During EURO 2004, i had to buy the bbc package for $100 (only the knockout part of the tournament) Due to rising attraction in the world game...will channels like FSC, setanta or world sport HD carry games? i know they do the qualifiers...
That sucks! So much for getting the superior British feed via Setanta. Now we have to put up with those muppets from ESPN.
It's worth my $12/mnth to buy Setanta channel on DirecTV than listen to the wretched commentary that we have to endure in this country. Why "our" announcers think they have to talk the entire 90 minutes or say every name each time a pass is made is beyond me...
Literally 1,000 times as many people will watch the 2008 European Championship Final as compared to 2004. Somehow, I believe this is a positive for the sport. But that's just me.
I completely agree and am all for an increased amount of support for this tournament and the game in general. However, if 1000X the number of people watch in the US, then 1000X more people will be subjected to our laughable announcers. I'm not against the games being shown on "free" TV by any means, but if we are gonna do that then let's get serious about hiring some quality commentators. And yes, I have written ABC/ESPN to voice my displeasure....
well, depends on if there are any in the US. seriously, this ISthe best espn can come up with unless the BBC wants to help us out or something.
When TSN (Canada's equivalent to ESPN) shows the Euros up in Canada, they just use the British announcers who have experience in commentating football matches and are actually in the stadium to view the match rather than some studio in Connecticut. Seems like the better way to go.
ummm...Setanta Sports USA (the Setanta residential channel) was not gonna show (not LIVE at least, maybe some SDD) Euro 2008 even if the rights had stayed with Setanta. It would've gone to Setanta PPV.
Seems to me the ole American ego comes into play here again @ ESPN. "Gotta get our "American" announcers in there so we can sell the game to all those new soccer fans that will be watching" hahahaha pure comedy