The Poland-Scotland int'l friendly on Wednesday "is being streamed live" on the Internet rather than broadcasting via more conventional TV channels outside of host country Poland, according to INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. Scotland team sponsor Vauxhall "is sponsoring the web broadcast," which will be available to fans worldwide, though it will be geo-blocked in Poland, France and the Middle East. The streaming "will be available on all mobile and tablet devices, as well as via desktop." TV rights for these countries were sold by Sport5, while IEC sold the web rights. This is the first time an int'l match featuring either of these countries "has been streamed exclusively on the web in core broadcast territories." The web platform "will be set up so that no registration process will be required to view the pictures." Those in the TV business "will be watching the viewing figures carefully and whether this potentially signifies increased competition in the long term for long-form broadcast rights (as opposed to footage clips)" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 3/3).
