Soccer Extreme : England's World Cup international against Ukraine on Saturday evening - the first to be broadcast live only on the Internet - attracted around 250,000 subscribers for a total estimated viewing figure of 500,000, according to reports.The match, won 1-0 by Ukraine against an already-qualified England in Dnipropetrovsk, was not shown live on any UK television networks, although the BBC made a late decision to buy and screen the highlights. The BBC screened the highlights at 2215 BST on Saturday night
Considering that a live internet-only match is unlikely to be broadcast again for several years, the BBC is likely to attract criticism from fans who had already paid up to £11.99 to watch the match on the web.
The channel revealed during BBC One show Strictly Come Dancing on Satuday evening that highlights would be shown later that night.
The rights for the match had originally been bought by Setanta but after the company went into administration the owners, Kentaro, who bought the rights from the Ukraine FA, decided not to accept offers from other TV companies and instead made the game available only on line.
They charged almost £5 for subscriptions taken out before Thursday, rising to £11.99.
Kentaro have yet to confirm the number of subscribers. (telegraph)