Search: 'Setanta'

Following the demise of Setanta, there is a reluctance to spend big on matches that draw small viewing figures. So does the future involve sitting in front of a computer? Andy West reports

The subject of live online streaming rose to prominence with the internet-only showing of England’s World Cup qualifier in Ukraine, opening up the question of how strongly the internet’s presence will be established in the sports broadcasting market. In years to come, will international fixtures be exclusively shown by online media as a matter of routine? Or was the lack of TV coverage of the Ukraine clash a one-off occurrence borne out of a unique set of circumstances (Setanta’s demise, England’s early qualification and an unsociable 5.15pm kick-off)? Fans who missed out on the Ukraine game will be relieved to learn that the latter seems to be the case.

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Natalia Sollohub examines whether a proposed semi-professional women's super league will actually happen

Anyone with even a passing interest in the women’s game in England will get a sense of déjà vu on hearing that a new summer league is due to kick off in 2011. The same announcement was greeted with much rejoicing just over a year ago with more than the required eight teams preparing applications to join the semi-professional Super League.

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With Setanta gone, ESPN has immediately stepped into the gap. Cameron Carter reports

It is confusing to start to grieve for a lost channel only to find that its replacement fills the gap completely. No sooner had Setanta politely dropped off the twig than ESPN took its place, offering a Premier League match on Saturday, an Italian game on Sunday and European Cage Fighting and Bundesliga Review filling most hours in between.

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Simon Tyers looks at how some presenters and ex-players are not cut out for television

“Kayfabe” is a concept that is not widely known outside professional wrestling. Broadly speaking, it refers to the presentation of fictional or scripted events and opinions as reality. The term needs to be introduced to a wider audience as a way of defining what is going on with the viewer text and email sections that litter The Football League Show like overheating Corsas on the hard shoulder of the M25. You would imagine that the appeal of hearing comments about your club from supporters of other clubs would wither over time. On The Football League Show this sense that people are barging in on your business is heightened when the epithets are being read out by Jacqui Oatley’s co-host, Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes.

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Ray Stubbs has flown the BBC nest to become the main anchorman at ESPN. Si Hawkins relates a cautionary tale of broadcasting folk who made similar transfers

Amid all the machinations surrounding John Terry’s mooted move to Manchester City this summer it was easy to ignore another tale of long-term loyalty gone amiss. Ray Stubbs has joined ESPN from the BBC after a sterling 26 years of filling in while more important presenters went on holiday.

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