In 1936 in Berlin, Germany you could go to a television viewing station and watch the Summer Olympics which were happening at the same moment just across town. This was the World’s first live broadcast of sport. Fast forward to today and you can not only watch a sporting event live from the other side of the World, but you can now watch from virtually any place you please. Since Ancient Greece and before, humans have been extremely passionate about sport and want to be able to view their favorite event, individual, and team in action. With today’s technology, the global network of sports can be easily reached by the occasional viewer to the sports fanatic who needs to see every minute of play.

The way we watched

Since that first broadcast in 1936, television coverage has expanded from the major networks of ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC airing their respective events over the airways through antennas.The viewer could tune in and watch their game. Eventually cable television came as a compliment and brought new networks to the table that could focus exclusively on sport such as ESPN. These new global networks of sports channels allowed many more events to be broadcasted increasing viewership substantially.

With antenna and cable viewing, the technology to record what was airing was available but you had to know ahead of time what you wanted to record and when and where it was on. Video-on-demand with cable was the first time you could click play on a sporting event without having to record it. This led to more and more sports channels and sports specific packages being offered by cable companies such as beIN Sports which was an additional package you could purchase through your cable provider.

At roughly the same time that this was happening, the internet was getting faster and faster and eventually allowed live video. This led to a whole new level of sports broadcasting. The first live, subscriber paid content on the internet in the US was MLB.TV. You could pay a fee and have access to games on your computer which eventually became anything from a tablet to a smart phone. Baseball was the first but soon after, other sports followed suit. As in cable, on-demand sports became a new, convenient way to enjoy what you liked without the drawbacks of where you were at game time.

How we watch today

All of the past technologies from antennas, to cable, to internet streaming has led to where we are today in that you still have all of those ways to watch but now it can be bundled in a way that is not only vast in what is covered but also in how easy it is to view. Sports broadcasting companies now offer bundles of sports that can be viewed through multiple medium with the same account. With bEIN Sportsyou can watch through your cable provider on a regular television along with having access to on-demand coverage. Where bEIN Sports gets crafty is that with the same account you can log-in on any other device such as a computer or smart-phone and have access to the same content. As long as you are connected to the internet you can watch their sports ranging from soccer (football), rally cross, tennis, rugby, and others along with other content as well.

With services like bEIN, the world of sports viewing has come an incredible distance. Being able to see from the other side of the world what is happening in a big game is incredible butnow being able to see virtually any game, anywhere, from wherever you are was unfathomable not that long ago. Being able to do this has also changed how we watch sport.

Social changes

When there were only a few televisions in town and a big sporting event was on, it would be a gathering with everyone wanting to watch and enjoy the company of others centered on the same thing. Even with televisions coming into the household, games still had a social aspect with family or friends getting together for the one game that interested all parties.

In the past, it was the big events such as the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Kentucky Derby, the Tour de France, which would bring people together to watch and enjoy. With the majority of the events now available on personal computers and mobile devices, getting together to watch a game is unnecessary and to some, even inconvenient. More and more people are watching TV on mobile devices because of its ease of access, popularity, and cost.

It is a no brainer to purchase one of the many applications that gives you such large access to sportparticularly compared to the costs of cable. The drawback though is that sports are becoming less and less of a social occasion. You can’t watch a game with all your friends on something the size of a flashcard. This is where using a provider such asbEIN Sports gives you the most freedom to be able to watch from your phone but also still be able to play the big game on a regular TV where all can enjoy together. How do you watch sports today compared to five years ago? Is it more enjoyable?