Aston Villa streaming service announced: AVTV is back!

The wait is over. Aston Villa have (finally) announced the club's online streaming option for international viewing -- and audio coverage for UK & Ireland supporters.

And it is AVTV 2.0. They aren't really calling it that -- but I am -- because this year's version is supposed to be better because the club has invested in new technology. The plan is to stream all league matches that are not on TV (US-based supporters are still in the dark on who actually owns the TV rights, unless I have missed an announcement). Matches shown on TV will have audio only streams on AVTV.

The price-tag is the same as the EFL's iFollow pkg -- with a few different options. Season Pass (Club estimates 20-25 matches) £110//$144//€122, Monthly £13//$17//€14 (10 x monthly payments Aug-May), Match-by-Match £6//$7.88//€6.70.

For those of you who just opened a calculator app -- the season pass is a better deal as long as you more than 18 matches are streamed. At 18 -- each match is costing you $8 vs the $7.88, unless you want audio coverage of matches on TV -- then you are probably better off with the season pass.

The Club says they are planning "the best live experience" with commentary, video package, and slow motion replays.

Audio-only subscriptions avail as well -- Season Pass £45, Monthly £6 (10 x monthly payments Aug-May), Match-by-Match £3.

The big question remains — is the service going to be an improvement over last year’s... but that question remains for the team on the pitch as well.