Town fans will see no further iFollow Ipswich payments taken from their bank accounts with the Blues set to launch their in-house TownTV service ahead of the new season.

iFollow Ipswich will cease to exist once the new service, which will include a new website, is up and running.

No payments will be taken by EFL Digital, which runs iFollow from today with pro-rata refunds issued to anyone with value remaining on a subscription, which will not be carried over to TownTV. Season passes will not be renewed.

Town say they will release further details regarding TownTV in due course.

Speaking about the project to TWTD in March, CEO Mark Ashton said: “TownTV’s really important to a club like this because we do have a large overseas following and that’s their view to the club.

“This also means that we have the ability to put our own app in, we’re taking control of the website, we’re taking control of TownTV and, be under no illusion, I’m sure there will be glitches on the way through as we build this, but I want us to build it internally.

“We’re looking at the camera feeds, he’s looking at how it’s going to be presented, we’ve got a meeting tomorrow morning [March 24th] to go through all the IT and integration. It’s a big investment for us, but I do think it’s important.

“I’m fairly comfortable that one, there will be a show that leads into it, and two, we can improve the camera positions at Portman Road.

“I think if you’re in the Championship, those camera positions if you’re going away to Middlesbrough etc, you know they’re going to be good, probably most of them are on four-camera feeds from IMG already, so it’s going to be good.

“If we’re in this division [League One], we’re somewhat still governed at an away game by their feed, but we’ve got to go on this journey.

“[Director of media & communications] Marcus [Nash] is leading on it, the tech team’s in tomorrow, we’ve got a preferred technology partner to come in and work with us and we’ve got to be up and running because we’ll be out of iFollow by the start of the season.”

Photo: Matchday Images

BurleysGloryDays added 12:48 - May 17 Brilliant and exactly the right words from MA in March. So glad we're going to be sorting this out. I've always thought our camara angles were rubbish compared to other clubs and did us no justice. So good seeing investment in smart places around the club, low hanging fruits that seemed so far off the radar of the previous ownership, but stuff that's now at the heart of making massive improvements quickly. Well done MA and team

7

chorltonskylineblue added 12:54 - May 17 iFollow set a low bar. Even with the predicted teething problems TownTV might face, this has to be applauded. Another sign of the professionalism of the new ownership and their management team. Bring it on!
7

BonchosBicycle added 13:00 - May 17 I hope they can manage to sort it so the commentary team can see replays. It's just laughable when they keep reminding viewers that they can't do that. What year is this? Give them a feed of the game.
5

trncbluearmy added 13:11 - May 17 Big thanks to IFollow over the years, for those abroad our link to the club and I for one couldn't give a toss about camera angles etc ., in fact quite enjoyed the coverage similar to an era before sky fecked up football
10

BigAlwasmyhero added 13:38 - May 17 Thank you for the update guys. As previously mentioned, for many of us, this is our life line into the club. Can't wait to see what our future holds.
4

Europablue added 13:46 - May 17 I am very eager to hear more details about the service. You would imagine that Towen TV wouldn't be able to show all games in the Premier League. Maybe the investment won't pay off if we get promoted again next season! I'm definitely going to get a season ticket for Towen TV for next year as I live abroad.
4

TractorfactorSteve added 13:59 - May 17 I wonder what the annual fee will be?
3

SamWhiteUK added 14:20 - May 17 iFollow coverage was pretty useless some of the time but I couldn't fault their customer service. each time I've emailed them they've been very prompt. Last week they took a payment - knowing about the above I emailed to cancel my subscription and chanced my arm asking for a refund because we didn't have any more games. Had my subscription ended and the refund back in my account within 15 minutes, so fair play to them on that.

1

greenkingtone added 14:24 - May 17 I hope we can still see midweek away games.
2

Baino added 14:55 - May 17 This is good news, iFollow was fine enough and as others have said their customer service was very good and for fans who live outwith England it is our way of keeping in touch with the club but TownTV means it can be developed as time goes on with content we want as a club. The one thing I've always found strange as a long distance fan, I'm based in Orkney just off of North coast of Scotland, is that a fan in, say, The Netherlands can watch all games live and they're 150 to 200 miles from Ipswich whereas fans in UK who live the equivalent distance away but in UK or who who live say in Cornwall or Newcastle or Wales, NI or where I live just over 700 miles away can only watch midweek games. I mean, I understand it. If all of the UK got to watch all games at home it might affect attendances to grounds and I get that, and also the fact its a UEFA or FIFA rule and not iFollows fault but it's really frustrating. To be honest though I'd be more than happy with just listening to Radio Suffolk commentary online but we can't even do that due to contractual reasons and we've already paid the BBC license fee! I dont have the answers for it but still frustrating. Anyway, very exciting times ahead for our club and by hook or by crook we'll tune in somehow! Up the Town!

