Summary of live streamed/broadcast athletics in 2019
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No probs. I enjoy doing it (most of the time!) and also it helps me keep on top of what's going on in athletics. -
LuckySpikes - Thank you for doing this , It really is a helpful listing to find things that I would want to watch. -
The Good and the bad of Live Streaming athletics
THUMBS UP!- Japan - The Japanese Federation really have stepped it up this year, streaming many of their best track & field meetings on their YouTube channel. However, a bit of a gripe - they don't have an on-screen clock, although they do show results boards or graphics after races. Also, they have a load of road races broadcast on TV (and a few more aren't accessible to us because they're on regional channels without an internet stream.) The Japanese really know how to cover road racing on TV - graphics with splits (often km splits not just 5km splits), time and distance gaps, plentiful athlete info and also a good balance of camera time on different parts of the field. The rest of the world's broadcasters really should watch and learn from them.
- Italy - the Italian Federation (via their YouTube channel) and RaiSport both continue to do a terrific job of streaming/broadcasting loads of their international & major domestic meetings, road races and cross country.
- Finland - The national broadcaster YLE do a great job of showing their 8 or 9 top outdoor meetings every year (including a couple of throws meetings). Excellent broadcasts too.
THUMBS DOWN!- Belgium - outside of the Brussels DL and the Liege & Heusden-Zolder meetings there appears to be no streams/broadcasts for the 8 or 9 outdoor meetings that go under the Flanders Cup banner. A shame because 4 or 5 of them such as Kortrijk, Oordegem & Ninove attract good international fields.
- USA - too many of their meetings & races are on subscription channels/websites not available to stream for free.
- Norway - outside of the Oslo DL they've started putting their 2 other 'big' meetings - the Clean Air Games & the Trond Mohn Games - on a subscription TV channel. Boo to that!
- Any track & field meeting stream that doesn't show an on-screen clock during races. I mean, how difficult is it to put on screen a little inset of the stadium clock like Vinco do?
- Two things about many road race websites ... 1) Failing to provide elite startlists. I get that they probably see their main job as making money from the "hobby-joggers" and that info about the elites is of niche interest, but it's still part of the race. Also, 2) making you jump through hoops to find out what time the race actually starts! That's key information, surely?
So, that's it! Any comments are welcome. Also, if you have any questions such as, "what was the German long/mid distance meeting that was streamed?", then do ask away (I still have the file of the info I compiled these stats from.)
Finally, if you have any suggestions about how I can improve the streaming links/details or make them easier to read/navigate then please let me know here.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will already have seen that this year I have added info about what number edition of the meeting/race it is. Just interesting information sometimes, I thought.Last edited by LuckySpikes; 16-01-20, 14:11.Leave a comment:
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MOUNTAIN RUNNING - 2 total
WMRA World Championships
European Championships
Both broadcasts were very poor. The European one was pretty much just a finish-line camera and the World one in Argentina was a complete shambles (the torrential rain there probably didn't help with transmission signals etc).
A shame because I have seen footage on YouTube showing mountain running being covered pretty well.Leave a comment:
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RACE WALKING - 8 standalone RW events total*
* plus race walks as part of other events
IAAF Race Walking Challenge events
6 of the 12:
Asian 20km Championships (JPN)
Lazaro Cardenas (MEX)
European RW Cup (LTU)
La Coruna (ESP)
Oceania 10,000m Championships (AUS)
World Championships (QAT)
European Permit & European Cup
3 of the 3:
Dudinska (SVK)
Podebrady (CZE)
European RW Cup (LTU)
Others (2)
Spanish 20km Championships
All Japan 50km
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As well as standalone race walking meets we had broadcasts/streams from the World Championships, South American Championships, Universiade and European U23s and U20s although it was disappointing that the race walks were not streamed at the Pan American Games, especially since South & Central America are rising forces in RW.
Of all the athletics disciplines race walking is the one where the quality of the coverage varies the most.
