Blues to feature in live broadband games next season

In the Box - behind new site offering live games

The Cumbrians will be part of a revolution in internet broadcasting next season.

The Nationwide Conference has become the first British league to sign up for live streaming of games over the net, and all matches will be available free of charge.
The service, provided by In the Box media and powered by BT's RichMedia network, will initially kick off on August 14 with highlights of selected games, available within an hour of the final whistle.

Subscribers with broadband internet access will be able to watch the action via their web browsers.

However later in the season live coverage of games will commence, and the Conference's commercial manager Jo Adams believes this will help sell the league to a much wider audience.

"It's hopefully going to make Conference football available to everybody," she said. "There's no conflict between being a Chelsea fan, for example, and following a team in the Conference. We hope that the site can make people aware of football outside the top flight."

The cost of the broadcasts will be about £100 a month and it will be covered by advertising and associated offers.

Sky TV meanwhile will continue to offer live coverage via their Sports channels of 10 Conference games next season.

The In the Box deal though will cover up to 300 games live over the next three years.

The site will go live in August at www.conferencefootball.tv

Lee signs on for two more years

Lee Andrews provided the club with a major boost today when he announced he had signed a new two-year deal with the Cumbrians.

The 21-year-old defender told reporters he had turned down a better offer from another club, who were not identified.

Manager Paul Simpson is now waiting on a decision from striker Andy Preece who has been offered a new contract to keep him at Brunton Park next season. The 37-year-old has also applied for the vacant  manager's position at Blackpool.


Darlo decision day is May 28

Darlington will learn of their fate on May 28 when creditors vote to accept an offer of just £150,000 from the club's prospective new owners, the Sterling Consortium.

The true size of the club's debts are in dispute, with former chairman George Reynolds claiming upwards of £20 million is owed to him, a figure that may be as low as £5.6m in reality.

Reynolds also faces bankruptcy proceedings after Sterling took him to court to recover a loan they made to him last year to help the club complete its new stadium, which was formerly known as the Reynolds Arena.

If Darlington are unable to prove to the Football League that they can fulfill their fixtures next season, the club will be thrown out of the competition and the likelihood is that United would be allowed back in. However the league have yet to confirm the exact position with regard to the size of next year's Third Division.

Picture from News & Star

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