GEOTIP.NET- 100% WIN. EXCLUSIVE OFFERS 100% GUARANTEED – Главная страница

As cheap TV sets become, well, more affordable to the average punter another shift in the way that we watch football is quietly occurring up and down the country.  It only takes a quick look at the cheap TV sets now available from suppliers like dixons.co.uk to see that the relatively novel technology of the 3D TV has already been slashed in price by an industry keen to find a wider market for these products.  As with all new technology, when 3D TVs were launched just a few years ago they came at a premium, as the cost of small production runs and the Research and Development budget was recouped in the time honoured fashion while manufacturers waited to see if the product took off.  The majority of these sales were focussed on those businesses – primarily sports bars and pubs – that could justify the expense of buying 3D TV as an investment that would bring in customers.  While public houses still proudly advertise the acquisition of a 3D TV, a technology that has revolutionised the way that we view set pieces and corners in a game, the recent drop in price for these units may be about to further undermine the way that we have come to watch football in this country in the last couple of decades(which is on TV, of course).

Televised football is a massive driver of both week night and weekend business for pubs in the UK, and watching the game down the local has become the only way that many people ever watch a match.  With actually going to the game now considered by many of the younger generation to be a hard core option for the truly devoted – while creature comforts and readily available alcohol claim many who previously travelled to stadiums – watching football in the pub has become a supporting ritual in its own right, but for how long?

The continued demise of the Great British pub has been a regular feature of the news for several years now, with the standard explanation of this downward trend being the effect of the ban on public smoking now in force throughout the UK.  While the immediate sales figures from the licensed trade in the wake of the smoking ban supported this explanation, the effect that the continued spread of satellite and cable TV to residential homes has frequently been downplayed.

Cheap supermarket alcohol, and the availability of exactly the same coverage as is being shown in the pub has made the home the venue of choice for many increasingly sedentary football fans.  And now the pull to the pub exerted by the novelty of 3D TV may be on the wane, thanks to the increasing affordability of this technology for the home.  Progress?  You decide.  For more debate about the effects of TV technology on the way we view football try looking at: http://www.ahfcchat.com.

Image: worradmu / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Copa America, perhaps more than any other continental tournament, is blessed with an enormous collection of unbelievably talented players, players that truly fall into the bracket of ‘global superstar’. This year’s edition kicked off last week, with Argentina looking to end an 18 year wait for silverware at senior level in front of their own fans.

A look at the team sheets suggests that the hosts should have more than enough quality so see the job through, the team is bursting with talent, not least the likes of a certain Lionel Messi, who will be carrying the weight of the country’s expectations on his slender shoulders.

The Copa America has, in recent years, experienced something of a renaissance, higher quality competitions with more importance placed on them have seen greater competition for television rights, which has helped put more money back into the competition. This year’s version, in stunning HD quality, has continued this trend. In the UK, the appeal of the Copa has been based upon the previous five tournaments being shown on Sky, though it has moved this year to ESPN.

Still, the punters don’t come without the quality, and the Copa has benefited from being moved in the South American schedule. With no qualifying necessary, South America’s teams have enjoyed a year of experimenting with new squads after the World Cup, and in just a few more months those same squads will begin the long qualifying process for Brazil 2014. The Copa is the first opportunity to see how those sides will shape up, and to get a look at some of the fresh new talent, like Palermo’s superstar Javier Pastore, who have been making waves this side of the Pacific.

The resurgence of the Copa on the world stage also mirrors the resurgence of South American domestic football, particularly in Brazil where economic growth has seen clubs being able to afford to keep some of their stars for longer, and attract established ones back home. It’s a virtuous cycle, and as the quality level continues to rise, so too will attention around the world, leading to bigger television contracts (with the likes of 3D on the way) and bigger advertising revenue, hopefully leading to greater investment in the sport.

Since the 1950s, Europe has been the focus of the global game even if many of it’s stars came from South America, so, this Copa America may go down in history as the one which demonstrated above all that South American football is once again a global footballing force, and that can be no bad thing for world football.