Well since it is live and made for TV there will at least be "commercial breaks". You might get lucky enough to not actually watch the commercials (I doubt it, what you are buying will probably BE the TV broadcast, commercials and all) and instead get to listen to the announcers while there is a break in the action. But there HAS to be breaks in the action either way for the commercials to be fit into those moments of non-action. There are times in the Mosconi Cup where they pause the action between games and the players have to wait until they resume their play, and you will be seeing that at the very least, and will more likely be watching ads for Volkswagons at that time instead of the goings on in the arena during that break.
Well then let's put it this way. I am going to pay $15 for the official live stream of the event. The reason I am going to do this is because I hope that they will be streaming FROM the event with appropriate bandwidth considerations. I hope to get a clear and perfect stream and not be dependent on the often sketchy feed from the rebroadcasters such as the ones who use peer-to-peer networks often deliver.
I don't care if you watch it through a rebroadcaster, I am not passing judgement. You are though. Why would you think for a second that Matchroom has not tried and does not continue to try to sell some network in the USA on airing the live broadcast? It should be a no brainer for ESPN or some other network. But we all know that it's never that easy. And in fact when Matchroom sells it to SkyTV in Europe they already have a different relationship with the European broadcasters due to the boxing and snooker matches they produce. They have no such relationship with ESPN America or any other American channel.
So Matchroom is doing what they can to bring the match "officially" to those who can't watch because they don't have access physically to the television broadcast.
I choose to reward that with my money and my principle. While I would certainly watch it on the P2P network if not otherwise available since it is available then I choose to spend the money on the official broadcast.
Regarding commercials I doubt I will be seeing commercials. Every broadcaster puts in their own commercials. But if I do then I do. No big deal. If the stream sucks or is in any way bothersome then I just won't spend any more money on it in the future. By now Matchroom certainly should understand streaming and have made provisions for a quality one.
FWIW I don't allow any P2P TV services on my computer. Since I kicked them off my computer has been virus free and runs great. Of course that's just me but I have never had good luck with the software they provide and there seems to be some correlation with putting them on my box and my box crashing hard shortly afterward. So after having had this happen several times I have developed a superstition and don't put any of it on my computer. If the stream happens in a web-based player using stock flash/html5 plug-ins then fine but I am not putting any of the p2p on my box anymore. Which is another reason why I personally don't trust the sketchy rebroadcast feeds. Who knows what they are delivering to me along with the feed???
At least I feel safer going with official broadcasters or feeds from official stations and original sources.
Lastly, it IS about the money. No matter how you look at it running a feed costs money even if it's just someone's time to sit there and make sure it's up and running. You get to see the rebroadcasts because SOMEONE is kind enough to set the box up to show you what's coming through their TV. For $15 you get someone dedicated to making sure the feed is working right all the time and able to handle all the traffic.
And if it's unofficially re-broadcast through Ustream then Matchroom or Sky or Livestream can request that Ustream bar the stream at any time and Ustream is likely to comply. For $15 I don't have to worry about my access disappearing, barring the usual internet maladies that is.
