Canal plus in Finland

[Johnny K]

It's my regular C+ question!

I'm living on Åland & our local papers are saying that Swedish C+ will no longer be sending PL matches next season.

I've got a Finnish C+ package (Sport 1, 2 & Extra but no HD). What's the situation with PL rights in Finland? Are C+ still showing matches next season or has another company taken up the reins?

At the moment I'm on the edge. The thought of going through another winter on Åland without PL - or more to the point without my West Ham fix - has me reaching for the razor blades!

[Chris Beresford]

Canal+ have bought the rights for the next three PL seasons:

http://www.canalplus.fi/valioliigajatku ... DgodpSvSUg

Now if someone will just show Championship football...

[tommy rose]

Hi,that's a little strange you saying canal + has the premier leagug for 3 more
years,i live in Norway and have canal + but the prem l rights have been brought
by viasat,i thought nor/swe/fin canal + showed the same programs.

[tissot]

Hi,that's a little strange you saying canal + has the premier leagug for 3 more
years,i live in Norway and have canal + but the prem l rights have been brought
by viasat,i thought nor/swe/fin canal + showed the same programs.

I believe the Finland Canal+ is very different nowadays to Nor or Swe as the Canal+ Finland was bought by Alma media.
Could be wrong here.

[Johnny K]

Thanks for the replies Chris & Tissot. It seems I will be getting my PL fix on C+ (although being firmly in the half empty camp I won't really believe it until it is on the screen in august! - ).

I don't really understand why C+ in Finland is different than the other C+ channels in Scandinavia but am pleased that it is. Perhaps it has something to do with the lack of a genuine cable/satellite competitor in Finland? Who can compete financially that is.

I think the time must come when you can receive all cable channels & just pay for the matches you want to see. These companies can't keep messing viewers around by forcing them to change equipment & agreements every couple of years - let alone the dreaded sharing of matches that also happens.

It's extra difficult here on Åland as not all cable/satellite companies are available. The thought of struggling through an Åland winter with no PL scares me witless & could be a leading factor to my return to England! It's bad enough not understanding any Finnish here with the blanket refusal to accept the language across the territory.

[Johnny K]

Sorry to burden you guys with my paranoia again but I found this on the Canal + website

http://www.canalplus.fi/valioliiga20102011alkaa

It seems C+ are sharing PL coverage with MTV3. Does anyone know how this will work? Are the MTV3 matches on the regular MTV channel or do they have a sports channel? (From the google translation it appears to be regular MTV3 but I can't find any schedules as yet). There doesn't appear to be any info on the MTV3 website.

Also does anyone know if C+ are going to show matches in the 5pm saturday slot? This article infers they will only be showing the Sky matches & will leave that slot to MTV3 & hence we will only get offered 1 match at that time? Are C+ subscribers getting less PL football?

Living on Åland I have no Finnish language skills as such & as a WHU fan I'm beginning to sweat as our opening game is the 1 featured on MTV3! I now see why C+ offered me a 2 year deal at a reduced subscription back in march. Anyone think they'd got wind of how the new deal was going to work.

If this looks like reduced coverage with matches on channels I have no access to it might make more sense to change to Viasat in Sweden. Does C+ have any legal grounds to stand on if you break a contract given they failed to keep me informed of their PL coverage which is really the only reason I take the channel?

[Upphew]

Sorry to burden you guys with my paranoia again but I found this on the Canal + website

http://www.canalplus.fi/valioliiga20102011alkaa

It seems C+ are sharing PL coverage with MTV3. Does anyone know how this will work? Are the MTV3 matches on the regular MTV channel or do they have a sports channel? (From the google translation it appears to be regular MTV3 but I can't find any schedules as yet). There doesn't appear to be any info on the MTV3 website.

Also does anyone know if C+ are going to show matches in the 5pm saturday slot? This article infers they will only be showing the Sky matches & will leave that slot to MTV3 & hence we will only get offered 1 match at that time? Are C+ subscribers getting less PL football?

Living on Åland I have no Finnish language skills as such & as a WHU fan I'm beginning to sweat as our opening game is the 1 featured on MTV3! I now see why C+ offered me a 2 year deal at a reduced subscription back in march. Anyone think they'd got wind of how the new deal was going to work.

If this looks like reduced coverage with matches on channels I have no access to it might make more sense to change to Viasat in Sweden. Does C+ have any legal grounds to stand on if you break a contract given they failed to keep me informed of their PL coverage which is really the only reason I take the channel?

1st three rounds during August MTV3 will show the Saturday's 16.45 game and it seems it is the vanilla MTV3, not anything that you would have to pay for (more than the regular tv license).