Let the Web Games Begin

Among the unplanned international sporting events at the 2004 Summer Olympics could be the dodging of regional Internet broadcast restrictions and the unsanctioned relay of live online Olympic broadcasts to Americans.

The Summer Olympics, which began Friday in Athens, is the first Olympic Games to be broadcast from a collection of websites. The BBC and other European networks are offering live, on-demand Internet video streaming of Olympic events to broadband viewers. But the BBC and fellow members of the European Broadcasting Union are required by their Olympic broadcast contracts to block U.S. Internet users and others from outside their home counties.

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,...w=wn_tophead_1

As I understand, streaming through a proxy is not an option? Otherwise these 'web olympics' are a challenge only for the simple[r] users out there.

I wouldn't know why these contracts prevent US Interneters to access the livecasts, but maybe there are independent deals made with the large American broadcasters.

At a guess............ $$$$

who ever heard of a free lunch ?
we also have round the clock access to watch what we want, when we want.

Digital TV, you gotta love it...............

Actually I don't think there is anything that stops you from streaming through a proxy. If there is I would like to see something on it.

The interesting thing about this is the last paragraph on the first page.

Ultimately it will fail," said Len Sassaman, a privacy-technology researcher. Once the American Internet viewing public realizes that U.K. Web surfers are watching better Olympic coverage than they are allowed to see after forking over their credit card, said Sassaman, they will look for better ways to access those images. "Bandwidth has gotten a lot cheaper over the years, so it is not so far-fetched to think that someone will set up proxy servers in Britain that would do this."

I personally wouldn't go through that much trouble I can think of a couple other ways to get this.

Pathetic isn't it. When are these ****tards going to realise we live in one world.