Two in five footy fans ‘will watch the World Cup online at work’
Two in five Brits (42 per cent) plan to watch the World Cup at work this summer, but with the festival of football only five days away, planning how to watch the games during the working day is a top priority for many football fans, says moneysupermarket.com. According to the survey from the UK comparison site, a third of footy fans tuning in at work will use streaming sites such as BBC iPlayer or internet radio to catch the game (33 per cent) and... [Read More...]
Eurosport to relaunch online player
Pay-TV sports broadcaster Eurosport is set to launch a new version of its online player, which will allow viewers to pause and rewind its channels, as well as watch three feeds from the same event. The new player also allows users to pause live streamed content for up to three hours and displays a full electronic programme to allow viewers to see the full schedule. The player will be introduced in beta from this weekend, allowing Eurosport subscribers... [Read More...]
Yahoo! secures exclusive Premier League online rights
Yahoo! has secured exclusive UK online highlights for the English Premier League for the next three seasons. The deal will put five-minute highlight packages of every match on Yahoo.co.uk. Highlights will be available from midnight on Sunday after weekend matches and at midnight the same day for midweek fixtures. Yahoo! will also own the rights in the UK to syndicate all or part of the Premier League highlights content to third parties, allowing Yahoo!... [Read More...]
World Cup iPhone app counts down 100 days to kick off
London-based digital application firm agencyX, has launched today announce their iPhone partnership with South Africa Tourism in the run up to the 2010 World Cup. The app is designed to engage both football fans and potential visitors to South Africa. Primarily the iPhone app (which is free to download on iTunes) acts as a timer, counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to kick-off. However, the app also shows users that there’s more... [Read More...]
250,000 fans pay to watch England’s Web-only match
The first England international to be available only on the internet attracted around 250,000 subscribers, with a total estimated viewing figure of almost 500,000, organisers said on Sunday. The World Cup qualifier, won 1-0 by Ukraine, was not shown live on any UK TV networks, although the BBC made a late decision to buy and screen the highlights late on Saturday. The rights for the match had originally been bought by Setanta but the company went... [Read More...]
Online-only England match divides opinion
The online industry is divided over the long-term impact of Saturday’s online-only broadcast of England’s World Cup qualifier in Ukraine. Online publishers including The Sun, The Times, The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and Orange have agreed revenue-sharing deals with rights holder Perform to broadcast the match online. Odeon will also be showing it in selected cinemas. However, despite the huge significance attached to the... [Read More...]
ESPN revamps cricket website
ESPN, the Disney-backed sports broadcaster, has overhauled the mobile version of cricket website, cricinfo. The changes are designed to help users follow cricket games live, with ball-by-ball commentary and match stats now carried on the same page. Commentary on matches can be filtered by events such as wickets, fours and sixes, which allows users to revisit key moments in matches. The search facility has also been improved across the mobile site. Other... [Read More...]
England World Cup qualifier may be broadcast online only
England’s next World Cup qualifier against Ukraine in October could be broadcast live exclusively online. According to The Guardian, the Ukrainian FA has been unable to sell the rights to the game to traditional TV stations and has now appointed online sports firm Perform to investigate the possibility of showing the match live online. Defunct sports broadcaster Setanta owned the rights to England’s away qualifiers, but since it collapsed football... [Read More...]
Five to show Ashes coverage online
Five will make its daily TV coverage of the Ashes Series available on its catch-up TV service Demand Five. The deal between Five and the England & Wales Cricket Board will see each 45-minute programme available online for seven days from 10pm each evening of play. Five will also launch a stand-alone Ashes site showcasing exclusive short form video content. Robert Charles, head of sport at Five, said, “The Ashes series is a major landmark for... [Read More...]
Wimbledon upgrades pay-per-view broadband channel
The All England Lawn Tennis Club has relaunched Wimbledon Live, the official Wimbledon pay-per-view video broadband service. The video-streaming service this year is more closely integrated into the official Wimbledon site and will show live coverage from the top six courts throughout the Championships, taking place from 22 June to 5 July. Fans will be able to access the latest live coverage alongside delayed full-match action by purchasing either... [Read More...]