“The wind rushing through the grass, the dirt on the goalposts, the cracks in the wicket...”
One of the pillars of digital broadcasting is its coverage of sporting events. With the crystal clear image quality, often enhanced by the vivid power of high definition, sporting events can be appreciated at home just as they can in person. With an ever evolving deluge of advanced technology also at the viewers’ disposal, a sports fan cannot help to be awed and seduced in equal measure by the quality of what digital television can offer. Read on to find out more.
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As good as it gets
Sky Sports is the umbrella term for the most comprehensive package of sports broadcasting in the UK. Billed as the ‘Home of live sport’, the channel has an enviable reputation as its coverage cuts deep into the sporting fabric of the country, Europe and the world.
Key amongst the Sky Sports collection is the coverage of the FA Premier League. Indeed the catalyst for many wishing to invest in digital television is the comprehensive coverage of Premiership matches, many of them broadcast live. Football coverage is augmented with all major European competitions, South American and African footballing events being broadcast. All this is peppered with the biannual ‘major’ tournament, either the FIFA World Cup or the European Championships.
The growing popularity of cricket as a sport is also a lynchpin of the Sky Sports timetable. 20-20 competitions, one day internationals and test match series are shown in full. Tennis, Formula One, golf, basketball, Nascar, boxing, rugby league, rugby union and world rallying also take prominence in the schedule which at last count included more than 100 different sports.
The Sky Sports channels include: Sky Sports One, Sky Sports Two, Sky Sports Three, Sky Sports Xtra, Sky Sports News and Sky Sports at the Races for horseracing enthusiasts. Many of these channels are available in high-definition, designed to further enhance the viewing pleasure.
Create your Sky Sports Package here |
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46 live matches
However tightly Sky has the digital sports market sown up, it is not the single, exclusive digital sports broadcaster. Setanta’s recent arrival at the table has provided viewers with a choice of digital service providers – and the offers promoted by Setanta can prove to be excellent value for money.
Setanta have evolved from an Irish sports broadcaster, but nowadays their range is much more comprehensive. 46 matches are shown live from the Barclays Premier League each year, there is an enviable range of American sports, both rugby union and league vie for primetime slots and cricket and boxing are also featured prominently.
Setanta Sports is available to all digital viewers that have a connection to Freeview, Virgin Media, BT Vision, Broadband and Tiscali – to find out more today and discover the latest monthly prices, visit their website.
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Other Digital Sports Packages
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The Eurosport tradition
Aside from the two main players, a plethora of interesting sports channels have collected on the digital network during the past two years. Prominent amongst these is Eurosport, which has carved a reputation for itself as being one of the best sports broadcasters on the continent.
Far wider ranging in its scope than either Setanta Sports or Sky Sports, Eurosport is the largest sports satellite and cable network and is available in 54 different countries and broadcasts in 20 different languages. Eurosport also enjoy a long tradition in comparison to some other channels in the rather young field of digital broadcasting – having started its programming in 1989.
Follow your club
Much more recent arrivals in the sector include a host of football club specific television channels. Designed to satisfy the needs of the passionate football fan, the list of these specialised channels is growing longer each year. Have a look at the following list to see if your team has a designated channel on the digital network:
Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Celtic, Real Madrid and Arsenal |
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Everyone's a winner!
The Premier League, the Ashes and the Six Nations Rugby Tournament, these are just some of the fixtures that I have on my list for the next year or so. The coverage of the events from Sky is almost as good as their range of sports too. There’s more cameras, more opinion, better pundits and more advanced technology than almost anywhere else. Fantastic!
Click here to order Sky Sports online |
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