Insight: An end to watching streamed football online?
By Randy Osae
Yes, believe it or not, the Premier League and Football Association’s right holders are finally apprehending leaks of our ever-sweet and costless way of catching football right on our computers.
These days, all that is required – if you’re a non-subscriber of satellite TV – is a running computer and adequate internet connection. This ease has all been courtesy of peer-to-peer or simply dubbed ‘P2P’ streaming technology.
That has inevitably incited a unit of the football audience to shove money back into their pockets – crippling the incomes of renowned broadcasters Sky, Setanta and BBC. The initial duo of those named companies have penned a new multi-billion deal with the Premier League for TV rights and business should be implemented to meet their targets and budgets.
But with the new economic fiasco orbiting the world today, people have insisted to pinch their pennies more. Indeed, when you have access to watch a game right on your little old PC, it will be irrelevant to pay for ‘exclusive’ TV footage or perhaps purchase a ticket.
Numerous fans from all walks of life have learned this vastly dilating technique of priceless football experience ushered about three years ago. But ask yourself; how long will this last?
One Premier League lawyer Oliver Weingarten has clarified notice of this supposedly illegal groove and confirmed that it could imminently wreck profits of the organization – affecting player values and wages too.
“The long term consequences for the game are that it has the potential to devalue or dilute the rights value, and in turn that will dilute the product that we are able to turn out and the quality of player coming to the league.” Weingarten said.
In a bid to not emulate a similar trouble afflicting the music industry, the Premier League has taken legal actions against several sites in the UK and also You Tube and Google in the U.S. But Weingarten does admit that lawsuits are midget-like solutions to this colossal issue. Thus, there will still be sites secretly persevering the practice.
“Once a site has stopped streaming it can set up another domain name, or the Internet Service Provider may be safe-harboured in a country where the laws don’t provide as much protection as we would like.”
So where does this leave us average Joes who still want our football savor for cheap?
Well, without options – unless the brave who may still infringe – it will be advisable to keep our fingers crossed in hope of no enforcements against this matter, or else, there will be no more streaming links on match days.
Let us be warned!!!
My P2P won a court case, so PL games are back on the site. These sites aren’t gonna go without a fight
That’s right Daz. But let’s see how they will end up. I have seen some sites get taken down recently. A website can ill-battle an organization.
Hopefully, this thing doesn’t get that bad.
Maybe I’m being too harsh (on the article itself).
At the end of the day, streams will never come to an end unless the internet is wiped out.
If people can’t afford to pay for the subscription fees, then why the fuck should they not be able to watch there team play?
The Russian and other Eastern European sites will always stay open as they are not subject to strict enforcement.
We just need to learn Russian. 🙂
I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t leave aggressive comments on my blog, Randy.
Thanks. 🙂
As usual they’re being stupid about things, it’s not going to hurt their pocket too much at all, I mean how many people go to the pub or a friends house to watch the match?
Are they gonna start having a go at them for not paying too?
I’ve never payed to watch football on tv ever and I never will. Not to those two companies anyway. I don’t live in England so I rarely get to go to matches, but if I lived london, free streaming online matches wouldn’t stop me from going to home games.
Am in a country where hockey is da main sport here,so all dis site are really ma savoiur like my p2p n other so pls this site has to remain cos i am a die hard Arsenal fan,n am like very far away from England so i need this site.
Diluting the spectacle,what utter bollocks.The Pl is the most onesided competition if you can call it that watching teams like Sunderland,Newcastle,wigan,Wba defend them self to death is the real reason people are turning away from this and the incredible dominance of Manure.The huge conglomerate of Manchester United,Liverpool and the stinking wealth of City,Chelsea and others have made the Pl into a freak of nature with as little entertainment value as watching paint dry.I wouldnt pay a penny to sky for watching that shite pub football.
The film and music industry are hundereds of times bigger and more powerful than footballing organisations and they havent managed to stop free movie and music downloads. The premier league simply has to adapt and provide better value for money for viewers.
oh yeah, poor greedy sky, setana and loads of mediocre and over rated players MAY gonna earn less money if stream continues.
They will be fighting a losing battle.
Streaming will never be shut down. People said the same things about p2p file sharing when Kazaa got taken down, and now it is bigger than ever (and growing).
There are hundreds of sites/programs out there providing streams. They have tried to take one down and failed. I do not see how they are going to stop it.
If it reduces player wages I’m all for it. These players are earning too much money for playing like complete rubbish. I remember when Wegner said at the end of last season that teams who play positve football should be rewarded for it. The PL should do it so these teams like Stoke, Sunderland, Bolton and etc. may play a bit more open football.