91Èȱ¬

I want to listen to 91Èȱ¬ Five Live Coverage of the World Cup. I will also and send comments from Miami Florida about the state of football here.

I have also been selected by Univision [the US Latin TV Station] to be a citizen journalist during the World Cup 2006 Games so I will also contribute to their blog.

I totally agree with Ed. The 91Èȱ¬ wants to be a World broadcaster; however, it always falls short when it matters. Why don't you put the games on 91Èȱ¬ America, or let anyone listen to Radio 5. That way, at least we could turn the sound down from the annoying Amercian commentators, and listen to people who know what they are talking about, whilst watching ESPN coverage.

Well done 91Èȱ¬ - taking sport into the 21st century!

I will be using this technology, when my company makes an office move over the first World Cup weekend.

I sure hope you have enough bandwidth to cater for demand!

It's not the Beeb's fault that people outside the UK can't listen or watch; the license issued to them by FIFA or whoever will have territorial limitations. Just one of the benefits of being a licence fee payer :)

Ditto Ed in the USA. When are non-UK listeners going to be able to tune in to broadband broadcasts???????

It's a great alternative to skiving off during the World Cup, although in some offices it might be a bit difficult to watch it without the boss noticing. Especially if we start shouting at our computers the way we do at the telly!

A wonderful idea yet rather disappointing that it will not be avaliable overseas.

I am a British resident of Berlin, if I can contribute to the 91Èȱ¬ blog in anyway I would be delighted. I am a writer and you can see some of my work on Berlin and it's people in my blog. (link in my name)

I will be writing most days during the World Cup, especially when there is a match in Berlin.

the 91Èȱ¬ is funded through a licence fee paid by UK citizens with a TV. It makes sense to limit it to UK denizens, there are ways round it though.

Has the 91Èȱ¬ ever considered charging non-UK viewers for such services? When I move back to Australia I'd sign up in a flash.

To all those Americans complaining about the 91Èȱ¬ by saying that it says it is a world broadcaster and so should broadcast the football globally, there is a reason why they don't: because we pay a large licence fee every year for the privilege of watching the bbc.

Until you contribute for this service, you will just have to carry on moaning about how great it is to be British!

You need to be the boss - I'm in USA and bunking off work as much as possible, however is there any way to watch the WC in the USA on PC/Mac? I've seen a couple sites but they look pretty dodgy

I am in the US too and I find it amazing that fellow England fans are getting the hump because we want the 91Èȱ¬ to make England games available for us all. My passport doesn't say that I stop being English or an England fan once I move abroad.

When did it become popular to sing the praises of the license fee anyway? I guess I've been away too long.

Come on England!

REALLY FRUSTRATING that we can't get this overseas!

THIS is a global game people!
In that spirit did you hear about this Ronaldo to NYC story?!

Great news although I think a TV is order for the office here.

I've been experimenting with another way to communicate with others around the World Cup and came across Skypecasts.

I've sent one up for the eve of the tournament and hope to make it a regular feature throughout the WC.

So, go here if you want more detail of how and when to take part:-

Come on people, surely you know that this WC is a money-making machine, it's not there for the entertainment of fans!

Seriously though, I do think it is a bit much expecting the 91Èȱ¬ to offer the WC video coverage for free, rights issues aside.

I wouldn't expect to sit here in UK and watch the NBA Finals or the Superbowl live on the net courtesy of NBC or Fox Sports or whoever.

To the American fans - you could always search for a proxy list on google and then connect through a british proxy server. That would probably bypass it but you'd need a good internet connection and make sure you choose a good proxy by testing a few of them. Good luck.

Does anybody know who owns the web broadcasting rights for the US? I could not find any live stream available here. I would certainly make use of it. Especially because the matches are around noon here and I will be working :-(.

Folks,
Our boss Roger Mosey has been blogging about this on our editors' blog and many of your questions are answered there.
/blogs/sporteditors/2006/06/world_cup_wimbledon_on_broadba_1.html

On a slightly different not, I urge you all to check out this clip of Peter Crouch gangsta rapping… what a legend he is!

Fantastic! Trouble is I'm in France. What's the use of webcasts when they're only national and only complement existing TV? What about us expats; British (Scottish, English, Irish, Welsh)?

Great toys for those who don't really need them.

Henry, can you please explain in more detail the details on how to set up my computer here in the usa to view (uk only) content? using british proxy server?

I'm an American who would pay to see the "real" 91Èȱ¬. 91Èȱ¬ America is OK, but I'd like to see the 91Èȱ¬ football broadcasts, news, and any other gems I'm missing out on. I'd pay the TV Licence fee if I could get everything you get over there.

I'd also be willing to pay a small fee to access the radio webcasts. I second the idea of turning up the 91Èȱ¬ radio feed and hitting "mute" on ESPN.

I personally don't think watching the games live on the web is really that useful, I mean how many people actually have a computer but not a TV!

