# Live sports game updates

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-sports-game-updates/80320>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 8, 2001, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-sports-game-updates/80320 "2001-09-08T00:15:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![deb2world](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@deb2world](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deb2world)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-sports-game-updates/80320/1 "2001-09-08T00:15:25Z")

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I watch Yahoo Sports pitch-by-pitch live game update (baseball) and was wondering how they get the data into their system. Is this inputed by hand by someone at the game, do they get it off of a sports wire, or what?

I have noticed that sometimes a game will get an inning or two behind. Sometimes it will suddenly jump to the correct inning and at other times it seems like the game is continuing pitch by pitch but lagging those innings in real time. I figure this is due to how they are putting the data in, but that is only a guess.

I also watched the game cast while at the same time listening to the live broadcast over the computer (or at least until this year, stupid firewall at work, yes I did pay for the live broadcasts but wasted my money but that is a tale better left for the pit) I notice the game cast is faster then the live broadcast. Why is that?

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**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-sports-game-updates/80320/2 "2001-09-08T00:19:28Z")

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Someone is at the game, or watching on TV, and they are inputting the data into a computer as it happens.

The delays are often because of injuries or disputes with the umpires. Stuff like that.

Sometimes they back up because the person inputting the data made a mistake and they have to “rewind” everything to correct it.

And I imagine that there are server problems and other issues.

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**Author:** ![deb2world](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@deb2world](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deb2world)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-sports-game-updates/80320/3 "2001-09-08T00:22:17Z")

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I should also ask, who pays for these people. The team, Yahoo, MLB?

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**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-sports-game-updates/80320/4 "2001-09-08T00:24:18Z")

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I believe the websites pay for them. MLB runs its own play by play service through its internet service [MLB.com](http://MLB.com)

It’s called Gameday and it doesn’t work very well.

The assumption is that if you’re hanging around on the website following a baseball game, then you will hang around to read other content and then you will look at the ads.

I don’t think costs a lot to do the games.