It used to be that fighting your way through crowds to get a close-up of sporting stars such as Tiger Woods and Rafael Nadal was infinitely better than sitting at home watching the TV coverage.
But as growing numbers of sports fans upgrade to HDTVs it would appear that the lure of live events could be diminishing.
In the US, a top football club is experiencing what is likely to be a growing trend: a fall in season tickets sales as supporters decide they get a better view staying at home and watching games on their HDTVs.
Steve LaCroix, the Minnesota Vikings’ vice president of sales and marketing, said that HDTV is making his job more difficult.