Article
September 6, 2009
England World Cup Qualifier Set For Landmark Internet Broadcast.
LONDON: Sunday 6th September 2009. Following the collapse of Setanta UK earlier this year, plans are now being made to broadcast the Ukraine Vs England Fifa World Cup 2010 qualifying game, exclusively live on the internet.
International football agency Kentaro had sold the broadcast rights of the fixture to the Pay TV operator in December 2007. However Setanta went into administration on June 23rd this year leaving the key match without a UK broadcaster.
The Kiev clash scheduled for Saturday 10th October could decide England’s qualification for the tournament and marks one of the toughest competitive matches that the national team will have faced to date. England have won all seven of the qualifying games in this world cup campaign – the best ever performance by The Three Lions, scoring 26 goals and conceding just 4 under Coach Fabio Capello.
Philipp Grothe, CEO of the Kentaro Group said; “We have spoken to every traditional UK broadcaster and currently have no offer on the table. We therefore feel the internet delivers the most viable option to deliver an important England game directly to the fans. It will be the first time in history that an England game has had an exclusive web broadcast.”
Kentaro have now instructed digital sport specialist Perform, to market and stream the match online, on a pay-per-view basis.
Andrew Croker, Executive Chairman of Perform said; “We have pioneered sports coverage on the internet for the last ten years and currently have 20 million football fans using our online services every month. We’re very excited about working with Kentaro to deliver this landmark event.”
Perform is a leading digital sport business who currently stream over 15,000 live events each year across the internet and provide web, mobile or online video services to 13 official Barclays Premier League and 67 official Coca-Cola Football League club websites.
In November and December 2008, Perform stepped in when traditional TV deals did not materialise for UEFA Cup away matches featuring Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, streaming them live on a pay-per-view basis through www.mcfc.co.uk and www.tottenhamhotspur.com.
Notes To Editors
The broadcasting rights to the game were sold to Kentaro by the Ukraine Football Association. The English Football Association has no say over who secures broadcasting rights to away fixtures.
Kentaro: Specialising in the global marketing of national soccer federations, leagues and clubs, Kentaro´s core business is the international acquisition and distribution of premium broadcast rights. Kentaro markets the TV rights for over 250 matches in the build-up to the FIFA World Cup 2010, including 90% of the South American qualifiers. More than 20 federations rely on Kentaro’s unique network and management skills, as do countless top club sides such as Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC. Headquartered in Switzerland with branch offices in London, Hamburg, Stockholm and most recently Chicago, the world’s fastest-growing sports rights agency also exclusively organizes all exhibition matches of the Brazil national team.
Perform: Perform is a world leader in delivering sports content in digital media. The company works with sports rights holders, publishers, bookmakers and media groups and has developed over 230 web, video broadband and mobile sites that serve over 20 million unique users. Streaming 15,000 live events per year across partner sites, Perform also works with every major UK publisher group including News International, Trinity Mirror Group, Daily Mail Media Group, Telegraph Media Group and Guardian News and Media Ltd to provide extensive sports video highlights online through the e-Player, reaching over 10 million unique viewers every month. Football clients include Chelsea FC (who recently won the SportsBusiness Ultimate Sports Website Award), the Premier League, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Fulham, Rangers and through Football League Interactive, Perform provide the platform for over 80 clubs. Headquartered in Middlesex London, Perform employs 310 staff and has offices in central London, Holland, Italy, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, India and the USA.