Outside of the major championships the best coverage this year was the European Cup and the always very good Podebrady stream.
Meanwhile, the streams of the Lazaro Cardenas and Dudinska events were very, very poor - pretty much just finish-line cameras and not watchable.
The others are somewhere in the middle - OK coverage made easier to follow if you know some of the leading athletes or have startlists with bib-numbers to hand.
For 2020 I'm going to try harder with Rio Maior (one of the RW Challenge legs) and also we might get some RW broadcasts from China now that I've figured out the Chinese streaming situation a bit more. That would be welcome since they are such a powerhouse in RW.Last edited by LuckySpikes; 16-01-20, 14:09.Leave a comment:
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OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD MEETINGS - 208 total
14 of the 14 Diamond League meetings (obvs!)
7 of the 9 IAAF World Challenge meetings - not Kingston (pay-per-view) or Nanjing
3 of the 3 European Premium Permit meetings
2 of the 2 European Special Premium meetings (Filothei & Athens Street PV)
25 of the 27 European Classic Permit meetings - not the Clean Air Games in Oslo (behind a paywall) or the Irene Szewinska Memorial in Lublin (somehow I missed that one!) There was due to be 29 Classic meetings but 2 were cancelled - Guadalajara & Tubingen. The latter experienced heaving flooding in the area on the day of the meeting.
19 of the 24 European Area Permit meetings - not Montenegro or Tblisi (difficult to find out; don't know if they're streamed/broadcast), Wroclaw (deliberately omitted due to poor fields), CITIUS Bern (behind a paywall) or Schifflange, LUX (not streamed; a shame because this is a good little meeting)
Regular one-day* meetings (103)
* a few take place over 2 days- 43 of the Top 50 one-day meetings as per https://www.worldathletics.org/recor...y=score&page=1
- 64 of the Top 100 one-day meetings
The top 2 one-day meetings not covered in 2019 were the Nanjing World Challenge and the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston.
The other 5 we're missing from the Top 50 are all in the USA and all are either behind paywalls or on channels inaccessible to us such as ESPN+.
Italy 10, Finland 8, Australia 8, Japan 7, France 7 (2 were highlights), Great Britain 8, Sweden 6, Poland 5, Switzerland 5, Germany 4, USA 3, Spain 3, Belgium 3, China 2, Czech Republic 2, Greece 2, Hungary 2, Ireland 2, Grenada 1, Brazil 1, Qatar 1, Austria 1, Latvia 1, Romania 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 1, Slovakia 1, Morocco 1, Denmark 1, Portugal 1, Monaco 1, Croatia 1, Belarus 1, Turkey 1
Jumps meetings (8)
5 Pole Vault
2 Combination of events
1 High Jump
Germany 2, Poland 2, Austria 1, Greece 1, Italy 1, Switzerland 1
Throws meetings (10)
4 General Throws
3 Javelin
2 Shot Put
1 Hammer
Germany 4, Poland 2, Finland 2, Slovakia 1, Croatia 1
Combined Events meetings (5 standalone CE meetings plus CE as part of other events)
7 of the 9 IAAF Combined Events Challenge meetings - not Multistars (Lana, ITA) or the USA Championships (except a few minutes highlights)
The 5 standalone events streamed were:
Gotzis (AUT)
Arona (ESP)
Decastar (FRA)
Ratingen (GER)
European Combined Events Team Championships Super League (UKR)
Sprints meetings (5)
Germany 2, Italy 1, USA 1, Japan 1
Mid/Long Distance meetings (23)
Great Britain 7, Japan 6, USA 5, Australia 2, Italy 1, Germany 1, Canada 1
National Championships (19)
15 Senior & 4 Age Group
World/Continental/Regional Championships (22)
Asian Championships
CARIFTA Games
IAAF World Relays
South American Championships
European Champion Clubs Cup Seniors Group A
Baltic Team Championships
European Games
Oceania Championships
Balkan U20 Championships
European Combined Events Team Championships Super League
Universiade
European U23 Championships
European U20 Championships
European Youth Olympic Festival
Pan American Games
European Team Championships Super League
