever-we're-playing online.

That'll get annoying.

Well if you lot bothered to email and complain then we wouldn't ...

(Grumble grumble)

Personally I don't see the point. Nothing will change. If the deals gonna happen then its gonna happen. Money dictates. If the BBC would've put in a better offer to keep their coverage in the first place then thats the only way I could see the problem being solved. So why waste your time emailing a complaint they won't even care about, and get emailing the BBC?? And by the looks of it, it's a done deal. Sad, but true.

that's maybe a smidge defeatest redgewell...but i also don't see the point of going mental already and getting narky (albeit tongue in cheek) with peeps on here 24 hours after we realised this

yeah maybe a little defeatest but thats how i feel on the subject. They announce on the official site the news. Yeah it's shit but it's done. What can you do now? If there's a way to change it, i'm wholeheartedly in. But i sure ain't emailing over a lost cause. Sorry.

If they had told us that they had plans to sign a deal with Brunel then we could have maybe expressed our views on why it was a bad way to go...

another reason why a fan on the board is crucial.

nah i don't agree...but that's the beauty of these forums! shall we duel?

even if i registers our discontent with the board and underlines how little faith we have in the board then it can't be a bad thing

as it is i am not doing it yet purely to register my discontent that we're being urged to so regularly merely a day after it's been announced  8)

I fully respect that you disagree with me. I agree with your comment about the board and thats the only reason I would possibly consider letting my feelings be known that way. But I too feel it is too soon and stand by my initial reaction. As in regard to a duel? I'm up for that Mr Bennett. But a duel at what?

a bout of internet sparring you fool! (see how i raised the stakes with the defamatory word)

shame i'm off out in a bit...this could be fun  :D

Oh i knew what you meant. I was was just reeling you in.
It's on.
It's a sunny day... so i'll meet you at the cemetary gates

one day i'll learn...

i can't today my mum's just got the grass stains out of my jeans  :cry:

Keats and Yeats are on your side
While Wilde is on mine

a dreaded sunny day....
:)

Redge - see my comments earlier in the thread about what happened at Reading. There is a precident for this happpening and for clubs going back on decisions of this nature.

Their decision to go with Brunel means I will NOT be able to listen to ANY match commentary next season. Can't get it on the radio, can't get it on the computer (have a Mac).

Yeah i must've missed that about Reading on first read. But Reading football club isn't Swindon Town, they don't have the same assholes running the club as we do. Let me think about it when i'm a little  mor e sober. I understand your concern though

Someone post Martyn Starnes e-mail address and I'll get on his case pronto. Thx in advance.

I'm against it not being on the BBC for a number of reasons.

For both matches and off field stuff, a comercial radio station's (especially a new one) main interest is going to be with the advertisers, affiliates and sponsors. I can imagine the commentators trying to make a 0-0 draw away at Oldham sound interesting just so people keep listening for the half time adverts.
.
You've got the whole outside of Swindon issue. BBC Wiltshire broadcasts the commentary outside of Swindon to the whole of errrrr, Wiltshire.

To be fair, Brunel FM is part of a bigger group called The Local Radio Company. It's still relatively small though. It seems like something the current board will be able to put more pressure on to than the huge giant global ace BBC.

Does it mean that Ed Hadwin is out of a job? Maybe we should buy him a present.

If it is true that Brunel FM only broadcasts in Swindon then it is a very poor decision to go with them instead of the BBC. I work on Saturdays and finish just before four so rely on the BBC's coverage to hear the second half in Cirencester. I just cannot believe that I won't be able to get coverage any more.
         To this Bushey bloke. It's fair enough that the station will be recruiting new experienced people, and I appreciate that we shall have to wait and see exactly what the coverage will be like...but...we don't want to hear advert interrupted coverage, whether that be before, during or after the game.
         The whole thing just sucks in my opinion. Why are we changing something that works quite nicely as it is. Especially because it alienates fans outside of Swindon, I believe this to be an exceptionally short sited decision.

Not that I've ever listened to Brunel but if you didn't know her you'd probably say the same as Jan.

Im not agreeing with that Si all I will say is I will stick up with any of my friends, living with someone for a few years even more so.

Seems like an easy job but its so much harder than most think.  Maybe watch the fans commentary on sky sports....

