AddThis SmartLayers

Publisher’s local TV channel to broadcast live football

A regional publisher’s television channel is set to broadcast live football matches for the first time.

Archant’s Mustard TV has announced a partnership with Norwich City FC to show two of the club’s pre-season friendlies next week.

The channel, which is based in Norwich, will broadcast full live coverage of City’s games against West Ham United on Tuesday 28 July and Brentford on Saturday 1 August as well as half-time analysis and post-match round-ups.

The deal comes as the newly promoted club prepares to embark on its Premier League campaign.

The logo of On The Ball City Live

The logo of On The Ball City Live

The show, On The Ball City Live, is named for a chant sung by the club’s supporters which is reputed to be the oldest football song in the world.

It is currently being trailed three times a night on Mustard TV, and both broadcasts will be sponsored by the Pleasurewood Hills theme park, in Suffolk.

Craig Nayman, Archant’s chief commercial officer, said: “We are excited to be partnering with Norwich City FC on this unique opportunity, we have an excellent relationship with the club and this initiative builds on those close ties.”

Romily Broad, head of content at Norwich City FC, added: “This is an exciting partnership with Mustard TV and will provide those fans who are unable to join us at Carrow Road for the games the opportunity to watch Alex Neil’s side in action, as we approach the start of our Barclays Premier League campaign on 8 August.”

33 comments

You can follow all replies to this entry through the comments feed.
  • July 22, 2015 at 7:35 pm
    Permalink

    That’s one way of getting some viewers I guess, albeit for 90 minutes twice in a week.
    At least it’ll save me a few quid on buying a ticket so good news for Archant, bad news for Norwich City fc.
    Oh and let’s hope the analysers aren’t the dreadful wannabe pundits they usually trot out on their regular sports programmes, better if they let the sweary C word uttering panto fairy host this one OTBC!

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(7)
  • July 22, 2015 at 7:38 pm
    Permalink

    and it’s exciting from me, and it’s exciting from you , exciting!

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(8)
  • July 23, 2015 at 8:34 am
    Permalink

    Truth is these folk have a limited vocabulary and they live in a self-important little bubble. They don’t get out much. They think “exciting” is some sort of corporate buzzword for profitable and they have seen it used by others of their ilk, so they use it themselves. It comes from the same stable as ” I am sure you will join me in wishing James every success in his new role”. Just corporate repeatspeak, but it reveals much about the individuals who utter it.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(5)
  • July 23, 2015 at 9:36 am
    Permalink

    Desperate times demand desperate measures
    Theyve got to get a few viewers for Mustard tv from somewhere so why not start at their old friends at Norwich city fc,although i cant think why the club would want to allow these matches to be shown when they risk losing gate money
    Mustard tv is (thankfully) only viewable in Norwich itself so not much of an attraction for the county based canary followers making the clubs line about “those fans who are unable to join us at Carrow Road for the games ” showing just how off the mark they are about the minimal reach of MTV
    but maybe theyve been mislead about the number of people who can or choose to wacth this awful channel,stranger things have happened

    exciting!

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(5)
  • July 23, 2015 at 10:03 am
    Permalink

    Great – Norwich football team play in Norwich and can be watched by people – in Norwich. Norfolk is a big, beautiful county and frankly Mustard TV is neither big (3 viewers?) or beautiful (go on, give me a camcorder, I can do telly).
    This will be the same company that shocked us today with the front page news that car insurance costs vary between postcodes. EXCITED.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(6)
  • July 23, 2015 at 10:06 am
    Permalink

    This is a great coup and could literally double or even triple Mustard’s audience figures. They could get six viewers.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(8)
  • July 23, 2015 at 10:12 am
    Permalink

    On a purely practical level, I’d be interested to know how they’re doing it. To cover a football match at a level that people would actually want to watch, you need a complex set-up with some seriously high-end kit and camera operators who know what they’re doing. If they’re not contracting the filming out to specialists, the results could be interesting/disastrous. Still, if it’s done properly then it could be a decent feather in their cap.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(1)
  • July 23, 2015 at 10:31 am
    Permalink

    @fine city dweller. I don’t watch Mustard TV but I think it’s available on freeview, catch-up and online, so anyone can get it anywhere at any time. Should they want to.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(1)
  • July 23, 2015 at 11:06 am
    Permalink

    Hacking cough, two stories in one then, this one and the sensational front page expose on today’s EDP on insurance costs by postcodes as uncovered by the cracking Archant investigations unit!
    Gee, They’ll be telling us council tax rates will be different depending on how big your house is or that people living on the Norfolk coast are more likely to see seagulls next.
    Exciting times
    Exciting stuff!
    Happy days!
    OTBC!