European Team Championships 1st League
European Team Championships 2nd League
African Games (highlights)
World Championships
Military World Games
Southeast Asian Games
US collegiate/High School (14)
2 NCAA national championships (D1 & D2)
7 NCAA conference championships
2 NCAA invitational meetings
1 High School national championship
2 High School invitational meetingsLast edited by LuckySpikes; 16-01-20, 14:07.Leave a comment:
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ROAD RACES - 126 total
not including Marathons at major athletics championships
Marathons (55)
44 of the 85 IAAF Label marathons including all 6 of the World Marathon Majors
Japan 8, USA 5, Germany 5, Spain 4, China 4, Netherlands 3, UAE 2, Austria 2, Poland 2, Canada 2, Australia 2, Mexico 2, Portugal 2, Italy 2, India 1, Turkey 1, France 1, Great Britain 1, Czech Republic 1, Denmark 1, South Africa 1, Slovakia 1, Ireland 1, Slovenia 1
Half Marathons (26)
15 of the 29 IAAF Label half marathons
Czech Republic 5, Great Britain 4, USA 2, Italy 2, Netherlands 2, Portugal 2, Poland 2, Germany 1, Sweden 1, Belarus 1, Deenmark 1, Spain 1, Thailand 1
10km (14)
5 of the 13 IAAF Label 10km races
USA 4, Great Britain 2, Spain 2, France 2, Canada 1, Italy 1, South Africa 1, Czech Republic 1
Mile (6)
Spain 3, Great Britain 1, USA 1, Australia 1
An odd quirk of athletics - Spain are really into their road miles with probably around 12-15 such meetings being held there over the course of the year.
Ekidens (2)
Japan 2
Already we've had 3 Ekidens streamed in 2020 and expect several more this year - one this coming weekend and then several more from October onwards.
Other distances (23)
6 of the 9 IAAF Label races at other distances
USA 7, Netherlands 4, Italy 3, Switzerland 3, France 2, Spain 1, Australia 1, Great Britain 1, Brazil 1
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Overall, I expect our % coverage for road races (especially the IAAF/WA Label races) to increase fairly significantly in 2020 because:- I have recently found an English language TV guide for CCTV-5 on which many of the Chinese marathons are broadcast. CCTV-5 is easy to watch with a VPN or the Hola browser extension.
- (For the time being?) it is now possible to watch TDP in Spain and Rai Sport in Italy directly using a VPN or Hola. For much of 2019 broadcasts on these channels were difficult/impossible to stream after the loss of a couple of good 'unofficial' streaming providers.
- Road race websites can be frustratingly bad at providing streaming/broadcast info and several times I've found out after the fact that a race was streamed live. Presuming the same platforms/channels are used in 2020, those races will be added to our roster.
The quality of the 'unofficial' Japanese streams also seems to have improved greatly of late. It used to be very hit and miss regarding how much lagging/buffering you would get but I've experienced very little of that over the last few months.
Main areas of difficulty regarding road race streams:- Streaming of the 4 or 5 IAAF Label races in India is now problematic. Most of these races used to be streamed directly on the race websites but now they're broadcast by Star Sports for which there isn't currently a way of reliable streaming. A shame because these are usually very high quality races.
- Far East countries such as Korea (South & North) and Taipei where there are several IAAF Label races. I need to employ more detective work here!
- There's a few African IAAF Label races (Morocco, Nigeria, Gabon) that are difficult to find streams/broadcasts for.
Last edited by LuckySpikes; 16-01-20, 14:14.Leave a comment:
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CROSS COUNTRY - 32 total
IAAF Permit Meetings
7 of the 9:
Campaccio (ITA)
Elgoibar (ESP)
Cross de Italica (ESP)
Cinque Mulini (ITA)
Almond Blossom (POR)
Burgos (ESP)
Alcobendas (ESP)
Missing Antrim and Soria which didn't materialise. There were also problems with the Soria meeting in 2018 with a different stream provider.
