Saturday's World Cup qualifier away to Ukraine will become the first England game unavailable on traditional TV.
The international fixture was originally scheduled to be broadcast by Setanta - an Irish TV broadcaster that collapsed back in June. However, with England having already qualified for the 2010 World Cup, broadcasters such as BBC, ITV and Five are believed to have been unwilling to pay for rights offered by International football agency Kentaro.
Consequently, the game will now be broadcast live over the internet on a pay-per-view basis at the hands of Perform Media Group, a specialist in monetising sport and entertainment rights in digital media.
The weekend's game will be available at UkraineVEngland.com, with coverage starting at 16:45. Viewers who sign up before Thursday will be charged £4.99. Prices rise to £9.99 for those who subscribe on Thursday and Friday, while match-day pricing rests at £11.99.
Despite an uproar from England fans, Football Association spokesman Adrian Bevington has stated that the situation is "not in our control", adding that "these are the rights of the Ukrainian FA and the agents they've appointed to sell them".
With the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) recently revealing that the Internet has now overtaken TV as the UK's biggest single advertising medium, perhaps web-exclusive football is a sign of the future.
Will you be tuning in? Share your thoughts in the HEXUS.community forums.