Anyway the simple thing is the board have probably had more money from Brunel than BBC, simple its business and they dont give a shit about the fans

As for adverts we wont know until its all done in August

I think the point has gone over your head mate. What I mean is that if you didn't know her you wouldn't even be considering the difficulty of the job when forming your opinion.

People have slated Ed Hadwin before and I didn't see people going on about the difficulty of the job. People even slate the 'top' telly commentators. I wouldn't make too much of it.

Nah but im sure ed and the TV presenters get paid for it.

Maybe it has gone over my head but if someone slated richs guitar playing I am sure youd stick up for him?

Anyway this isnt about the presenter its the fact out of towners wont be able to listen which I fully understand

Rich plays bass and people can form their own opinions as far as I'm concerned. Yeah I'll stick up for him for stuff that's out of order, but if people don't like his bass playing that's not my problem.

I didn't know she wasn't getting paid and I'm sure others didn't when they formed their opinions, neither would you if you didn't know her. I don't think it matters. An opinion is an opinion and it's not been made personal until, well you mentioned it. People are just saying that Brunel is shit which I think is fair enough.

Agreed with that.  I dont listen as prefer Radio 1.  Think thats all I will say on it.

I think the main problem with this deal is Brunel's small transmission area. Seemed OK on the M4 to Chippenham in the West, very iffy past Membury in the east (unlucky Hungerford). I am pretty sure that Kestrel FM (the Brunel sister station in Basingstoke) increased transmission power after they first started (could get them all the way to membury) so maybe Brunel can do the same???

On a personal front Hodgetts and more recently Ed Hadwin have become part of the pre-game build up for me. Sadly missed, though to be fair I am not sure how much access withing the CG the BBC wil be losing other than full match commentry, so it may not be all that bad but surely no live commentry = scaled down buildup.

At least there won't be adverts during the actual football. Wonder if Brian from Larkhill will defect to the Brunel phone in after the game should they have one.

Local Radio is piss poor for music and day to day listening but the news is good.

I imagine commentary to be very hard. When you're sat watching a match on tv next, turn the sound down for a while and try and do you're own commentary. It's hard as fuck.

It's a skill only a few have.

To be honest I don't think they will be allowed to. The dial is becoming ever more crowded ...

Commentarys just about having the ability to ramble on for 90 minutes non-stop. im sure most people on here would be able to cope with it fine

Just said on the radio that the BBC won't be broadcasting commentary for any of the games, and weren't even invited to bid for the rights either!! The board are utter utter fucking cunts. To think I almost caved in and bought a season ticket - not while these jokers are in charge!

Well that's a total joke - plain and simple. Surely if you're tendering a contract for services it is against the law to offer that without allowing other firms to bid for it?

Does anyone know a good European lawyer? This is a absolute fucking joke.

Private companies are not governed by the same contract law that public sector companies are Chris.

In the public sector, all contracts over a certain value MUST be subject to the competetive tender process.

Im afraid in this case that does not apply unfortunately

Bugger and damnation to my upbringing in the public sector.

Anyone else got any ideas? Anyone want to try MPs etc?

I've sent the Adver an email but suspect they will be unwilling to get involved.

Indeed, invite to tender - if for some crazy reason the bods at the CG decided to not invite the Beeb to the tendering process then there is little they could do.  Mind you maybe the Beeb aren't so keen to pay over the odds as a new station that no one listens to?  Let me think - STFC board, quick financial fix, long term hassle for fans - doesn't seem likely?

Fred - another thought - would exclusive deals of this kind not fall foul of the same rules that the Premier League did? ie, anti-competitive behaviour? Especially, thinking about it, not inviting other bids?

I've written an e-mail complaining about this.

Not sure Chris

All I know, that in my line of work we tend to shy away from competitive tendering as it can be a bit of a dutch auction.

We tend to stick to the private sector, build a relationship with the prospective customer, so that when a contract comes up for renewal we are best placed to offer a proposal that is trusted, and saves the customer the expense of going out to competetive tender.

Hmm, media rights in the spotlight of late, though. It's given me a few ideas ...

I've not even had a response from Brunel, so there's another sign of things to come - a deep concern for your customer.

what a farce

I would of thought they would have by now, blimey I didnt reply to a client of mine within the hour on Friday and they called me checking I was ok!

I was told teh person who signed up as Brunel FM was the boss of the station so surely he read this.

they were on again today bushey

Erm cant you out of towners listen to Brunel Fm online matchdays?

