Swisscom and UPC announced a collaboration by which they will share live sports broadcasts. This means live broadcasts previously available only to Swisscom or UPC customers can now be broadcast by both Swisscom and UPC. The agreement gives both Swisscom and UPC equal rights and full access to live sports broadcasts.
Live football matches for UPC subscribers
Finally, subscribers to UPC and other cable TV services live Quickline will be able to watch live football broadcasts which were previously only available to Swisscom customers. Major football broadcasts which are now available to cable TV subscribers live include UEFA Champions League matches and Swiss top league football matches.
Live ice hockey broadcasts for Swisscom subscribers
We currently know that from Autumn 2020 Swisscom TV subscribers will be able to watch live sports broadcasts from MySports via Swisscom TV. That is a particularly positive development for ice hockey fans, as MySports broadcasts Swiss ice hockey tournaments live.
Current cost of live sports broadcasts from Swisscom and UPC
Today Swisscom customers pay 29.90 francs per month for the sports bundle which gives them access to 40 live sports broadcast channels. Subscribers to UPC and many other cable TV services can access the Teleclub sports bundle which gives them access to 4 live sports broadcast channels. The Teleclub sports bundle only comes in combination with the movie bundle, which means subscribers must pay a total of 55.70 francs per month to watch relatively few sports broadcasts. That is nearly twice as much as Swisscom TV subscribers pay for Swisscom’s sports bundle.
The MySports Pro sports bundle is offered by UPC and other cable TV services for 25 francs per month. So far, matches broadcasted over MySports Pro have not been broadcast on Swisscom TV.
Exact terms and conditions still unknown
The exact terms and conditions of the collaboration are still unknown. The most likely scenario is that the UPC subscribers will also be able to access the full Teleclub sports bundle. But whether UPC will offer its subscribers the same conditions as Swisscom is as yet unknown.
Up until now, many sports fans have foregone many live sports broadcasts because they were not ready to pay for separate Swisscom and UPC subscriptions. Swisscom customers already have to subscribe to a Swisscom Internet plan in order to subscribe to Swisscom TV and the sports bundle. More recently, the ice hockey broadcasts from MySports have been accessible without a cable TV or Internet plan via the Sky Sport streaming service.
Conclusion by moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler
Finally, the days of using exclusive broadcasts to lure and keep sports TV subscribers seem to be waning. “It was high time to do away with that consumer-unfriendly approach,” concludes Ralf Beyeler.
If you are not ready to pay for an expensive sports bundle, watching live broadcasts on a pay-per-view basis provides an interesting alternative. Swisscom has offered this option for several years now. It would be interesting to see whether or not cable TV operators begin to offer this service as well.
The exact conditions of the new collaboration are not yet known. The most customer-friendly approach would be for Swisscom to offer its Teleclub sports bundle subscribers the MySports sports broadcasts at no extra cost and for UPC to offer its subscribers Teleclub live sports broadcasts at no extra cost. But the chance of Swisscom and UPC adopting such a customer-friendly approach is not very likely.
More on this topic:
Compare Swiss TV plans
Guide to watching live football matches in Switzerland