11

hosborne added 15:46 - May 17 No more free streams then ???
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Porksmith99 added 16:55 - May 17 Presumably, this is why Andy Warren has joined the ITFC media team having left the EADT. Hopefully the FA will look at the proliferation of club channels and finally rethink the "Saturday Blackout", especially in light of new media and streaming availability. The blackout (for those unclear) was created in the 1960s by then Burnley chairman, Bob Lord who convinced other clubs that the screening of live football on television on a Saturday afternoon would financially damage smaller clubs (the argument essentially being that if, say, Manchester United against Liverpool were on telly many football fans would stay at home and watch that rather than venturing out in the cold and rain to watch their own team). It's a fifty year old law which only the UK enforces, time for change I believe.

2

Fat_Boy_Tim added 16:55 - May 17 Ifollow has been pretty pathetic. The number of times the sound and video are out sync, the terrible camera work and camera angles, the lack of access for commentators, that awful repeating message with xylophone music while you wait for the commentary team to start, the lack of pre, half or full time show, score updates only from about half of the other matches and then normally 15 mins after the goal is scored. All of the above could be fixed very easily by Town TV, the camera angles probably being the biggest practical hurdle. When we (Mark Ashton) complained to Ifollow that we only had 1 camera, we were given a second one but it was just a zoomed in shot from exactly the same place as the wide angle lens so all it would do is show the same thing but closer in!

3

algarvefan added 17:37 - May 17 Can I make a comment on behalf of we supporters who live and work abroad. ifollow has been a godsend to me, I used to be a regular at matches, mostly away because I lived in Devon, but with ifollow I have seen all the games this season and all for what I think was an amazing fee for 46 games. It hasn't always been perfect but we have excellent cable where I live in Portugal and the service has been mostly uninterrupted. The fact that the operation is going in house and will in time offer a better service is great and I don't mind paying a bit extra for a season pass (if there is to be such a thing) as long as we 'Johnny Foreigners' can still watch the games live? The great thing for me is that all my fee will go to my club and not a third party! On behalf of all of us living abroad I'd like to thank ifollow, and in particular Glenn the commentator this season, for a season of great football.

2

ArnieM added 17:49 - May 17 Can anyone tell me does this mean Town fans would be able to watch away / home games live on TownTV?
1

ArnieM added 18:07 - May 17 I no ask this because I thought it wasn't allowed under a UEFA ruling and nothing to do with PL/EFL/ or Sky …. Sorry if being a bit dim re this
0

churchmans added 20:56 - May 17 I always watched town away games for FREE on a firestick! But if town tv are showing away games then I will happily pay a monthly fee to watch and all the other content! Provided it ain't silly money
1

Europablue added 22:04 - May 17 Porksmith99, as far as I could tell Andy Warren was made redundant. No-one said that, but by the tone of the KoA podcast and the fact that EADT has gone behind a paywall, it seems money is tight, and having two match-day reporters just doesn't seem very cost-effective. Do you know something that I don't?
0

cliffy306 added 08:42 - May 18 I can see why Town want to do this. However, developing the tech to do this is no small job, the camera work is a well established industry, but in such a small timeframe, to secure the right calibre of tech professionals in-house isn't an easy undertaking. Fingers crossed it works well, as I had no issues with iFollow, and have been very grateful for the service.
2

ButchersBrokenNose added 14:26 - May 18 I live overseas and was obviously glad to have iFollow available, but I found their customer service poor. I had technical issues streaming several games and their tech. support people were useless. One guy said it was my fault (it wasn't) and another hung up on me when the problem got too hard. Then there was the Sheff. Weds. match this year where the feed completely failed. When I wrote to them and asked for a refund they replied, "iFollow is a subscription service, so we can't issue refunds." Pathetic. I complained to the club and they were very interested in my experience. I for one will not miss iFollow at all.

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