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(11)
  • July 23, 2015 at 11:15 am
    Permalink

    Well I for one apaud this initiative and think its exciting news for Mustard TVs viewer.
    He must be excited about this welcome change from the usual round of repeats and non news items dished up on a loop by excitable presenters in their green screen basement studios.
    Inner city sumo and monkey tennis anyone?

    Exciting times

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(8)
  • July 23, 2015 at 11:27 am
    Permalink

    Oh HackingCough, the insurance premiums “investigation” really is special isn’t it?

    We can add “insurance costs more if you live in a rough area” to the Story Generation Unit’s other massive successes: “old people like living by the sea” and “you shouldn’t take cocaine, get hammered or go deep sea diving when pregnant”.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(8)
  • July 23, 2015 at 12:16 pm
    Permalink

    Sounds like an opportune time for the return of Alan Partridge, does it not. I hear he’s been looking for a new slot. Back to his roots as a sportscaster.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(2)
  • July 23, 2015 at 2:26 pm
    Permalink

    Er, these are pre-season friendlies. What happens after August 8 when the proper games kick off? Or is Mustard TV aiming to show the Crystal Palace match, complete with two-hour preamble, half-time analysis, and words of wisdom from Thierry Henry at the end? I think we should be told.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(4)
  • July 23, 2015 at 4:49 pm
    Permalink

    my humble local “community” website (unpaid) can upload video of local team’s match soon after game. My local JP paper doesn’t even have a reporter at game and as for action video…doesn’t exist. Something not quite right here?

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(2)
  • July 23, 2015 at 5:00 pm
    Permalink

    James
    I assume it will be a free direct from the club itself as they record all matches, just presumably with a god awful mustard TV commentator
    And Idle rich it’s on freeciew channel 8 but the license and broadcast reach is limited in this case to a tiny radius of the broadcast;eg Norwich centre
    Anyone living outside the reach can’t get it
    I live outside the reach
    I can’t get it
    I’m very very grateful

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(6)
  • July 23, 2015 at 9:22 pm
    Permalink

    Why do they get involved with things they know nothing about? Beggars belief, it’s seen as a vanity project that’s proven costly and a bad mistake and rumour has it that there are serious questions being asked about the whole mustard TV fiasco which has proven more of an embarrassment than most of us within the camp even thought it would be. The top tablers and bean counters are no doubt planning an exit strategy and this is just a last ditch attempt to get a few viewers and to claw at a bit of sponsorship money from a local business.
    Couple this with papers no ones buying,demoralised editorial and advertising teams and the staggeringly dire investigations unit producing the kind of basic rubbish that a school class project would be ashamed to publish and you get a picture of how desperate things are here.
    The sooner Archant pull the plug on the dreadful mustard TV and focus on improving the lame core products the better for everyone.
    Cash back! Back of the net!

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(9)
  • July 24, 2015 at 9:26 am
    Permalink

    I’m willing to try anything once, but I have emailed Mustard TV three times to enquire about tuning in my new set and have never had the courtesy of a reply.
    Perhaps MTV is so exclusive they aren’t actually looking for viewers. Even one like me, who actually worked at Archant for more than 20 years.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(2)
  • July 24, 2015 at 10:33 am
    Permalink

    Employee X, I await any developments with interest. I’d cautiously suggest that video has a small but specialised part to play in local news, albeit in short and occasional online bursts when genuinely justified rather than a full-on TV set-up.

    I’ve never understood how anyone could think the latter would be sustainable with such high overheads and such little material to fill air time. After all, even in a big city, how often does something happen that’s going to make genuinely gripping viewing?

    Most ‘video reports’ on Mustard seem to be, say, a bloke reading a voiceover about road works with generic stock footage of traffic. I’d rather just read a story like that; it’s easier to digest and you don’t have to sit through a 30-second ad first.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(3)
  • July 24, 2015 at 1:35 pm
    Permalink

    Believe me John they’re doing you a favour! If you’re desperate to see how bad irbid you can look in their website but I really wouldn’t recommend it.
    It’s only available within a couple of miles of Norwich so if you live any further out you’ll not be able to get it on your freeciew box
    As for not replying to emails , that just about sums up the ‘customer care’ by Archant theses days, no one cares anymore, and unless you’re sating ‘YES’ or ‘I totally agree’ they tend not to hear you

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(4)
  • July 24, 2015 at 4:45 pm
    Permalink

    I wouldn’t think too deep on this one @James
    The whole point of mustard TV was to stop anyone else setting up on Archants territory and stealing commercial ad revenues, irrespective of the fact that no one here knows anything about broadcast media, hence the presenters and ‘experts’ are journos,well out of their depths and most just wannabes desperate to get seen on TV albeit to only a handful of people .
    Many, except the yes men,here had concerns about there being little or no sustainable content to fill airtime, at commercial revenues pitched way too high and having a very small and limited reach in audience terms but, unsurprisingly this was pooh poohed by the then top tablers most of whom are no longer around.
    It was very much a vanity project and a costly one at that, it has however become more of an embarrassment than anyone Here could ever imagine it to being.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(8)
  • July 25, 2015 at 5:28 pm
    Permalink

