Commercial streaming service Screach is offering 400 pubs the chance to show live sport – including fixtures featuring Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and more – via its existing TVs for free on a first come, first served basis.
Alongside free installation, access to Screach’s venue marketing system and the opportunity to stream live action via Premier Sports – which owns the rights to more than 1,500 live events including Serie A, Guinness PRO14 and the Scottish Cup Final – and three months’ free access to LaLigaTV, successful applicants through Screach’s website will also receive a brand new 43-inch, 4K professional TV.
The free TV and subscription offer – which Screach is extending to 200 pubs in London, 100 in Manchester and 50 in each of Glasgow and Edinburgh – has an equivalent value of over £1,000 per venue, according to the tech player.
Screach’s CEO Robert Rawlinson, told The Morning Advertiser (MA) in October 2019 that under usual circumstances, a 90-day minimum agreement with Screach to show Premier Sport events would become a 30-day rolling contract costing £249 per month – with discounts available by committing to a longer time-frame or signing up multiple venues. What’s more, he explained that the company would remove its £349 installation fee for customers signing up for 12 months.
Operating via The Cloud and a broadband connection to deliver sport streams to a pub’s TVs, Screach’s partnerships with both content rights owners and advertisers allow it to fund this free roll-out to UK pubs.
As reported by MA, six pub groups – including All Our Bars, ETM Group, McManus and Beds & Bars – boasting a total of 900 sites have already committed to trial live sport streaming in partnership with Screach and Premier Sports.
Acutely aware of the increasing cost pressures
Screach teamed up with broadcaster Premier Sports – the UK broadcast rights holder of Serie A and La Liga – to offer pubs low-cost access to live sport in a move it claims is a UK first and will deliver pubs 150 incremental live matches that don’t clash with Premier League fixtures.
“Screach aims to rewrite the rules on how commercial venues like pubs and bars use their TVs,” Rawlinson said of Screach's rollout. “We’ve harnessed the power of our partnerships with hardware providers, advertisers and broadcasters to give 400 pubs free access to our integrated live streaming and venue marketing platform.
“We are acutely aware of the increasing cost pressures pubs face, especially on live sports subscriptions as the market continues to fragment with new entrants. Additionally, a great number of venues have TVs that are under-utilised as marketing tools.
“Our objective is to help pubs use our next generation technology to access live sport on more flexible commercial terms, and deliver a tangible return by improving their digital marketing.
“I’m very pleased that through our partnerships with hardware providers like Philips Professional Display Solutions, advertisers and sports rights owners such as Premier Sports, we’re now able to deliver the first phase of this fantastic free offer.”
