Update from BBC Hereford and Worcester

Trevor Owens, head of sport at BBC Hereford and Worcester, has kindly outlined how the station hope to cover Hereford United this season. To start he speaks about the internet situation.

The reason there is no internet commentary this season is quite simple; the BBC
does not have the internet broadcast rights.

Most football league clubs have signed up to the Premium TV group who than take
on the running of official sites and also arrange for the streaming of internet
commentaries through those sites. This is a subscription-only service with,
generally, BBC Local Radio stations supplying the commentary. We used to do it
for Kidderminster Harriers when they were in the league. Premium TV has the
exclusive internet rights for all Football League clubs.

United have not signed up to Premium TV, yet we still cannot carry internet
commmentary, as the company has the exclusive deal for Football League clubs.

In the hope of helping yourself and Bulls fans; here are the answers to a few
FAQs:

"How come you could do virtually every game in the Conference and yet you are
planning on doing very few commentaries in the Football League?"

Ans: Put simply, cost (see above). In the Conference, there was a deal done
centrally between the Football League and the Conference that saw one fee paid
that allows local radio stations to do as many commentaries as they choose.
Attempts to broker a similar deal with the Football League have not worked out,
and so we still have to pay a substantial fee per commentary match.

"So, will you do any commentaries?"

Ans: Yes, some, but we will have to be more selective as to the games that we
do. Mid-week away matches when fewer fans will travel are an obvious target
for commentaries, while there may well occasions when matches have been switched
to Sundays etc when we also carry commentary. These are likely to be along the
lines of first half updates and second half commentaries. We will do very few
home matches, the reasoning being that most of the diehards will be there,
although, of course, there will still be live updates on all games.

What many fans don't appreciate is that, if we do full commentary on a Football
League or FA or Carling Cup game at Edgar Street we have to pay United a fee
(for league games, around £566 plus VAT). This is fair enough, as there is an
argument that live radio commentaries could affect the gate (although I am sure
most fans would rather be there if they could). In addition to this, we also
have to pay the away side a fee (for league games, around £346 plus VAT). This
harks back to when clubs used to split the gates for league matches; they don't
any more, but the fees have remained in place.

By way of a comparison; commentary on all Guinness Premiership and European
rugby, and all domestic cricket is free!

"Will you still have a reporter at every game?"

Ans: Yes; Keith Hall is again our dedicated Bulls' reporter this season; we are
allowed to carry a limited number of updates per half free of charge, as well as
half and full time reports, plus preview material and post-match interviews and
reports. We shall be doing every major Bulls match, home and away, throughout
the season, as we have done since the station went on air. By "major" match, I
mean League, FA Cup, Carling Cup, LDV Vans Trophy etc, but I can't promise to be
at every County Cup tie etc.

I hope this helps; if you or any Bulls' fan has any further questions then
please feel free to email me at trevor.owens@bbc.co.uk; I will do my best to
answer them as quickly as possible. I would rather people email than assume we
are not doing something because we "can't be bothered.."; generally, as outlined
above, there is a reason for decisions on commentaries and other coverage.

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