World Cup Highlights To Be Streamed Over Internet
Video highlights of the World Cup 2002 are to be streamed over the internet for the first time this summer following an agreement between Yahoo!, FIFA and KirchSport AG, which holds the broadcast rights to the tournament.
The three-way collaboration means that from 31 May football fans around the world will have limited access to official FIFA video highlights of the tournament via the official World Cup website, FIFAworldcup.com, which is being hosted by Yahoo!
The video highlights package, which covers all of the tournament’s 64 matches, will be part of the “FIFA VIP Club” and will carry a subscription charge. Four minutes of highlights will be available after 5.30pm each day and fans will be able to access voice-over commentary, screen savers and a search engine allowing them to choose their favourite moments from the event, which is being held in Japan and Korea.
Highlights of the tournament will be limited due to broadcast rights issues, but co-founder and chief executive of Yahoo!, Jerry Yang, said: “These video highlights will serve as a cornerstone of FIFAworldcup.com’s extensive offerings for millions of football fans – no matter what their time zone or country.”
He added: “This is an important agreement which ushers in a new era in communication and allows sports fans greater choice, giving them the ability to access the event and enjoy the action.”
Yahoo! is expecting a record number of football fans to access the official world cup site this summer, with the time difference meaning that most of the matches are scheduled to kick-off early in the morning.
Recent research from Netpoll also suggests that the internet will be the preferred medium for following the tournament, behind satellite TV and ahead of daily newspapers, terrestrial TV and radio (see World Cup Pushes Sports Fans Online).
Yahoo UK and Ireland: 020 7808 4200 www.yahoo.co.uk
Recent Internet Stories from NewsLine Web Newspapers To Charge Within Five Years Interactive Agencies In Digital Merger Over 60% Of UK Businesses Are Online
Subscribers can access ten years of NewsLine articles by clicking the Search button to the left