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Business of TV Sport
Sportel Monaco 2011

Conn-X’s big game disaster

Greek football club Olympiacos’ third-round Europa League qualifying match away to Maccabi Tel Aviv was shown by commercial broadcaster Skai, after IPTV broadcaster Conn-X experienced technical problems in the run-up to the game because of the high demand on its network.
Conn-X, which had paid a reported €300,000 ($396,000) for the match, was deluged with complaints. It now has 30,000 subscribers but hopes to increase that significantly in the coming months.

Skai, in which Olympiacos’ new owner, shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis, has a 25-per-cent stake, picked up the broadcast five minutes into the match. Marinakis bought a 67-per-cent stake in Olympiacos in June for €50 million. Skai’s coverage attracted 448,000 viewers and an 18-per-cent audience share.