Soccer-Oceania club final showcases future of broadcasting

By Greg Stutchbury

WELLINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - The possible future of sports broadcasting will be further highlighted on Sunday when New Zealand's Auckland City and Waitakere United play the Oceania Champions League final, with the winner qualifying for the lucrative FIFA Club World Cup.

The match in Auckland, reduced to a winner-takes-all final after the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) streamlined the competition this year, will be broadcast not only on television but also live over the Internet on the OFC's YouTube channel.

"The coverage will be screened live in New Zealand ...while those living in other parts of the world will be able to watch live streaming of the match free of charge on the OFC Live YouTube channel," the OFC said in a statement on Friday.

Pacific Islands broadcasters would also carry the OFC feed on television, though New Zealand-based fans would be unable to access the YouTube feed.

Struggling to gain a foothold in the television market in rugby-mad New Zealand, OFC TV, a FIFA-backed project, came to public prominence about a year ago when the OFC were unable to reach agreement with a New Zealand-based broadcaster to cover the Oceania Nations Cup in the Solomon Islands.

Pacific Island broadcasters did show the tournament, while New Zealand fans were offered the opportunity to watch pay-per-view games on the OFC website.

The OFC broadcast two of this year's Champions League semi-finals over the Internet as they tested their technology and quality of feed.

OFC TV head Olivier Huc was unavailable for comment on Friday, though he told the New Zealand Herald newspaper earlier this month that the Champions League coverage was a precursor to the full launch of the OFC YouTube channel in July.

Despite the novel way of broadcasting the match, both teams have focussed on clinching the title which carries a lucrative $500,000 payday and qualification for the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco in December.

It is the first time that teams from the same country have contested the final.

Ramon Tribulietx's Auckland City will be seeking an Oceania record third successive trip to the FIFA tournament, which involves club champions from all six confederations.

The amateur side shocked world soccer when they made the quarter-finals of the tournament in 2009 and were competitive in their only match last year in Japan.

"Records and milestones are not really part of any talks we have within the squad - our focus is firmly on what we have to do as a team to get the right result," Tribulietx told the OFC website (www.oceaniafootball.com).

"We are convinced that we can win and will prepare to do the things we consider to be important in this game." (Editing by Patrick Johnston)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/soccer-oceania-club-final-showcases-future-broadcasting-062953156.html

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