I just tried it and it seems to work fine.

I emailed Craig Rance as he left his email addy on the Adver board for any questions, no reply.

Yeovil - that's the point, we can't.

werent BBC RS sposed to cut off their online service during the match, due to the PremiumTV deal?

Probably easier to just moan on a website yeovil :)

wasnt this during the Premium.tv deal for the website and hasnt that finished now?

no it's an ongoing thing, by cashing in through selling the broadcasting rights to BrunelFM they've essentially ensured that the vast majority of fans around Wiltshire and nearby will be unable to listen to live commentary on the radio.

Radio Wiltshire has a much large broadcasting range than BrunelFM.

afaik the premiumtv deal is ongoing.

Yes we can.

But i don't have internet access in my car.

My grandad listens to Swindon games every weekend on the radio. He's a bit too old to go much anymore.But He can't use a laptop.

Here's the press release we've just put out. Tony will be on our breakfast show tomorrow morning after 8 some time with a few more details. I can't say anything else until after that, but if you've got any questions I'll come back online tomorrow some time and answer what I can. Cheers.


BBC Radio Swindon loses commentary rights for Swindon Town after 18 years.

BBC Radio Swindon is disappointed to confirm that it will not be broadcasting full match commentaries of Swindon Town matches next season following the club's decision to award the broadcasting rights to another local radio station.

Managing Editor, Tony Worgan, says: "We're really disappointed that the club didn't invite us to bid for the rights, but that doesn't mean we'll stop providing comprehensive coverage of all the action next season. Fans have been calling, emailing and texting to say how disappointing it is they wont be able to hear Shaun Hodgetts and Ed Hadwin commentating from all the club's games as they have done since 1989.

"I feel particularly sorry for the club's loyal supporters outside the immediate Swindon area who'll be unable to pick up next season's commentary on their radios as a result of this decision.

"However, we wish the club every success and, of course, we'll be supporting Paul Sturrock's drive for back to back promotion as passionately as ever!"

See - this is EXACTLY why we should be doing something about this. Who will this hit, outside of Swindon, the worst? 1, Low income people 2, The elderly. Neither can afford or want broadband ... so they're screwed.

Can I make a suggestion to you all? It probably won't do a jot of good if just one of us does it, but if we all do, we might get something done.

Email the following people:
1, Adver
2, Micheal Wills
3, Anne Snelgrove
4, Any south west MEP you can find

The more of us that email, the more they will think its in their best interests to try and help.

The more people that pressure them, the more likely they are to cave.

Do it now!

LET'S SHOW THAT WE CAN DO AS MUCH GOOD AS THE PLASTIC READING FANS DID!

the board have sold all the out-of-town fans down the river on this one. totally short-sighted, partially money-based and mostly freedom of speech-inhibiting... i cant really see anything thats set against the current board, i.e the consortium, getting a fair fight on Brunel FM.

Ed, many thanks for making the effort to come on the forums.

the more i think of it the more i dont like it.only those in or very near swindon will be able to listen to the commentary.the fact radio swindon were kept in the dark etc is a little naughty imo

gives us thier email addresses and ill send some.  :x

Has a petition been started yet by the fans ?

I never gave a second thought to elderly folk who like to listen to the match.

My grandad couldn't work a microwave let alone a pc or laptop.

Cheers Ed.

The question I have are:

1. Will the BBC have the same access to players/management/directors that they have always had, or will you now be stonewalled a bit.
2. Will the Friday phone in/after match phone in be ongoing?
3.  Will you be able to at least broadcast some live 'updates' from the ground? And are you going to?

Hope it doesn't affect yours and Shauns ongoing contract with the BBC too much.

Petitions are bollocks ralphy i think we need to accept that this is going to happen..Myself i would like to see bbc wilts get behind the trust and the consortium now and appeal to alot more people

In full, they are:

MPs

[email protected],
[email protected]

MEPs

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

cant see that happening

It makes me fucking angry though how this board don't give a toss about the fans and just shit on us all.

Ed, welcome and thanks for the update. As someone who has lived outside Wiltshire for 6 years (and overseas for the last two and a bit of those), I have come to rely on your voice on a Saturday descibing the action (and sometimes lack of) on the pitch. Despite what others may think, I personally think you and Shaun have done an excellent job and I'm sorry these events have transpired. As others have said, I hope the Club's decision doesn't affect your professional circumstances. I have yet to e-mail the club to register my anger at this decision, but its in work.

