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How Ukraine v England could be the TV event of the year
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor7 Oct 2009
In 1953 the Queen's Coronation ushered in a new era of TV, while the moon landings of 1969 provided one of the first truly global television events.
Somewhat surprisingly, when England take to the pitch in Dnipropetrovsk on Saturday afternoon to take on Ukraine, those watching what is effectively a meaningless World Cup qualifier could, in fact, be witnessing the next great TV event.
Admittedly, with viewing figures limited to a million, we are unlikely to see the outpouring of emotions shared by the 32.3 million in the UK who watched England's 1966 World Cup victory - still the most watched British TV event ever.
But as those million football fans log on to their computers on Saturday, they will unwittingly be taking part in an experiment that could change the way we watch TV for ever.
Experts are already saying it could mean an end to the traditional TV channel.
The future, they claim, is a new generation of internet-connected television that will be able to beam virtually any show at any time, all directly into your living room.
Instead of the family gathering round the box on a weekend night, we could see four individuals silently watching four separate programmes on their laptops, earphones plugged in.
Already the figures for online viewing are huge. August 2009 saw the BBC iPlayer receiving a record 69 million requests for TV and radio programmes - an average of 2.2 million per day from 900,000 users per day - all from a service that launched only over Christmas 2007.
"The incredible success of the iPlayer has shown that there is a real appetite for online video," said Tom Dunmore of Stuff magazine.
"I think people are now really used to the idea of watching TV on a smaller computer screen, and know that if they miss a programme, they can go online to watch it."
Even the BBC has yet to crack online TV's biggest problem: how to break into people's sitting rooms, where they traditionally view programmes.
"What the industry really needs to go mass market is a simple way to watch these online services on the living room TV. That will make a huge difference in the number of viewers," said Dunmore.
Currently only Virgin offers the BBC's iPlayer service on its cable system, although others are expected to follow. Rivals such as Tiscali and Sky do offer similar "on demand" services but they are not yet able to integrate the BBC service.
However, in the short term, games consoles have proved a stopgap solution, and a hugely popular one.
When Sony recently launched an iPlayer application for its PS3 console, it accounted for 10 per cent of all iPlayer traffic on the day it was launched. The service is also available on Nintendo's Wii.
"Online TV is still hampered by the fact you have to watch in on a laptop screen, and consoles have shown just how popular it could be on a TV," said Dunmore.
Televisions with built-in internet access are being developed and recently Sony, along with several other manufacturers, demonstrated an internet-capable TV.
However, development has been hampered by a lack of industry-wide standards for distributing TV shows online.
The BBC hopes Project Canvas, a consortium of broadcasters and manufacturers, could solve the problem but it has hit delays and is also expected to be heavily scrutinised by competition watchdogs.
"I think if Canvas does get the goahead and we see internet TVs then it is hard to see how a lot of TV channels can continue as they are," warned Dunmore.
He also hailed the England game as a major step forward. "The game is a real watershed moment for online TV as we will see a lot of people who will never have watched anything online trying it out.
However, it has also raised some hackles among fans who would otherwise be able to watch it in the pub."
Andrew Croker, executive chairman of Perform, the firm behind the broadcast, claims fans would "embrace" the internet.
"I think consumers are pretty sophisticated now, particularly in the UK, where we have been in the vanguard of adopting new technology," he said.
The broadcast will be limited to a million viewers to try to preserve picture quality.
"I think people want a choice - the chance to watch football in a different way. This is pioneering, very exciting and I think people will enjoy it," claimed Croker.
However, despite the bullish attitude of the game's promoters, many believe the traditional TV channel still has some life left in it, particularly for sport.
"We are still very much at the beginning of the journey with online TV," said Dan Cryan, an analyst at Screen Digest.
"People still want to watch sports on the sofa and to watch event TV live. For instance, fans of Lost or The X Factor will always want to see it as it happens, and broadcast TV is still the best way to do that.
However, if you do miss it then, increasingly, people will just go and watch clips on YouTube rather than sit through the whole thing.
That said, it is really just a matter of time before online TV overtakes broadcast.
"One interesting fact we've seen is that people are increasingly thinking of their laptop as extra TV screen at home.
"We also found that people are using online TV services such as iPlayer to watch shows at work."
The rise of the laptop has also led to another new phenomenon, Twitter TV, where people sit with a laptop open in front of them while watching TV, idly tweeting their thoughts.
During popular shows such as X Factor, hundreds of tweets are sent every second as people discuss performers.
In terms of what people are watching, the BBC has found that as numbers grow, not much is different in terms of what people watch: Top Gear, Mock The Week, EastEnders and Dragon's Den are all favourites.
However, silver surfers have also been slow to embrace online TV. The BBC says the profile of iPlayer users is evening out over time in terms of male/female ratio but in age terms remains strongly under-55, which is younger than the typical TV viewer's profile.
However, Cryan warned that for many in the UK, one of the biggest barriers to internet TV is still bandwith.
"Most homes with broadband are fine watching one show on iPlayer. But if you want to watch in high definition, or watch different shows on different machines at the same time, things can get messy.
"I think there is a lot of consumer confusion about how fast their broadband is, and what they actually need to have. It is something Ofcom needs to address."
One of the other drivers of the online video market has been piracy, as it was with music.
Thousands of TV shows are available for free, often uploaded to file-sharing sites minutes after they are broadcast.
Sports fans in particular often go to amazing lengths to watch events, with many illegally watching streams of foreign TV channels to see matches without having to pay subscription fees. By offering a legal "pay- per-view" service online, football bosses hope to end this practice.
For other broadcasters, location has become key to beating piracy. Every computer connected to the internet has an electronic ID number, known as an IP address, and broadcasters can use this to ensure only viewers in certain countries watch their shows.
For instance, the BBC uses the system to restrict iPlayer viewing to UK residents, while US service Hulu locks out viewers from outside the US.
But as the broadcasters scrabble to find a way into the living room, and to stamp out piracy, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: online is the future of TV, and in years to come, the TV aerial looks set become as obsolete as the VHS.
Reader views (6)
It's a sad time when you can't watch your Country play, Socialise have a few beers!! Real England fans don't want to sit infront of a computer watching a game!!! Bad times!!
- Bateman, Cornwall, 09/10/2009 12:10
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It is interesting to see the tone of all the major daily titles have changed overnight - from saying that charging is outrageous (Monday) to supporting this as a new challenge or the future. Check out all the major newspaper websites and they all have been offered online advertising or link in their websites to sign up paying to watch the England game. It is all money money money. Boycott them.
- Ed, London, 07/10/2009 19:45
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I won't be paying to watch my national team on a lap top or pc. This is outrageous! What if you don't own a pc, what're you meant to do then?
- Goggs, London, 07/10/2009 15:19
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A dismal development, though to be fair some fans have been known to silently watch Ceefax for the magic moment when the scoreline goes from 0-0 to 0-1, so you never know, this might take off.
Still, we don't need to watch this do we? England have qualified.
- Clive Morris, London, 07/10/2009 13:52
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What about people who do not have broadband access or their broadband is at the minimal download speed. I cannot watch it as my braodband speed is too slow.
- M Bowyer, London, 07/10/2009 13:34
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Your article does not mention the fee to watch this match - small change out of £12.
A National football match should be on terrestrial TV - available to everyone who owns a TV and has paid the licence.
No ands ifs or buts.
End of.
- Ca Metcalfe, Essex, 07/10/2009 11:22
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