iFollow Income
I was recently asked on the Fans’ Facebook page if I had shares in iFollow. The person asking the question was disgruntled as a result of what he perceived as a poor service with indifferent customer support . My own experience had been perfectly satisfactory apart from occasionally being asked to upgrade my account before I was permitted to watch the next video. Then there was the interview with CMS which was partly drowned out by background noise. Sod’s Law had come into play and I pulled the aggrieved fan’s leg by suggesting that he’d put the mockers on it. Stoney ground.
My concern was that others might be put off subscribing by the disgruntled fan’s comments. No-one has shares as such in iFollow (as far as I know) but £31.50 of each subscription goes to the club. I doubt whether this is common knowledge. It certainly came as a pleasant surprise to me.
I picked up the above information whilst trawling through various websites. The terms set out on the Luton website suggested that full 90 minute replays of matches were available after midday on the day after matches. I’ve not been able to access this and wonder if it is available only to overseas subscribers.
Comments
iFollow was extremely sub-par when it launched but has now become fairly decent. I'd recommend it to all WWFC fans and other lower league fans from other clubs.
Good for you @OxfordBlue. Every little helps.
I’m not too tech savvy @micra what do you get with ifollow and is it worth it to supplement my season ticket?
At less than £1 a week, I consider it good value. I use it mainly to listen to commentary on (hate ‘of’!) away games. Phil Catchpole (from BBC Three Counties Radio) is usually the commentator, ably backed as often as not by Matt Cecil, Head of Media at WWFC.
In addition, there are post-match video interviews with GA and also, post-match and at other times, with players.
As well as highlights of matches, there is also a complete re-run of League matches after midday the following day. (I have only just discovered how to get this, having said at the start of this thread that I wasn’t sure if it was only available to overseas subscribers!)
There is all the latest news of course including details of future matches and ticket price /purchasing arrangements.
I believe the 50/50 winning ticket numbers are also published there.
Thanks @micra
For fans like myself who now live too far from Wycombe to attend regularly, I find iFollow to be an excellent alternative. When I am unable to get to matches, to be able to listen live, and watch the match a day later is brilliant. I think it is excellent value for money, and the fact that a good portion goes back to the club is brilliant.
Of course there are occasional glitches, such as occasional poor transmission sound quality or background noise, but that can not be blamed on iFollow. In such circumstances @BluntPhil and the crew do their best with what they have, and the environment they are working in. It is inevitable that in the lower leagues the facilities available are sometimes going to be less than ideal.
Some people will find any excuse to be negative.
Can I just check this please. For £40 per year or so, I can watch all matches as live the next day in decent quality? If so I hadn't realised the offer.
Phil Catchpole’s commentary is excellent.
do it Dev, then you won't just be limited to non-football discussion on here
I might eric (although single camera tv is no substitute for live). Is the deal what is outlined above (1.30) for Uk customers. I had understood it was only for overseas? Website doesn't seem too clear (to me).
I don't know if I'm allowed to post this @drcongo, but if you download a VPN e.g. HMA, and register an account using a made-up European postal address, you can actually watc the matches live from the UK.
Sorry can I ask one more time.
I live in the UK.
I am not really interested in post match interviews or honestly radio commentaries (sorry Phil). I might be interested though if I can watch the game the next day (especially if somehow I can avoid knowing the score by then).
As a Uk subscriber for I believe £40 to £50, can I watch the entire game on say a Sunday evening (home and away).
I've only ever seen 15-20 min highlight packages within my iFollow package but to be honest I don't look at it that much. I've never seen a watch back option on a full game.
Don't lose your temper Dev
I wasn't, Eric. Just trying to understand the package available to make a judgement whether to buy or not. Thank you Mr Middle. May I ask what the quality is like - is it the same camera set up as the Sky highlights?
iFollow camera is same one for highlights, Dev. I watch from the States, and it is single camera. I will say that Wycombe have the best camera guy I have seen so far, as the Adams Park games are done well. The worst was Grimsby's cameraman, who kept zoomed in the whole game, as if nasal hair was more important than a sense of perspective.
Actually, not sure if it is Sky highlights - I watch highlights on the website when needed, and that was what I was referring to. I assume it is the only camera at the ground, though.
The free two minute Youtube highlights will give you the best idea of the camera work @DevC . It all comes from the same feed. I can't see a full game highlight option on my log in. I only see extended highlight packages.
Thank you Mr Middle.
For games you haven't seen, do the extended highlight package offer much over the free highlights in your experience. How long is extended highlights -is it a bit like Match of the Day for lg2 (obviously with worse camera angles)
My advice would be to give it a miss Dev
15 mins or so normally. Give you a bit more flow of the game and add a bit if the game is half interesting. Single camera angle. If I'm honest to 2 min package is normally enough but sometimes those miss out the more contentious moments. The option to see more is nice and worth the subscription for me.
I like the back of the goal footage although this is often given out free too. It helps me realise just how little those that watch the game from there actually see.
Extended highlights are ten minutes, usually long enough for me to make a poorly formed opinion that I can post on a message board.
Worth noting though that there's no commentary on the live viewing if you watch over a VPN, and that the highlights don't have the excellent @bluntphil commentary, but something that's clearly been dubbed on in a studio afterwards by a disinterested man who can't pronounce the names of any of the players.
And not in a funny way like Scotty either.
I grow tired of asking this so it will be the last time: Where is the rebel base?
Chortle
I don’t subscribe to iFollow, but the one game I watched online was ok. Single camera, no commentary but worth the $7 I paid for it.
Now the club offer goal cam and inside matchday on YouTube I rarely feel like I’m missing anything by not having access to 10-15 minutes on iFollow.
@drcongo is right about the dubbed highlights though, the best part being the guy who referred to JJ as ‘Yacobson.’.
For the UK package, you get live commentary for home and away league matches, EFL cup matches, and FA cup. You get to view the whole of league matches without commentary about 24 hours later. The quality is generally good.
Once you are signed in, to get to the matches go to the Matches tab and select Results. Scroll down to the listed results and click on 'Watch on iFollow'.
IMO it is worth the money.
The ability to watch live would be a great addition, the ability to watch the next day would be awkward to avoid any mention of the scores, which these days would mean not going near the internet, radio, tv and telling Wycombe pals not to comment = Very difficult.
Now live showing on tv exists (abroad at least, if you're not a technical whizzkid), this surely means it'll very soon be available fully in the UK. I'm certain the big clubs would aggressively move for an end to the 3pm Saturday blackout to be ended.
The on demand next day full match replays still spoil the score, too.
Indeed, live match coverage would be great, but this statement from the EFL website makes it clear it will not happen under current TV contractual arrangements.
Under the EFL’s existing broadcast agreement with Sky Sports clubs are unable to offer fans in the UK or Republic of Ireland the same access to iFollow as international fans.