I'd rather we did a good bit of work like the plastic Reading fans and got commentary back on a station with a wider broadcast area ...

one massive difference reading are run by a bloke who actually gives a fuck about what the town wants

Thats a fair point.

I may be being a bit thick here, but how will e-mailing local MP's do anything to help. Surely they all have to look after their consituency (swindon), and so wont be too bothered that those in the outer regions.

I dont know much about politics, and i may be completely wrong, but i don't think it would make much of a difference would it?

Macca, I do appriciate that, but we can't be defeatest about this ... otherwise they've won.

Got to say, Paul and the Trust guys, you should all get behind this too.

Could someone write a template complaint letter ?

Give me 30 mins to have food and I'll pen one.

Ed.

Thanks for the time and effort both you and Shaun put in to supporting Swindon Town.

Unfortunately Martin ' nice but dim' Starnes and the other half wits have stabbed everyone in the back over this. {You can't fault there consistancy}

Whatever happens, thanks for your professionalism and support.

Say thanks to Shaun.


Best wishes

Dear Board

Fuck off please

Yours......

STFC board - CUNTS  :twisted:  :twisted:  :twisted:  :twisted:

I stuck this in the other thread as well but if anyone is directly hit by the lack of wireless coverage from Brunel then its worth dropping a complaint in to http://www.ofcom.org.uk/

Arguably the club can award the license as they see fit but there may be a decent argument that as the commentary is of substantial interest and importance to the local community then the license holder should have adequate transmission coverage to listeners to provide the service.

Worth a squirt…

I think that whilst the board have done their utmost to piss the fans off at every opportunity over the last 5+ yrs they may well have underestimated the impact of this decision - a vast % of the fanbase lives outside the borough and now will not be able to hear commentary - especially on away games, older people without the net are gonna be scuperred.  It could be seen as a little thing, but to the silent majority it is something that directly affects them - it could be enough to spark some people into action IMHO.

This is just the latest in a long line of sod the fans we are gonna fill our pockets from the board at STFC.
They will continue to carry on like this unless & until we unite & get the greedy bastards OUT of our club.

I've just sent this to Starnes



Now don't take this the wrong way, but this decision doesn't affect me so much as it does others. I have to rely on STFC World (as shite as it is)right now for match day commentary, so assuming the deal with Brunel doesn't infringe the Premium TV deal, its no major issue for me personally.

However, thats not the point, because it impact is felt far wider than one individual, and therefore I have to lend my support to the greater good rather than have an "I'm alright jack" attitude to the issue. I think that makes sense.

If I get a reply from Starnes, I'll post it.

Chris K - have you had a response yet?

How about this:

Dear MP/MEP.

I'm writing with a greal deal of concern over Swindon Town Football Club's recent announcement that it has signed a deal for exclusive media rights with Brunel FM.

This is currently causing a great deal of worry among fans who do not live in Swindon but support the club from outlying areas such as Chippenham, Gloucestershire and Bristol.

At the moment, most of can listen to commentaries of matches on BBC Radio Wiltshire on FM throughout the county and beyond, but from next season we will be denied this as Brunel only broadcasts to a much smaller area - not much bigger than Swindon itself - and on a comparatively low power transmitter.

From next season, we will be expected to pay for internet streaming on the club's website (£3.99 per month as well as the cost of a broadband supplier) or go without.

At the moment, some 50% of the population does not have broadband access so therefore will not be able to listen (dial-up is too slow for online radio), and on top of that, the club's streaming system only works on Windows PCs so people with Macs and Linux (approx 12% of net users) are also excluded from listening.

I am also very concerned about the impact on those who are on low incomes who live outside of Swindon - those who cannot afford broadband will be completely denied access to commentary.

According to the BBC they were not invited to tender a bid for the rights and I believe this constitutes anti-competitive behaviour by the football club and the new rights holder, Brunel.

I would also point out that a similar situation occurred at Reading recently, and after a great deal of pressure, BBC Radio Berkshire were allowed back in.

I am appealing for help in convincing the club to allow our public service broadcaster access again to provide commentaries and was wondering if you could help. Any publicity or pressure you can add to this campaign would be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes

A concerned Swindon Town fan.

