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Premier League Sets Stage For Illegal Webcasts, Blames Broadband
from the bad-defense dept
Technology is often a scapegoat for unapproved behavior, especially by those who fail to exploit it themselves. Witness the U.K.'s Premier League, which is finally noticing that fans are watching unsanctioned internet-based streamed broadcasts of their favorite soccer/football matches. League officials point to the advent of broadband as the enabling factor, completely ignoring their own role in creating this situation: they have a policy that bans live broadcasts, television or otherwise (stubbornly fearing that the broadcasts will discourage attendance and diminish gate receipts). So rather than acknowledging that they have driven demand underground and perhaps figuring out a way to satisfy it and actually make money off live broadcasts, they instead blame the technology and set out to prevent its use. Of course, chasing and shutting down these sites, as they've started doing, will likely prove a hopeless and futile task as fans find ways around it. Even worse, they're considering suing some of the streaming sites to "set a precedent." Misunderstand your fans and then alienate them -- now there's a winning strategy.
Reader Comments
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I would think they would want the fans to stay hom
It might make the actual game better or even completed since there won't be as many fans to start riots.
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It does sounds stupid to try to alienate and shut down the fans, but in a country like england it may just work. If they succesfully stop these broadcasts, set precedents, and whatever else they want to do, they will then alienate the fans; however, alienated fans wont go somewhere else to watch football, there is no alternative league, no competition. So the premier league may just get waya with it.
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