    So only Norwich fans living close to the Archant head office where mustard TV is broadcast from ,which itself is five minutes from the ground will get to see it due to the limited range of the mustard TV broadcast area then?
    What a shambles
    Think the club don’t understand how few people can or do watch this dreadful channel. Not much use to majority of city fans then who live further away in the county and who can’t see it then.
    Someone tell the football club spokesman the numbers ( if you can get numbers from Archant these days, so bad are all their sales figures)
    Another own goal for Archant

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(4)
  • July 27, 2015 at 9:26 am
    Permalink

    Employee X – that doesn’t surprise me. Local TV strikes me as a mug’s game and a black hole for egotists to shovel as much money as they can stump up into.

    A local channel recently launched in my neck of the woods (name withheld to protect the innocent etc etc) and it’s dire. Actually, it makes Mustard look good if you can believe that.

    Word is that some of its ‘staff’ are working for gratis in exchange for the fabulous exposure and the glittering opportunity to work in television. God help them.

    If digital is ever going to pay its way (and I think there’s a chance it ultimately could for smaller, independent organisations with no shareholders and bloated management structures) then the salvation will come from having a decent website, not television. Maybe the odd bit of well-produced and timely video but even that should be a secondary priority to genuinely relevant, in-depth, accurate and exclusive local news. Remember when newspapers were all about that? Good times…

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(2)
  • July 28, 2015 at 8:40 pm
    Permalink

    What a complete fiasco!
    Mustard TV lure viewers to watch their awful station by showing this pre season friendly live in a blatant attempt at getting viewers and what happens?
    we tuned in to watch at 7.30 broadcast time only to be met with a screen saying ‘ sorry we’re having some technical difficulties we will be back etc etc ‘
    The result THE PROGRAMME/ MATCH DIDNT GET SHOWN!
    Their potentially highest audience yet and they just showed them all how incompetent and out of their depth they are.
    all the buildup and puff in their papers with them tweeting about it being THE big one, getting a special logo made up , great tie up etc and they don’t have the ability or technical know how to show it
    Complete laughing stock!

    Will the md or someone accept responsibility for this latest car crash and admit that they are out of their depth and pull the plug before anymore embarrassment is caused by this abomination
    What a complete shambles this station really is
    Another week another own goal fur Archant

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(6)
  • July 28, 2015 at 11:45 pm
    Permalink

    Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse at Archants Mustard TV despite all the hype and build up to this match the joke is that they never actually showed it!!

    Their lame excuse was technical difficulties then blaming the satellite , the word in the city is that they realised at the last minute that they didn’t have permission to broadcast the game live and panicked coming up with the “exciting” news as the game ended that they had resolved the issue and were going to show the whole game from the start soon as the match ended.
    Not only have they lost an opportunity to get some viewers but they have once again showed just what a complete shambles this amateur station really is.in all likely hood they will lose what few viewers they had after this latest comedy of errors.
    They think it’s all over, it is now

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(6)
  • July 29, 2015 at 9:09 am
    Permalink

    Well that went well – red faces all round then with an apology because last night’s friendly with West Ham wasn’t screened. Still excited?

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(2)
  • July 29, 2015 at 9:40 am
    Permalink

    The “live football broadcast” shambles is perhaps a good time for Archant to consider pulling the plug on the awful Mustard TV. If there were indeed technical problems instead of rights issues, I would not be surprised. The station’s mastery of green screen technology has most of the presenters looking like holograms.
    Archant should consider diverting the cash spent on Mustard into improved editorial performance across both newspapers and web pages.
    This might prevent mistakes like the unfortunate heading on a recent Yarmouth Mercury web page story: Win alludes Norfolk’ s Alfie Hewett on his enjoyable Wimbledon Bow”. This heading remained even after a reader helpfully pointed out the difference between eludes and alludes. It is also still on Google.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(4)
  • July 29, 2015 at 9:50 am
    Permalink

    It’s their viewer I feel sorry for, he was really looking forward to it

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(6)
  • July 29, 2015 at 10:06 am
    Permalink

    Yup…just about sums it up. All the build-up, all the hype.. and then NOTHING.
    Spent an hour trying to find the game, retuning TV etc only to find out that they could not show the game live at all.
    What a lash-up!
    Time for heads to roll, then pull the plug.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(3)
  • July 29, 2015 at 1:59 pm
    Permalink

    They’re making it worse by the poor excuse they’ve come up with , my money, and most of the people who’ve laughed about it this morning in and out of the building on the hill,is on a broadcast rights issue as let’s face it they ‘have form’ in making things up to suit their own ends or to cover up I competencies
    Anyway, I watched mustard TV twice last night ; my first time and my last

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(7)