Help Tom With His Work (Qn about pay-for-content Internet services)

I only know of one American woman who coughed-up but got mightily pissed off, as it seemed to get worse rather than better. I was told there were very few subscribers. Things hit an all-time low apparently when they were busy setting up their web-cast at Wembley for the FA Cup final, only to have the plug pulled by the stadium officials before the game kicked-off for not having the necessary permits (it isn’t free to radio stations so why a web-cast). The site now includes a direct feed to a local radio station (free) when games are on. Other clubs have similar arrangements and when NUFC charged it was usually a matter of finding that days opponents website and logging on there.

I watched my first web-cast game last Tuesday, a Dutch relegation play-off. The match was sold-out and a local TV station covering the game did a web-cast. The pictures were blurred and gave me a headache (as did the result and Sparta Rotterdam's subsequent relegation, sob), but I could at least follow the game, (as could an interested mate in London, though he lost the last 5 minutes).

I pay hard earned cash for a subscription sports channel Canal+ so I get to watch top English/Spanish/Italian/Dutch football every weekend. If pay-per-view internet viewing allowed me to watch matches involving clubs whose fortunes (or lack of them) I follow, and the quality was good enough, I would consider paying, but only for specific matches, and I’d probably begrudge it. Too many football clubs regard their web sites as merely tools to milk their fans for more money.

ase

However, I was actually listening to people telling me all about my pissy little club! So I am pleased it's there, though unless it got more professional and added bells and whistles, I certainly wouldn't pay for it.

What, you suspect they were making up goals and stuff?

I dont know about the paying bit though.

I listened to the voice-only commentary of a Wimbledon FC game on the Dons website. It wasn't great, but then I doubt the game was either. It wasn't entirely reliable, either

What, you suspect they were making up goals and stuff?

Nah, just the crowd...

ok, something that may be helpful for tom: the fast nature of these things (sport is bad, top of the pops is also bad) make it inherently unsuitable for streaming video because the compression is relying on things not changing much either within the frame or between consecutive frames. itvdigital reception also suffered from the same thing despite a much higher bandwidth. (water is the other thing that causes the mpeg2 encoder grief, and the static on that HBO logo)

what was bad about the world cup in particular was the fact that the picture fed from asia was 4:3 - everyone who forked out for a widescreen tv only got to see as much as people with standard tvs or stretched the picture out so the players looked like they'd all eaten all the pies. watching matches on 4:3 tv via digital (the only way you could get to see some games) meant you had borders above, below AND to the sides.

not to mention the way that bbc and itv had rights to concurrent games so only people with digital tv could see the 'secondary' game.

(please excuse the spelling)
andy

anyway, hope it went ok

andy

Koppell can't see what he's done,
Reg can't see he's fucking dumb, (Reg is the Pressman)
He can't say, they can't see, putting it down to another bad day.
Murdoch don't know what he's done
Players don't know where the fans have gone.

SO THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO BE LONELY,
THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO BE SMALL,
THIS IS HOW IT FEELS WHEN YOUR CLUB MEANS NOTHING AT ALL.

There's a funeral in the town,
Some club from the top eight,
Seems they found them down a drain, and yet he had it all on a plate.

SO THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO BE LONELY,
THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO BE SMALL,
THIS IS HOW IT FEELS WHEN YOUR CLUB, MEANS NOTHING AT ALL.

They've been counting season ticket holders (as every club is allowed too). They also appear to have been counting hot dog sellers and the hot dogs too. There were 12 pies available for sale in the main stand last night. But the club is not in a mess according to Charlie Kockpull. Arf.

One was along the lines of:

we drink champagne, we snort cocaine,
we've got cash birds...can't remember this bit

You shag your dogs, ..can't remember this bit either
And your wives are on the game

Anyway, the 'show me the way to Plough lane, it's tired and I want to go to bed. We had our own ground about ten years ago, and we want one back again....' was much easier to remember.

Your song's much better though.

They weren't selling pies at the game, had to make do with chips and a sausage roll :0(

We drink champagne, we snort cocaine, we've got ladies, over here
You've got shit job, you shag your dogs, and your wife is on the game

Funny when sung when Chipstead are the visitors. Been a conscious effort to not sing it as much though as it's a bit offensive to the very nice teams we play.

The Plough Lane one is:

Show me the way to Plough Lane, I'm tired and I want to go home.
I had a football ground ten years ago, and I want one of my own.
Whenever I may roam, to Selhurst Park again (Fucking dump)
You will always here me singing this song
Show me the way to Plough Lane.

And the other one is our bastardised version of the Blaydon Races, which a fair few teams have.

Missed the bloody Cobham match. First hat-trick, 40 yarder. Gah.