Live or Near live tv ?

UEFA came several times under fire during the European Championships in June , after it was sending out pre-recorded scenes during the live coverage. The escalation came when a German fan was crying after Mario Balotelli's second goal, were it came out that in fact the scene was taken before the semifinal, when she was overcome with emotion during the anthems.

A few days before the ARD had sought already UEFA's clarification after Germany coach Joachim Loew was shown knocking a ball from a ball boy's arm during the live match against the Netherlands, where it came out afterwards that it happened before the game took place.

It all raises the question what does the audience and even broadcasters expect from ( and pay for ) the word LIVE. Should live tv not be real live. And what does live mean ? Live recorded, live happening now, near live or does it even mean "not set in scene " ?

We are used to music stage performances that act as if they are live, but play-back is reality. Also with reality shows we get used to live, but know scripts are in place to steer what is live happening. Is sport and news the next to follow ? Or should we tag programs , for example on connected tv , with labels like live, near live, play-back ... ? Trusted media clearly need to start acting with respect for the audience they serve. At least if they want to keep their trusted name and survive in a tv time where all can be tv station ...

The Van Steyvoort Blog just got started

My new media blog was just initiated on July 1, 2012. Sharing experiences on a changing world. Stay tuned ... Regards Marc