Here's mine

Dear Martyn,
 
I am writing regarding my concerns with this agreement, hoping that they are groundless, but fearing that this is yet another case where consultation of the fans would have paid dividends for the club.
 
Am I correct in my understanding that live commentary of STFC matches will now only be broadcast by Brunel FM ?
If so how are the large percentage of Swindon fans who live outside of Swindon, but in or near North Wiltshire going to be catered for.?
 
I understand the commercial reasoning behind this deal, but were the BBC given an opportunity to tender ?
Was access by the fans taken into account at all ?
 
I personally will miss, the prematch build-up and post match interviews, on the way to & from home games. I will also miss the commentary on away fixtures. My main concern however is that the club have now cut off some of the contact with the wider fan base.
 
I know through my own experience that many fans who are behind Swindon Town, do lapse in their attendance. A key part in getting these supporters back is the radio coverage that STFC have received in the past.
 
 
Phil S
 
 
cc BBC Wilts Radio

i think mine was better

Not a thing from the club at all ...

Hehe - well, folks, there's a choice of three well written letters and all the email addresses you need - get to it! You know what you all have to do.

Not a surprise to me. I'm not expecting a response either tbh. I'll let you know if I do.

I'd mail them, but it really doesn't affect me - but I can't understand the contradiction in their policy - they go and gung-ho on saying how they want to engage with the local community and get 'back in touch' with the town as a whole, and then they sever perhaps it's most prominent link (together with the Adver) to the population of the Town. It's ridiculous.

Bring on the full-scale attempt a la Reading to get it back on the beeb.

It also stinks that a bloke like Shaun Hodgetts, who has done so much good for the club, finds out that he'll no longer be the main match journo through the website, and not by the people he's been working with all these years - more evidence that the people 'running' the club aren't the most decent folk.

Here, here. Even if this doesn't affect you, please email and help the people that it does affect!

Fair enough to say it doesn't affect you - it doesn't directly affect me either (assuming the deal with Premium TV hasn't been violated), but you have to look beyond the implications to yourself as an individual, and to how it impacts others less fortunate than you or I.

[Not meant to be critical btw]

This one didin't work. Sender address rejected.

I emailed all the others. Hope everyone does the same.

thisis reckons Brunel may end up as sponsors.

Only basis for it is that both Brunel and BBC RS are saying 'more to be revelaed on Tuesday' - may be a case of 2+2

Ok done it.

moonraker, i'll probably be proven to be completely wrong, but i can't imagine that a fledgling station like brunel fm has nearly enough disposable advertising revenue behind it to be able to be a shirt sponsor...

they've got enough money to piss all over the bbc's loyalty.

Starnes cant respond to something like this but when Maverick is doing his shit stirring a response bounces back straight away.  To say I detest this board would be an understatement.  These cunts must go now  :x

looks a done deal to me.its wrong and all that but have the board ever taken note of the clubs supporters?
and as for mp's fighting our corner, dont make me laugh.

fuck me, it's out of office hours, what do you expect?

  You'd have thought Maverick would be doing his self righteous bit, to try and  mount a campaign to reconnect his former constituents of Marlborough with their  nearest pro football club.....but no.

  A fans boycott of Brunel FM might be fun.

I thought the emails were sent earlier in office hours but hadn't received a response.

only passing on what i read - same occurred to me.

Begs the question - does Brunel FM have enough disposable income to give us a sufficently large license fee to make this all worthwhile. They may be able to advertise club events more than bbc...but again, not sure if thats worth chucking bbc.

Arriba - I don't mean this in a nasty way - but have you got any better ideas? This is just one idea for tonight. Tomorrow we'll probably all think of some other way to advance this. Even if they don't go back on the deal, we must make our voices heard. If we don't, they'll think they can get away with anything.

No quite Lebowski

but if I had secured a 3 year high profile deal within my 1st year of setting up business, I would be redefining my business plan, inclusive of possible revenue streams through advertising (which the current contract with the Beeb omits), and hauling my sorry ass to my business banking manager asking them to look at the potential and secure additional funding to make it feasible.

no i haven't,and it wasn't a dig at you or anyone else.i just think it will all fall on deaf ears.

