Yeah, it's a real shame about this, but I can see why Multiplay are doing it. Just to let you all know the price of EAS:

Early Arrival Service - This service costs £15.00 (including VAT @ 17.5%). - here
Hopefully those of us with EAS will be able to grab enough space for all of our tents. Unfortunately, over 1000 people going to i34 have EAS, so it will definitely be busy. How many of you actually have EAS now?