subject: Soccer Online Broadcast Or Tv Broadcast, What Is The Future? [print this page] Could the web be the future of sports broadcasting? England's game against the Ukraine was the first game of football in the UK to be shown exclusively live via the medium of the Internet. This arrangement angered many of England's loyal supporters who do not want to be stuck in front of a computer screen watching their team, at a cost might I add.
Swiss based company Kentaro held the broadcasting rights for the game and, originally, sold the match to Setanta for distribution across the United Kingdom. After the demise of the pay-TV company, the match was offered to all the regular broadcasters who declined to pay the asking price for what was, fundamentally, of limited interest after England has already qualified as group leaders after 8 win from 8 games. Enter Performa, a digital sport specialist, who decided that the Internet was the best place to show the contest. Peter Silverstone, the managing director of Kentaro, is quoted as saying, "you will watch as you would any other streaming on the Internet, like YouTube or the BBC iPlayer" Seriously who wants to sit in front of a computer monitor cheering on their team?
The Odeon chain will be showing the game in some of their cinemas but pubs and clubs, the usual boisterous locality for England football games, will not be showing the match due to connection difficulties, although it is promised that this will be available in the future.
So how many people watched it? Well there will be no official viewing figures released, I have no idea why either, but reports say that it was less than half a million. Complaints from these viewers included slow streaming speeds, lack of licensed premises showing the game and a complete lack of atmosphere. It is the latter that should be noted. Watching an England away match is, for me anyway, more of a social occasion than an individual event. It needs to be watched on a big TV, surrounded by your friends, arguing and filling the room with witty banter.
How can anyone get this sat in front of a computer screen on some uncomfortable chairs watching a 17" monitor? They cannot. It is as simple as that. This is not the only point of furore that has been raised. It's the fact that we were expected to pay to watch our National side in a competitive fixture.
Steve Perryman, spokesman for England Supporters said, "I find it outrageous. FIFA and UEFA should make it a condition of entry to World Cup and European Championship qualifying campaigns that games must be sold only free-to-air, both to the home market and the away market"
In defence of the Internet screening the Football Association issued a statement indicating it had no control over the medium of the broadcast saying: It is the host nation and their commercial agents who have the authority to sell the rights for (their opponents's) away fixtures" then added, "In this case, the Ukrainian FA and their agents have sold the broadcast rights for Ukraine vs. England."
So is it the future? In my heart I hope not as this takes away everything good about watching football when you cannot get to the live event. For me the only way to watch an away fixture is in a crowded place surrounded by your favourite idiots, not sat like a bunch of nerds playing World of Warcraft.
