World Cup...Have your habits changed?

[LionCity]

Dear SQTalkers,

This is virgin jungle for me...doing it without a world cup subscription due to the crazy rates we have to pay either Starhub or SingTel. I blame it more on Singtel for putting in a ridiculous bid for the English Premier league that caused this calamity in the first place. !@#$%^&*.

No more Singtel or Starhub considerations for a mobile set. Will stick still to M1!

Rumoured to be SGD 400 Million for the EPL. Good footballers are now paid obscene pay scales and that will put SQ's pricey R Class to shame. That is about SGD 100 per capita in Singapore to watch the EPL!

Heard that entertainment places are paying close to 3,000 Dollars per TV Set and nearly 5K for a larger screen to telecast the present 2010 world cup.

Naturally FIFA will follow suit with the scent of the money. My friends in Vietnam don't even pay anything.

Managed to catch the free telecast of the opening match. Also glimpses of the Korean - Greek match at a PUB. But it was not the same as watching in the comfort of a home.

The positives are that I don't have to wake up at some ungodly hour at 3 am or 4 am to watch twenty-two boys chasing after the ball with a MIB chasing after them. No more panda eyes at work or waking up the family with my shoutings.

[Kyo]

I decided to stream it (but that doesn't compare to the HD quality that was available free in the opening match though)...

Too many greedy pigs skimming the cream off the top, I reckon...

[Nick C]

It's free down under

[jjpb3]

Other than watching the games over the internet rather than on TV, no change really. In the first round, I'm only going to watch games involving England or one of the teams who play an exuberant style of football (Brazil, Spain, Argentina). I'll start paying more attention (and fretting about work interfering with my viewing) when the Round of 16 begins.

[MAN Flyer]

Habits changed ? Not in England they haven't ; same old same old.

I find that I can't enjoy the world cup these days, I get too screwed up when we play. That's not enjoyable.

We landed at MAN last night at 1810. No checked luggage - she's even coming around to the idea, finally - so on the motorway by 1825. In the boozer by 1915, off to a great start then another England goalkeeping classic to go alongside the other howlers of recent times.

It ruined the mood of the whole evening, and as usual the 20 england managers amongst us started the immediate inquisition - overpaid/over-rated ***** being one of the usual comments. I went home an hour after the match I was that depressed with the anti climax. When you can't beat the Yanks at Football it's time to give up.....

I also decided to stop watching the TV today after seeing the 48th 'panel of experts' disecting last nights game, saying who should have been picked instead, what's up with Rooney etc. I'm not reading any papers or watching SkySports News again until Friday, it's incessant. Thank God we are busy at work to take my mind of it.

If they go and hammer Algeria it will go full circle ; 'We'll win this', 'there's nobody to worry about until Brazil in the semis' etc etc. Oh to be an England fan, it's feast or famine with no middle ground. It's certainly not enjoyable.

[Lobster]

For me the big change is that the games are much later in the evening and of course the last games each day are in the middle of the night. So I think I will only be staying up for the late games when it is England playing.

[kapitan]

In Singapore, for these first round matches, you can watch them off RCTI channel, beamed from batam/bintang, I am fortunate to have a central antenna that could recieve the signals. But they only broadcast the 10 pm and 2.30 am matches, ... I watch the 10 pm matches, but the 2.30 am ones, the TV was watching me sleep....

For the 7.30 pm match, I watch them over the internet, with a free TVU player sw,.... on a 27" iMac...


there, the greeks got hammered 2-0 by Korea... sorry N_Architect

[9V-JKL]

No, F1 still rules

[Kyo]

Yes, TVU and TVAnts is the only solution as I can't get that Batam signal

I had pretty poor quality, the ball was a white blob...

[benlee]

Dear SQTalkers,

This is virgin jungle for me...doing it without a world cup subscription due to the crazy rates we have to pay either Starhub or SingTel. I blame it more on Singtel for putting in a ridiculous bid for the English Premier league that caused this calamity in the first place. !@#$%^&*.

In Jakarta, we get to watch if for FREE And I also have a DVD Recorder to tape down those late night matches so that I can catch them the next day. But I'll definite stay up to watch the semi-finals/finals.

Nothing much change, except that if I'm travelling, I refuse to stay at any hotels that don't have WorldCup broadcast.

[LionCity]

In Jakarta, we get to watch if for FREE And I also have a DVD Recorder to tape down those late night matches so that I can catch them the next day. But I'll definite stay up to watch the semi-finals/finals.

Nothing much change, except that if I'm travelling, I refuse to stay at any hotels that don't have WorldCup broadcast.

Singapore must be one of the very few countries that you need to pay to watch the World Cup. Probably the most expensive country in the world to watch the World Cup. Anyone knows any other country that cost more to watch the World Cup?

[Pinkfloyd]

Singapore must be one of the very few countries that you need to pay to watch the World Cup. Probably the most expensive country in the world to watch the World Cup. Anyone knows any other country that cost more to watch the World Cup?

Iran maybe?

Actually a country like Norway, known for being an uber expensive country to live in, has most of the main matches on regular TV, with the rest on the regular cable package (which most people have anyway), hence no additional charges.

How are the coffee shops faring this year by the way? Most of them still showing the soccer matches (have not been back since CNY)?

[SilverChris]

I'm glad I'm back in KUL now - All 64 matches in amazing HD! (Of course, you still need a HDTV) with Astro

[LionCity]

Iran maybe?

Actually a country like Norway, known for being an uber expensive country to live in, has most of the main matches on regular TV, with the rest on the regular cable package (which most people have anyway), hence no additional charges.

How are the coffee shops faring this year by the way? Most of them still showing the soccer matches (have not been back since CNY)?

I read in the local papers that the coffee shop association indicated take up rate is only 20%. It is just too expensive and there is limited returns from the fans. There is apparently a limit how many customers can take. There are issues with how much each customer is willing to pay...which can be just a can of coke.

[Pinkfloyd]

I read in the local papers that the coffee shop association indicated take up rate is only 20%. It is just too expensive and there is limited returns from the fans. There is apparently a limit how many customers can take. There are issues with how much each customer is willing to pay...which can be just a can of coke.

Sad man... Watching soccer at the local coffechop is the corner-stone of life in SIN... Where else can you put your leg up, shout abuses at the referee (apparently calling him a piece of wood for some reason "kayu" as well as accusing him of being an offshore fish farm "kelong") AND put ice in your beer without others thinking you are insane??