UPC – in collaboration with other cable network operators like Quickline – launched the MySports service in 2016. Since the fall of 2017, National League and Swiss League ice hockey matches have been broadcast exclusively on MySports, making Swiss ice hockey broadcasts unavailable to both Swisscom TV and Sunrise TV customers.
MySports Go only available with Sky Sport
Right on time for the new season, MySport has been launched as a streaming service branded MySports Go, with a price tag of 29.90 Swiss francs per month. However, MySports Go is only available as part of the Sky Sport bundle.
Sky Sport costs 19.90 francs per month, which means that hockey fans need to pay a total of 49.80 francs for months to watch hockey using MySports Go.
As an initial special offer, the MySports Go and Sky Sport bundle is being offered at a discounted price of 29.90 francs per month until December 31, 2018.
It is also possible to purchase a day pass for Sky Sport and MySports Go for 14.90 francs per day.
As is typical among streaming offers, the contract does not have long minimum terms and no notice periods apply. This is also the case with the “ice hockey Netflix” offered by cable operator UPC.
Customers can access MySports Go and Sky Sport via apps on their smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, Android TV, Apple TV and personal computers. The ice hockey matches available on MySports Go cannot be accessed through Swisscom and Sunrise consoles.
Second ice hockey streaming offer after YUU
Cable network operator Quickline got a head start on streaming ice hockey matches by launching its YUU app in September 2018. The launch of MySports Go brings a second, comparable offer to the Swiss market.
Verdict by moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler
Things are moving in the sports television sector. UPC is following Quickline and offering its own ice hockey streaming service. That consumers now have a chance to enjoy ice hockey matches on their television sets is a welcome change. But the offer for ice hockey fans is expensive.
The fact that the service does not support Swisscom TV and Sunrise TV consoles does not exactly exude consumer friendliness. However, many consumers can still access the service directly on their television sets using an app. Using an Apple TV console provides another alternative.
A price comparison with the YUU offer from Quickline clearly shows that YUU is significantly cheaper, at 19.90 francs per month. A special offer with a Migros Cumulus voucher even lets you use YUU for 2 months at just 5 francs per month. But while YUU is cheaper, it does not include as many sports matches as the MySports Go bundle.
UPC’s launch of the new streaming offer bears many of the marks of a confession that its previous MySports strategy did not quite pan out. UPC and its partners have not been able to attract large numbers of new customers to the MySports service over its first year in operation. Cable network operators’ bet that hockey was the bait that would lure customers away from Swisscom and other telecom service providers has not, as yet, materialized. In order to better finance the high-cost, exclusive rights to hockey matches, cable operators are making matches available for streaming.
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