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Stream or download more than 200 tennis matches through Wimbledon Live

by Daniel Langendorf

June 23rd, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | CommentsComments

wimbledon logoAs all tennis buffs know, Wimbledon 2008 started today. And as all tennis buffs know, finding matches to watch live that are not top seeds can be difficult. Tourament organizers know this, and that’s why they’ve introduced the Wimbledon Live service.

For a flat fee of $24.99 (approx. £12.65) tennis fans can stream live matches to their PCs (Mac and Linux are not supported) or download up to 250 matches in the .wmv format after the match is complete. It’s a great way to catch matches that may, or may not, be broadcast on the TSN and NBC networks.

If you only care to watch a particular matchup (schedule), a day pass is also available for $9.99 (FAQ). Dale Dietrich of The Daleisphere has a nice rundown of Wimbledon Live.

Here’s the essentials:

  • As noted, PC only (Windows XP or Vista). Sorry Mac and Linux.
  • It’s available to all countries except Spain and Germany.
  • All video is 384 x 288 with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The service works with Windows Media Player 10 or 11 only.
  • Matches from eight courts can be watched live by streaming to your PC. Downloadable matches will be available after midnight British Standard Time, which is 7 p.m. Eastern Daily Time in the U.S.
  • Wimbledon Live also includes match highlights, interviews, and archive footage.
See also: Where to watch NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL online and MLB.com’s At Bat brings real-time game stats and immediate video highlights to iPhone

wimbledon liveWimbledon Live is great news not just for tennis fans but sports fans worldwide. It’s another example of sports leagues and major events broadcasting not only on the networks (which pay big bucks for the rights) but also via streaming on the Web. This is important for fans who cannot watch matches at work during the day, who miss live matches on TV, or whose DVR fails to record.

NBC Sports, ESPN, and the USGA streamed the U.S. Open playoff between Tigers Woods and Rocco Mediate live on the Web, for free, with a huge payoff. NBC Sports said the Monday playoff in mid-June draw 9.1 million page views, 2 million unique visitors, and 1.5 million video streams (averaging 17 minutes per stream). NewTeeVee notes that the USGA drew even bigger numbers: 16 million visits, 3.5 million uniques, and 2.5 million streams.

Back in March, CBS Sports streamed the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament live, generating some $21 million from the event overall. That’s not a lot of cash necessarily, but CBS and the NCAA earned serious kuddos for streaming all games live, for free, which we expect they will do again.

We wish Wimbledon Live was free like March Madness and the U.S. Open, but it’s a start and another league/association that realizes the importance of streaming live events on the Web at the same time as traditional broadcasts.


last100 is edited by technology journalist and consultant Steve O'Hear. Aside from founding last100, Steve has written for numerous publications, including The Guardian, ZDNet, ReadWriteWeb and Macworld, and also wrote and directed the Silicon Valley documentary, In Search of the Valley.

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  • Nathan
    I actually work for MediaZone and we are super excited for Wimbledon this year. We work hard to bring the best tennis has to offer and we love to know what you think. Please let us know how it works for you!
  • Steve O'Hear, editor
    @ Nathan

    Thanks for stopping by! Keep up the good work.
  • jwd
    Well, paid $25 for Wimbledon Live and they cut off the men's finals at 2-2 in the fifth set. Went to a friend's house and watched on TiVO. I've asked for my money back, let's see if they do the right thing.
  • Steve O'Hear, editor
    @jwd

    I'm sure they will but if not, let us know and we'll pile the pressure on.
  • dale walker
    i used this for the year and now they have stopped it in december. what would it take for them to start it again? you just can't find matches other than the finals and i loved these because they had the doubles including mixed doubles and they showed the warmups and change overs as well as the matches. please encourage them to do it again. i will pay more - like maybe 39.95 per year in order to have this available.
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