Recast Sports, the chosen streaming service for the Fukuoka World Championships by World Aquatics, has filed for bankruptcy.
Founded in 2018, Recast Sports had been providing sports enthusiasts with a subscription-free platform for both live and on-demand content. However, this service required viewers to purchase credits in order to access live events, including all the water polo the Fukuoka World Championships.
Despite initial optimism fueled by successful funding rounds, Recast Sports found itself in dire straits when a crucial financing commitment fell through.
Many will be pleased to see the back of Recast. There were widespread grievances among water polo fans who were reluctant to pay for game access, as well as many who expressed confusion at the credit-based system. Furthermore, accessing match replays proved extremely difficult, and is at present impossible on the Recast website.
With Recast Sports’ abrupt collapse, the viability of streaming elite international water polo faces heightened scrutiny, particularly in light of the inconsistent approach taken by World Aquatics over the years.
Before enlisting the services of Recast Sports, World Aquatics had used its own streaming platform, FinaTV, which was discontinued in April 2021. As an affordable, reliable and friendly platform, FinaTV had been the go-to solution for fans in nations lacking proper broadcast rights, offering live game coverage and access to previous match replays. In the interim between FinaTV shutting down, and World Aquatics cooperation with the now bankrupt Recast, matches were available with varying reliability on Youtube.
World Aquatics themselves have made no comment regarding Recast falling into administration, leaving fans in a state of frustration and uncertainty about how they will access games at the upcoming World Aquatic tournaments.
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