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back to article Brits turn to web for World Cup action

This year's World Cup could be the first footie tournament followed closely on the internet. According to UK retailer DSG, which runs the PC World chain, a third of football fans will watch the contest's matches on the web. The claim is based on the results of a survey of 3000-odd visitors to its outlets, so we'll leave it to …

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  1. LuMan
    Troll

    Is this so surprising??

    I suppose, what with the increase in broadband speeds and availability (as well as mobile connectivity and technology), we should have expected this anyway. Rather than sitting in the spare bedroom watching matches on your portable TV so the wife can keep up to speed with all things soap, you can now sit with her on the sofa and watch a stream of the match on your laptop. I don't recall this being available for the last World Cup. Also, I'm of the impression that most employers will put aside bandwidth for match updates in order to stop footie fans chucking sickies to watch matches. So it's not really surprising in that respect.

    As for the first footie tournament?? I followed most of last season's league games on the internet...

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  2. Anonymous John

    Freeview HD upgrades.

    Not available in my neck of the woods. And I imagine that most footballs fans already have Sky. So not likely to go to DSG to be surveyed.

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Premature

    "Freeview HD is one way to watch both BBC HD and ITV 1 HD, the only two UK channels broadcasting World Cup matches in high definition."

    What % of the UK population has coverage of Freeview HD ? <5% I'm guessing.

    Who's going to buy a new set now if they don't have coverage - I, like many, will wait.

    Sky HD? Give the Dirty Digger my money so he can produce more biased output ? I'd rather have Freesat but I don't really want a dish on my house in case anyone thinks I've got Sky.

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    1. chr0m4t1c
      Reply Icon

      Maybe people are getting wise

      Having run out two years ago to get "HD Ready" TVs, then go out again to get "Full HD" TVs last year, perhaps they're not prepared to go out again this year and buy a Freeview HD TV, or maybe a 3D one. Eventually you run out of rooms to put the previous TV in.

      Or maybe they already have Sky or cable and a bunch of HD channels already.

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    2. purplefloyd
      Reply Icon
      FAIL

      5%?! More like 50!

      According to digital spy Freeview HD coverage has reached 50%:

      http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/news/a224768/freeview-hd-reaches-50-percent-uk-coverage.html

      I guess you guessed wrong :-)

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  4. thesykes
    FAIL

    Hmmm

    23% expect to watch on a smartphone? They're welcome to it, personally, I'll watch it on the 42" Freesat HD TV in the front room.

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    freeview HD

    Although most on here are tech literate, wont most people out there be thinking "free view HD now? er do i need a new telly again ? or another 200 quid ariel? wasn't free view and digital supposed to be all good to start with...... 3D you say .....".

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  6. heyrick Silver badge

    Smartphone?

    That's surely about as far from HD as it is possible to get...?

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  7. andy gibson

    Argos report TV sales down

    Probably because people are sick of being ripped off with the latest fads - HD ready, full HD, integrated Freeview, integrated Freeview HD, 3dTV and so on and so on.

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  8. Charlie Clark Silver badge
    Troll

    Hard sell HD

    It's been around since the early nineties and repeatedly fails to catch people's attention - the eye really doesn't care about that much detail so you only the few geeks that get hard on whenever pixels are mentioned care. But distribution is a key problem and there is not a great offer of HD DVB-T (not slated for use at all in Germany for instance). HD has been around for longer for satellite and cable services but for the rest of the unwashed masses IPTV is probably the way to go. And if you have IPTV you have web clients as a secondary product.

    OTOH I think this might be the first overhyped world cup. Not a few people I've spoken to are sick of it already. Sure, we'll watch matches but will we really care that much? South Africa is a great stage of wonderful landscapes, moving human narratives, highly paid gladiators playing in front of the starving masses... The problem is that this is too much Hollywood and not enough "Holly St" (Columbia, SC).

    Shootings and kidnappings may be necessary to keep up the viewing figures.

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  9. M7S

    Not buying freeview HD as

    there was a recent article on El Reg saying that the hardware spec was rushed and the full audio over freeview probably wouldnt be ready until next year. I must say also I'm thinking of waiting for 3D but thats not a dealbreaker for me

    I can wait for the right kit at the right price.

    Its only football after all.

    Now if it was a new series of Firefly...

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  10. LeBeourfCurtaine
    Stop

    Er...

    Infamous PC retailer polls customers in run-up to World Cup and finds a majority watching online. Pass the crash trolley my heart's stopped at the shock outcome.

    I must admit that I watched the opening came online today (via a 42" plasma, but, well, why slum it when you've got the kit), however given the lack of TV reception at work there was little choice.

    I'm going for slow day at the office for the birth of this story :D

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  11. BAllan

    Alternative

    Maybe because the BBC can at least Broadcast British sport, as opposed to ITV!

    eyeonengland.blogspot.com

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  12. Christian Berger

    Is it even on TV?

    An EPG search for RoboCup just gave no results on my video disk recorder.

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