On Sunday, I finally chose a tablet. I had been circling what marketers would refer to as the ‘purchase funnel’ for a while, waiting for the Android market to mature (and not screw things up). After playing around with one of Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 10.1 models for the best part of an hour – I’m thorough – I decided that this was probably the one for me. And I guess that Apple thought enough other people might reach that conclusion too, because they slapped Samsung with an injunction so hard that it put a freeze on sales across Europe. So, despite on-foot reconnaissance of the local stores, I came back empty-handed.

First world problems aside – thanks a bundle, Apple! Especially as it has transpired that their claims seem to be dubious at best. The trouble is, though, that this is just the most public execution in a series of behind-the-scenes assassinations in the tech world. It’s to do with patents, and the trolls that use them.

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Would you have preferred a ‘foul play’ headline? How about something with ‘tackle’ in it? Right then.

So, coverage of the game we all love is in danger. You may have already noticed that the beginning of the season actually had relatively little in the way of fanfare. This is due to talks between the somewhat Mafioso footballing bodies of the Premier and Football Leagues, and the media body (papers and agencies) breaking down.

So what’s the rub? In short, media rights. Clubs and the Leagues want as much control as possible over what gets broadcast, both through traditional and digital channels. Everything from simply showing the match down to surprisingly granulated issues which, to the outsider, might seem baffling. The deal even extends, for example, to how often pundits on pages like the BBC’s sports liveblog can respond to fans. From a commenter:

For example, unless a newspaper (national or local) pays about £2,000, they can only post nine updates during a match, in specified three minute windows. That means you can’t say anything until between the fourth and seventh minutes, and if someone scores in the eighth minute, you have to wait until the 14th minute to report it – pretty useless for “live” coverage.

Crazy, right?

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