Half a million log on to watch England match

Almost half a million football fans logged on to watch England’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine this weekend.

Perform made the match available across a number of national newspaper websites on a pay-per-view basis after Kentaro failed to agree a rights deal with another broadcaster, such as ITV or the BBC.

International agency Kentaro acquired the rights to the match after the pay-TV platform Setanta collapsed earlier this year.  The agency appointed Perform to stream the game live on the internet to fans who were willing to buy a subscription pass for as much as £11.99.

Last week, Perform imposed a ceiling of one million subscriptions to guarantee a quality streaming service following the high take-up in the first few days.

The game, which ended 1-0 to Ukraine, was also screened in Odeon cinemas across the country.

Kentaro is understood to be pleased with the final viewing numbers, which hit almost 500,000, according to unofficial reports.

Philipp Grothe, Kentaro’s chief executive, said: “This pioneering broadcast has been a great success. Technology has ignited a revolution in people’s viewing habits and there is a new sports broadcast platform developing on the broadband enabled internet.”

The agency also struck a last-minute deal with the BBC to show highlights of the match after the game had been shown online, despite originally turning down its offer.