...but then maybe it's more a case of the bbc deal isn't that big in terms of cold hard cash?

just playing devil's advocate here!

personally i think the phrase "media partner" gives it away... the club have a shiney new radio station on board who are keen and eager to impress their new client, in exchange for the benefits of an existing fan-base. i would be willing to bet that the club have control over the editorial content.

I think that's a given my friend

Maybe, but we won't know until we try ...

And I refuse to let those twats at Reading do anything better than us.

good luck to ya!

Cheers fella :)

Im with you Chris

I can get Brunel OK, but my sympathy lies with those that cant.

Plus, can you imagine cutting off every 15 minute for an advert for Tenna Lady with wings ?

It all just fucks me off beyond belief........they are destroying this club and they know it, but they just don't care  :x

Swindon Town matchday on Brunel FM ... sponsored by post barium enema's at the Great Western ... because we like shafting people.

I've just seen that Brunel is an FM only station. Not very good for those of us who have DAB only radio's.

Hence the name Brunel FM  :D

But yeh its a good point you raise - the board clearly didn't think about the fans at all in this decision

I thought i'd make my first post about this issue.  Very disappointed is how i feel right now.  Thanks for remembering us loyal fans who don't live in the town STFC.  I may not be a season ticket holder, but the 15 games i do attend a season and replica shirts I buy  give me at least the right to a bit of consideration don't they?   I too have emailed the club to log my disgust at the way the out of towners have been disregarded in this quest for a quick buck!

Agree with you 100% mr invincible and im sure alot more is going to be said over the next few days........Anyway onto more important issues what is the biscuit of your choice?

One outrageous decision too far for me. That's it for the board as far as I'm concerned. This whole thing has the foul smell of editorial media control. Non organised individual free reign protests are the way forward now. Sort of like Anarchy.

The boss of BBC radio Swindon has just been on the air. Apparently, the BBC never got the chance to bid for the commentary rights.  :shock:

Yep, also said they'll do as much as they can without the commentaries too, they'll still be at every game.

Well said mate.I can just about pick up BBC Radio Swindon in Didcot,wouldn't expect to be able to do the same with Brunel FM or whatever the fuck its called.Can't believe we'd do this its insane :x
Seems every day the Board come up with yet another money making scheme that fucks all us supporters off,then think that they can make it all better by announcing a 'mystery new investor'.

Its all absolute shite,i for one won't be buying a season ticket next season,i've had enough of the bullshit,the ground sharing,the saga of the CVA payment,the almost constant crap from the board every week,its just doing my head in :cry:  :x

Well said larwood and danny. I think alot of the fans are starting to feel the same way. We are all getting very fucked off with these cunts that are supposed to be in charge.

Ten years i've been a season ticket holder,breaks my heart to think of not having one but i've just had enough  :cry: Really hate the thought that i'd be putting money into the rapacious greedy hands of the current board so i'm not going to do it.

Pay by credit card if you can Larwood. That way they get the money pro-rata and you get the cheapest possible price per-ticket (if you pay off the CC).

Credit card option was the only way really ...

Ive just found out that Brunel FM doesnt work on my Mac - that is the listen live option AND I cant pick it up on my radio in Highworth - Im in a crap reception spot - only digital works and im reliably informed that Brunel will NEVER be on a digital channel.

I guess that means more away trips for me this season then .... Otherwise Its Jeff Stelling and Soccer Saturday

The joke is that I can pick up Fox Fm ok :(

Got to agree larwood.

I really don't want to give any money to this board but i have no choice.

Either give them money or not see my beloved team.

Sorry for the delay in getting back on here.

Batch, good to hear from you again, I'd like to say you'd be welcome to come and join us in the commentary box again next season but, oh well......

As for the questions:

1. Will the BBC have the same access to players/management/directors that they have always had, or will you now be stonewalled a bit.

- ???? Since a brief phone call a couple of minutes before the news was put on the club website, which was the first we knew of what was happening, we haven't heard from Martyn Starnes. I'd hope it won't make any difference, but we just don't know yet. I have been ringing him for the last week or so about other issues without reply yet, so that's not a great start.

2. Will the Friday phone in/after match phone in be ongoing?

Don't know yet. We were already planning to look at everything we do over the summer, so it's possible the Friday programme may change. Whatever we decide to do, we're committed to getting fans on air to express their opinions though. We're planning to do just as much as ever (assuming we're allowed) in the build up and post game, as well as reporting all the on and off field news from the County Ground throughout the week.

