P2P Sports: What Can Be Done about It?

An article that was recently published in the New York Times talked about how pirated sports clips and photographs are no longer that big an issue. It's all about watching online through third-party P2P networks.

For this writer, watching sports on a laptop or a web-enabled console is not a new phenomenon. It has been well known since at least last year that there are websites where one can watch a Formula One race online and without commercials.

These sites are considered illegal and are usually shut down once they become well known and the people at FOM—the commercial rights holder of all Formula One races—get wind of this. However, with every website shut down, two more will come along to take its place, and thus the circle continues.

Major league sports, motorsports, and other sporting leagues in the top level are a business first. Their main aim is to make money through entertainment and that is by watching the best of the best in their respective vocations play.

The Formula One scenario is a prime example of this issue. Right now, there is no official mainstream way to watch an F1 race online so people will find ways to watch it online. This is illegal because the content is free whereas this entertainment is supposed to pay the salaries at FOM.

While it is this writer's belief that watching a race online and free is a great thing, one has to consider an official way that can increase the ease for the viewer, who should not have to search constantly for a new host.

One way to do this would be to follow the example of Major League Baseball which has a subscription service to watch all 2430 MLB games—an entire season's worth—for a set price of $79.95.

In the world of motorsport, NASCAR has been using the Trackpass program, which has increased the interactivity between fan and driver/team. It is another subscription-based program priced at $33.99 for six months.

While many may not warm up to the idea of paying a subscription fee for 18 or so races per year in Formula One, another idea is to use something that was used for the Race of Champions back in December as well as the Red Bull Air Race and other Red Bull-sponsored sports—freecaster.tv. There are also talks to have Le Mans races broadcast as well, but that's a rumour that has neither been confirmed nor denied.

Freecaster has been broadcasting extreme sporting events with the occasional commercial blurb shown at the bottom of the screen. As well as seeing the event live, one could watch the replay of the event at any time. This is convenient, as the viewer would not need to wake up at odd hours if he or she is in a different geographical region.

Overall, the demand for online videos is rising as our internet connections become faster and more powerful than ever before. While we shift away from television to a more mobile method, we have to resort to a less than legal method in order to be entertained. What would be ways to allow F1 races as well as other sports to be broadcast legally?