England footy web broadcaster to monitor customers

The internet company broadcasting England's match against Ukraine tomorrow has warned it will be checking whether customers are using the stream for residential or business use.

Pubs will not be visited for checks, but web outfit Perform said it will centrally monitor the IP address - a unique number that every computer connected to the internet has - of customers.

Licensees are unable to show the World Cup qualifier because Perform says the game must not be screened for "any commercial purposes whatsoever".

The only exception is Odeon cinemas, which won the right to screen the game at its venues.

Andrew Croker, Perform's executive chairman, said: "There is no manual policing for this match but we are policing by monitoring the IP address to establish whether the stream is for customer/residential or business use."

Asked why pubs could not show the game, he said: "The existing infrastructure in pubs is not compatible with an internet broadcast.

"We looked into the option of streaming into pubs but decided that this is not currently viable."

Fans wanting the game were being charged £4.99 earlier this week, but will have to pay £11.99 if they leave it until tomorrow.

Some England followers have reportedly not been happy that the game was internet-only.

But Croker said: "We are very encouraged by the response of the England fans to our offering.

"Cleary there is a desire to watch the newly qualified England team in competitive action and furthermore there is a lot of support for our pioneering venture."

The match will be shown at www.ukrainevengland.com.