3. Will you be able to at least broadcast some live 'updates' from the ground? And are you going to?

From memory, stations are allowed to do 4 x 30 second updates each half of a game. Beyond that it's probably going to take us a couple of weeks to figure out what we're going to do during the match.

Hope it doesn't affect yours and Shauns ongoing contract with the BBC too much.

- I don't think either of us is planning on going anywhere else just yet!

Hope that helps. I'm going to try to keep a closer eye on the boards throughout the summer, so if there's anything you want to ask - stick it on here, or PM me and I'll answer anything I can.

Cheers.

Ed.

smarmes ignorance of your phone calls is typical of the board of stfc.
they couldn't be more out of touch if they tried

Ed, the fact that Mr Starnes hasn't returned any phone calls speaks volumes.

Just shows what this board are like.

Great to hear the club have as much time for the broadcasters as the fans.  Cheers for the update Ed, hope it all works out for you guys.

Dear Mr Starnes

If you happen to be scanning this forum, I'd like to draw your attention to STFC's Customer Charter, specifically:



Not a particularly challenging target, I'm sure you'll agree. However, the clock is ticking Sir  :wink:

I see Maverick's back on thisis, interestingly he sees "little point" in contacting the club about this.  That's the fighting spirit we're after. :wink:

contrast Ed's reply with Craig Rance of Brunel FM's response to my email:

"James

BrunelFM will hold exclusive rights to broadcasting live commentary of
STFC games next season.

You will still be able to listen to coverage online as before.

Craig"

Great, that clears it all up then!

He's a scummer, what do you expect?

well if bbc swindon are allowed to do goal alerts then that'll be okay i suppose - we'll get to hear the good bits and not have to listen to the boring bits in between.

This is the e-mail i recieved from michael wills. Im guessing all others who sent him one got the same/

22 May 2007

Dear Mr Abbott

Thank you for your recent email letting me know of your concerns about the decision of Swindon Town Football Club to give exclusive rights to Brunel Radio.  I share your concerns.

I am enclosing a copy of a letter I have sent to the Chief Executive of the Club.

I hope you find this helpful.

Yours sincerely

Michael Wills
MP for North Swindon
 

22 May 2007

 Dear Martyn Starnes

 
Re STFC Media Rights    

I have been contacted by fans of Swindon Town who are concerned that the deal for exclusive media rights with Brunel Radio will deprive fans who do not live in Swindon of the opportunity to listen to match commentaries.

 As a keen supporter of Swindon Town myself I am concerned to ensure that fans from outside Swindon who do not have access to broadband facilities retain the opportunity to keep in touch with the club, and I am surprised that the club feels it can afford to alienate these supporters.  I am also concerned that fans believe this deal constitutes anti competitive behaviour, as I understand the BBC were not invited to tender for the rights.

 I should be grateful for your response to supporters’ concerns, and if you could reconsider this decision in the light of their concerns, and for anything you can do to ensure as many fans as possible are able to listen to match commentaries.

 Yours sincerely

 
Michael Wills
MP for North Swindon

Fair play Michael Wills.

Is he Tory ?

no, labour

Nobody is perfect.

Haha, you just made me giggle for the second time today.

Have you been taking the comedy pills again Ralphy

 :mrgreen:

I seem to have learned how to be funny.

It'll never last.

Well I got a reply from an MP who says hes e mailed Smarmes with simular concerns and ive also e mailed Brunel.

Well done Mr Wills ... yet again the Board have managed another serious PR cockup ... when will they just give it up? :-))(

Good skills Michael Wills!

Fair play to Michael Wills, pretty much on the ball with his e-mail to Smarmy Starnes.  Wonder how long it will take him to concoct a reply?  Will it be published?

Dunno, but I've emailed the letters to the Adver too now ...

I got reply's from all those email addresses. Most want my contact details and are willing to discuss it further.
And I just recieve this one:

Roger Knapman MEP has asked me to thank you for your email and to reply
as he is currently in Strasbourg.

He was very concerned to hear about this broadcast agreement and as a
soccer fan himself is against anything that restricts the rights of fans.

He will take the matter up with the Club, with the hope that a better
arrangement can be made.

Best wishes

Piers Merchant
Assistant to Roger Knapman MEP