If WFH — Watching From Home — becomes the norm, stadiums won’t be needed.
By ET Bureau | Updated:
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Streaming live to individual homes — initially free and eventually pay-to-view — may bring in the moolah but the lack of actual crowds will be a dampener for players, as nobody wants to play to silent, empty stands.
Sportspeople and spectators would agree that the ‘atmosphere’ within a stadium during a match is almost as important as the game itself. But given that social distancing precautions are likely to preclude any sort of crowd-gathering events for quite a while thanks to Covid-19, live audiences may become a thing of the past. Streaming live to individual homes — initially free and eventually pay-to-view — may bring in the moolah but the lack of actual crowds will be a dampener for players, as nobody wants to play to silent, empty stands.
One sportsman has described it as watching ‘TV with a broken sound system’. In that context, the recent initiative in Taiwan to partially ‘people’ a baseball stadium with mannequins, cardboard cutouts and robot drummers with rousing messages on LED displays could not have fooled anyone. That’s literally baseball for dummies. Maybe if they add canned crowd noises at the next game, the effect may be more realistic.
Adding actual faces to the cutouts — for a price, of course — can also boost revenues and give fans a feeling of being there in paper if not in person. But as teams in the Bundesliga also prepare to play to bare stands next month, it may be germane to consider that if WFM — Watch From Home — becomes a habit for too many people, repurposing huge sports arenas may become necessary.
From Olympics To Football & Cricket: Sports 2020 Stands Cancelled
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The summer of sport is in jeopardy. As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the globe, organisers are cutting their losses and either cancelling or postponing marquee sporting events till the public health crisis abates.
The Tokyo Olympics have been postponed.
Here’s a roundup of all the major sporting events that have been upended by coronavirus.
The summer of sport is in jeopardy. As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the globe, organisers are cutting their losses and either cancelling or postponing marquee sporting events till the publ..
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The Indian Premier League, which was slated to begin on March 29, has postponed the start of its thirteenth season to April 15. England called off its tour of Sri Lanka. The English Cricket Board said that the decision went “beyond cricket.”
India and South Africa cancelled international matches. It was initially decided that games would be played behind closed doors. Member of the South African team are self-isolating after it was revealed that they stayed in the same hotel in Lucknow as Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor, who tested positive for the coronavirus.
The ICC has not amended its Future Tours Programme, but may be forced to do so for bilateral series scheduled to take place in the coming months.
The Indian Premier League, which was slated to begin on March 29, has postponed the start of its thirteenth season to April 15. England called off its tour of Sri Lanka. The English Cricket Board sai..
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International tournaments like Euro 2020 and the Copa America have been moved to the summer of 2021. Club football has also been disrupted. The Premier League suspended games on March 13 after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi contracted Covid-19.
All other major European leagues like Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga, and Italy’s Serie A have been suspended. All Champions League and Europa League games have been postponed indefinitely. Football leagues in Asia and Latin America have also been cancelled. The Indian Super League final was played behind closed doors in Goa.
International tournaments like Euro 2020 and the Copa America have been moved to the summer of 2021. Club football has also been disrupted. The Premier League suspended games on March 13 after Arsena..
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The French Open, which was scheduled to be held between May 24 and June 7, has be postponed to late September, meaning that it will happen a week after the US Open. Meanwhile, top ATP events like the Miami Open and the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, were cancelled.
The sport’s governing body said that all tour event stand cancelled till April 27. The situation will be reevaluated then. WTA events have also been impacted. The Fed Cup will not happen as planned in Budapest, in April, as will other tournaments.
The French Open, which was scheduled to be held between May 24 and June 7, has be postponed to late September, meaning that it will happen a week after the US Open. Meanwhile, top ATP events like the..
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The NBA suspended its season on March 11 after an unnamed Utah Jazz player was found to have tested positive for the coronavirus, barely moments before his team took on Oklahoma City in a league game.
This decision comes in the wake of individual teams like the Golden State Warriors barring fans from attending home games. The college basketball season in the United States has been put on hold. Europe’s top competition, the Europleague, announced that no games will be played till April 11.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last week that there is likelihood of the season being cancelled, and that the suspension would probably last for “at least 30 days.”
The NBA suspended its season on March 11 after an unnamed Utah Jazz player was found to have tested positive for the coronavirus, barely moments before his team took on Oklahoma City in a league game..
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The Australian Grand Prix , the season-opening race of this year’s Formula One calendar, was cancelled. Subsequent races in China, Bahrain, and Vietnam were postponed. The season will now start in May at the earliest. The FIA said that it is evaluating the situation, and that it will take a decision on whether to truncate the season in the coming weeks. NASCAR postponed races in Atlanta and Miami. IndyCar racing has been suspended till May.
The Australian Grand Prix , the season-opening race of this year’s Formula One calendar, was cancelled. Subsequent races in China, Bahrain, and Vietnam were postponed. The season will now start in Ma..
