Thursday, August 18, 2005

HDTV for World Cup 2006

As MSNBC reports, ABC will broadcast all 64 matches of the 2006 World Cup live and in high definition. This is great news for fans of soccer and fans of new electronic gagets.

Since this blog is not about electronic gagets (but this one is), I will only say that events like the World Cup are what will drive people to convert to this new standard. With the cost of HDTVs are coming down, expect to see some soccer fans at your local Best Buy next Spring.

No schedule will be annouced till after the December draw, but chances are all America's matches will be shown on ABC. Getting these matches on network television will allow the US to showcase their talent to an audience that would otherwise never see a game. If the US does well (meaning they get past group play), this could spark more of an interest in MLS. If the MLS does well, it will grow and allow more Americans to improve their skills on their native soil. However, the downside is if the US has another France '98, people will tune out for another 4 years.

One other interesting piece of information from the article. It says that "...ESPN/ESPN2 also plans to televise two European Champions League games most weeks when the tournament is going on this season." The more quality soccer on TV the better. This will also give Americans more exposure to some of the names we'll be watching next Summer.

Time to go price HDTVs.

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