Ok so you can maybe skive off in work etc but the games are in the evening in UK time anyway.

The best part about this is the fact you can watch highlights on demand, this facility is priceless!

p.s I hope the 91Èȱ¬ manages to stop those viewing through proxies, it is these sort of privelages we pay our TV licence for.

Does anyone else think that the 91Èȱ¬ world cup trailer is absolutely awful?!?! We want to be wowed with football not special effects!

Good move by the beeb!

hallo

So what about those of us who don't live in the UK. Should we just give up on 91Èȱ¬ World Cup coverage?

This is really disappointing. I was very excited when I saw this announcement...until I saw the restrictions...

So when do we get 5 LIVE outside the UK ?

I'm stuck in Finland but I am a licence fee payer in the UK. The fee keeps going up for broadband services I PAY FOR and still don't receive. Can't you organise a subscription service for 5 Live/ 5 Live Extra, which doesn't treat us outside the UK as if we were a milch cow, loaded on ex-pat dollars?

My wife is Finnish and that's the only reason I live here - I'm earning a quarter of what my wages in the UK were but still I'm put through the mincer by greedy media oulets, knowing that I have no other choice whither I can go.

So when do we get 5 LIVE outside the UK ?

I'm stuck in Finland but I am a licence fee payer in the UK. The fee keeps going up for broadband services I PAY FOR and still don't receive. Can't you organise a subscription service for 5 Live/ 5 Live Extra, which doesn't treat us outside the UK as if we were a milch cow, loaded on ex-pat dollars?

My wife is Finnish and that's the only reason I live here - I'm earning a quarter of what my wages in the UK were but still I'm put through the mincer by greedy media oulets, knowing that I have no other choice whither I can go.

How about broadband live world cup broadcast for users in the US?? I know tons of people who would be interested.

What I would not give to see the 91Èȱ¬ World Cup.

There should be some company that is willing to put this online on a pay per view basis in the US. There are plenty of users and as I understand it the online broadcasting licences are cheap compared to the TV ones.

91Èȱ¬ of course cannot buy a world license from the fees they collected from UK viewers. Even if they wanted to I assume that wouldn't be payable.

There should be some company that is willing to put this online on a pay per view basis in the US. There are plenty of users and as I understand it the online broadcasting licences are cheap compared to the TV ones.

91Èȱ¬ of course cannot buy a world license from the fees they collected from UK viewers. Even if they wanted to I assume that wouldn't be payable.

I'm in the US and I believe that ESPN has the rights to the broadband coverage of WC2006. They will be airing it on ESPN360 broadband service which is only available to those few cable service providers who offer it (unfortunately not my directv service). There are some illegal Chinese peer to peer tv services which will allow you to watch broadcasts (usually in Mandarin and usually on minimal delay of 1-2 min due to buffering). Feel free to Google "p2p tv" and use at your own risk....

Isnt this is what pay per view should be about.. ??

I'm located in Australia and would happily pay good money to get the WC from the 91Èȱ¬ on broadband..

As for FIFA licensing - and ?? buy the license the permits streaming over the web - can you imagine how many ppl around the world would happily pay for 91Èȱ¬ coverage ?

You'd be surprised how many ppl would/are using their PC for watching TV/Streams.. Its called convergence - hook up you PC to the becoming more common large screen plasma/LCD tvs and you'll be converged for life..

What about users in the US? Will we be able to watch them online? I am in the office until 5pm every day and there is a 7 hr difference between the US and Germany, so...

I am also in Australia and would also gladly pay to view 91Èȱ¬ coverage of world cup games online.

I'm stuck in Madrid so I won't be able to take advantage of this service.

I would pay a small fee to be able to see the 91Èȱ¬ coverage, like many others around the world..

As much as the 91Èȱ¬ would probably like to sell content on the net, I'm pretty sure they can't, whatever the rights issues might be.

Why do all the posts on this blog start with LONDON-? Are you going to change it to GERMANY when the world cup starts? Do you think I will care any more by then?

Claire S, blog editor here.
The entries will relate to where in Germany our contributors are when they post.

Folks,
Many of the comments are asking why we can't make this available overseas. This is really not our fault! One of the main stumbling blocks is the way rights are sold by the sports bodies. They are sold on a country-by-country or regional basis because that way the sports bodies get the most money. Global streaming destroys that funding model.
For more on this, see our editors' blog.
Claire S - blog editor

The company I work for are somewhat tight on our network access and more so with access to the outside world

I was begining to wonder how I was going to manage checking out the footie whilst working when I heard that the 91Èȱ¬ were going to broadcast the matches live from their websites (one of the very very web sites I can gain access to).
What a result I thought until after further investigation found that I could not play any of the video media from the site (due to the corporate firewall etc etc etc).
Being part of a software development team we have put together our knowledge and knowhow and with a bit of jiggery pokery we have managed to navigate the corporate chains and are now looking forward to a great world cup. Just hope the broadband doesnt slow down and come to a halt.