European Permit Meetings
3 of the 8:
Great Stirling (GBR)
Cross della Vallagarina (ITA)
Lidingöloppet (SWE)
Missed one after the fact - Aranda de Duero (ESP)
Others (4)
Zornotza (Amorebieta) (ESP)
San Sebastian (ESP)
Valmusone - Italian Euro Trials (ITA)
Venta de Baños (ESP)
Championships (18)
World
European
European Champion Clubs Cup
Scottish
Australian
6 x NCAA D1 Conference
2 x NCAA D3 Conference
1 x NCAA D2 Regional
2 x NCAA D3 Regional
2 x US High School NationalLast edited by LuckySpikes; 16-01-20, 13:25.Leave a comment:
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INDOOR MEETINGS - 52 total- 6 of the 6 World Indoor Tour meetings
- 12 of the 16 European Indoor Permit meetings - missing Ghent, Linz, Istanbul & All Star Perche (I later saw that Istanbul had been streamed)
France 8 (5 were half-hour highlights), Germany 4, USA 2, Poland 2, Latvia 1, Sweden 1, Spain 1, Czech Republic 1, Ireland 1, Great Britain 1, Serbia 1, Belarus 1, Italy 1, Norway 1, Slovakia 1, Iceland 1
Specialist indoor (8)
3 High Jump
2 Combined Events
2 Pole Vault
1 Vertical jumps
Czech Republic 3, Great Britain 1, Sweden 1, Germany 1, Estonia 1, Poland 1
Indoor Championships (16)
2 Regional/Continental (European + Balkan)
9 National
5 collegiate/ US High SchoolLast edited by LuckySpikes; 16-01-20, 13:24.Leave a comment:
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Summary of live streamed/broadcast athletics in 2019
In 2019, over in the Live Streaming Links thread, I posted streaming/broadcast info for 428 different athletics events that were free to watch. Events where the linked streams I provided did not materialise (maybe 5 or 6) are not included in this total.
It probably would have been possible to get very close to 500 events (or even over) but I think there's likely no interest in watching the likes of Slovakian national league matches, the Portuguese Indoor Championships, the Andalucian U18 Championships or marathons won in 2:15.
I'm not driven by reaching a certain number of streams per year and will always have the quality of an event in mind when selecting what links to post.
In the following few posts I will break down the numbers by the type of athletics event/meeting as well as highlighting some plus points about live streaming links prospects for 2020 as well as the good and the bad of live streams in 2019.
Starting with major championships ...
World Athletics Series
3 out of 3 streamed/broadcast:
World Cross Country
World Relays
World Championships
Continental/Regional (senior) Indoor & Outdoor track & field Championships
11 out of 15:
Balkan Indoor
European Indoor
Asian Outdoor
Oceania Outdoor
South American Outdoor
Universiade
Pan American Games
African Games (highlights)
Pacific Games
World Military Games
Southeast Asian Games
Missed:
Asian Indoor
Arab Championships
Games of the Small States of Europe
Balkan Outdoor (had Bulgarian TV links but they didn't work with a VPN/Hola; this year's championships are in Romania so we should be able to watch)
European Athletics Championships/Cups
14 out of 14:
Club Champions Cup Cross Country
Indoor Championships
Throwing Cup
Race Walking Cup
Combined Events Team Championships Super League
10,000m Cup
U23 Championships
U20 Championships
Club Champions Cup Senior
Mountain Running Championships (coverage was v poor though)
Team Championships (I listed streams/broadcasts for the Super League and 1st & 2nd Leagues but the 3rd League was also streamed)
The Match: Europe vs USA
Club Champions Cup U20
Cross Country Championships
OK, onto the breakdown by type of event ...Last edited by LuckySpikes; 16-01-20, 13:40.Tags: None
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