Saturday’s historic occasion of an England match only been shown online has been hailed as a success by Kentaro and Preform, the two companies responsible for streaming the match. It’s fantastic that they think so as I fear many fans and pubs will have spent Saturday night thinking about what could have been. Watching anything on your computer, whether laptop or desktop, is a pretty solitary undertaking and until we’re all watching the internet on our televisions, streaming major sporting events online is not going to be a success. Sport is something we share with our friends, whether in our living rooms or in a pub.
So less than half a million people watching a football match on a PC is not a success, considering how many viewers there are for other football matches. Official figures are usually in the several millions, not including people in pubs and clubs. A PR story trying to show off the venture as a success is not going to fool anyone.