Those of us living in Canada will be able to watch the games on TSN. Schedule is here:

I expect to be in hospital for the first week of the World Cup having by-pass surgery and will be taking my TV with me!

i now live in the usa, what a joke,
cant listen to radio 5 in office for world cup games, please please get
this resolved and yes who wants to hear those espn commentators who have no clue about football, bbc website did it for euro 2004 available all around the world.
please sort it out bbc!!!!!

bbc please get this reversed, i now
live in the usa and want to hear radio 5 online, the best tournament in the world, please atleast get
the commentaries on, we have the jamaica tomorrow.

I SHALL NOT BE READING YOUR BLOGS.
Hey Claire, I noticed your lineup of blog authors do not reflect the diversity of the game of football. One Indian(british-born, I suspect) and a villagefull of white people does not reflect the diversity of the game or a promise of fair reporting of the world cup event. I know this is not an oversight and don't even bother with the diplomatic explanations. I know you guys won't do anything about it so I won't bother reading your blogs and I shall organize my buddies to boycott it as well.

Who is going to sit in front of a computer to watch a game while it is airing on TV in England?

Broadcasts target customer should be overseas only. I live in NYC. It is hard for me to ask my boss to bring a TV to watch the games while we are working. Broadcast is the only way to go for us customers.

Can someone from the UK please confirm that all UK internet users pay a TV licence fee.

If this is not the case, how does the 91Èȱ¬ propose to prevent those non-paying UK licence bludgers from viewing its broadband World Cup coverage?

I don't believe it's a licence issue. Maybe it's a constraint of the 91Èȱ¬'s coverage rights from FIFA; maybe it's a limitation of the user population the 91Èȱ¬ can support.

I pay a license fee and have an ISP in the UK.
I will be in the USA for the duration of the World Cup. Based on the criteria for restricting the streams to UK only I should be allowed to access the service. Is there some proxy sever that caters for people like me?

What is the link or url to watch the football on 91Èȱ¬ website. - Cant find it anywhere......

I'm not a great sports fan but get world cup fever every four years. Its sad that its so expensive to watch the world famous tournament these days. I cannot afford it so I'm only watching a few of the games which are aired free. I thought I would at least be able to listen to commentary on radio but there are rules about this too apparently. The world really is ruled by money. Can't blame the 91Èȱ¬ for not airing it. Those are the rules. Just damn FIFA.

I have a problem i.e. how to see world cup football . I tried the bbc.com site but i can't see so make me easy to that

I too am a UK licence fee payer but am currently working in the USA. All I wanted was to be able to listen to coverage online from 5 live. I guess I can just stop paying my licence fee now and just blag free TV programmes by Broadband.

i hate the world cup!!!!!!!!!!!! it messes up all the other tv shows!!!!!!! and it is just plain old boring!!!!
Every one like "oh my god!!!" "australias got a goal"
and i'm like "who gives!"
i hate the bbc for showing the darn thing!!!!!!!!
yea,yea complain to me! but i did NOT leave my right address!!!!!!!!!! tee-hee-he!!!!!! i really don't care!!!!
P.S IF MY CHOIR TEACHER (MRS. ALLEN) I HAVE TURNED YEAR 4H AGAINCED GOING TO CHOIR THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!
P.P.S THEY DID NOT WANT TO GO ANY WAY, SO DON'T GIVE ME A DETENCION!!!!!!

Claire - thanks for posting the link to your FAQ, it's really useful.

With regard to proxy servers, these could also be used to bypass a company's firewall. You can connect to a blocked site through another server so your firewall doesn't recognise that you're accessing blocked content. If you get caught though, you could be in real trouble (in some companies, misuse of internet can result in instant dismissal).

During the last World Cup, our bosses moved a telly into the meeting room and let everyone (footie fans and non-footie fans alike) work flexitime for the duration. No sneaking around and no skiving. Worked like a dream.

The Sun online website is streaming audio of all games, with no area restrictions. Thank god...

I usually enjoy the 91Èȱ¬ coverage of the World Cup matches but I wish that someone would gag Alan Hansen. He always has to be the first to jump in with his commentary on any question put to the pundits by Gary Linekar, and even interrupts the other pundits when they are speaking. Some of these other pundits have a lot more knowledge of the game than Hansen, who never set the world on fire while he was a player. So could someone please gag him and allow the other pundits to have their say, or perhaps Gary Linekar could exert himself as the official host of the programme and control the input of Hansen.

FIFA's instructions to the referees concerning tackling is making a farce of football and turning the game into a cheat's(divers) charter.The teams who seem to be succeeding in the early stages of the tournament are those who using the new ruling to their advantage and diving at every opportnity.
I agree with the banning of shirt grabbing and the usual goalmouth antics at freekicks and corners.But now to stop the divers they must take retrospective action after the match (i.e.perhaps a 1 match ban)as is the case in Rugby Union with their post match citing.

Viewing World Cup matches is easy with true UK proxy