Since the advent of the radio, and later with the TV and obviously the internet, it’s been possible to follow live events from different continents. Yes, newspapers covered those events the day after, but with the radio we had the first chance of following those events in real time and not just reading what had happened the previous day.

Obviously, time zones have played their part, and in the early years costs for covering these events as well as probably not appealing to a wide public ready to challenge the clock or even interested in international affairs made it something of a niche. But eventually it became a crucial point of our network, importing shows and events and gradually becoming important way farther than it had intended to.

Nowadays, it’s almost impossible to stay out of news and events happening at the other side of the world. Some are even covered live, like the Oscar ceremony, political/monarchic affairs, Eurovision, and most obviously sports events. In recent times, series and shows have also started airing at the same time and it’s fairly easy to connect to the foreign channels broadcasting them. In a sense some companies have used this to instigate FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) but that’s not the topic here.

The topic is how easy it currently is to follow live whatever is happening in foreign countries no matter how distant they are. But even though technology has allowed it, there’s an enemy it will never defeat: time zones. Depending on where they happen, early morning local time can be late night elsewhere, midday or afternoon can also be late night somewhere… And sometimes, those events are organized with this enemy in mind and thus appeal for a time that can actually be mild for several zones, though sometimes the local time is sacrificed in favor of international audience.

I find the best example of this in Formula One. Races in Asia and Australia are scheduled at the same local time as in Europe, but of course that means Europeans have to wake up at like 4 AM or so to watch them. I remember my times where I actually did this and used the chance to have a heavy breakfast sponsored by Dunkin Donuts, and I sincerely miss the good ol’ days though right now altering my sleep schedule that much would destroy me. Races in America happen in the afternoon or night, so they’re much more accessible. And then there’s Singapore, which sacrificed their local time to race at the European standard time which is 11 PM for them, and the F1 personnel say they must adapt their schedule ignoring the day and night cycles sometimes using bizarre tricks.

Another good example is Indycar, which has boomed in popularity in the old continent. All races happen in the United States except one which happens in Canada, so they’re always during the afternoon or even late night sometimes. This makes them easy to follow most of the time, and thanks to technology we can follow it live from Europe with ease. The downside, if there’s one, is that regional events have a new competition that is as accessible as theirs and so they must fight against tougher enemies now, which following the example of Indycar is easily seen when both it and F1 have been connected in several instances and their popularity has been compared.

All these foreign events are still somewhat of a niche, for we are way too rooted in into what’s around us, but it allows us the chance to open up and search elsewhere. We can find the original shows that cemented the famous local version we have or enjoy the regional version of somewhere else with its own unique quirks, we can expand our catalog of sports, we can delve deep into something that might be a niche where we live but more mainstream or dedicated elsewhere… In essence, it enriches our social experience by broadening the reach of the content we can consume and allowing for further options, in times where limiting options is sadly in the news in some countries and/or industries.

What do you all think of this? The current reach of foreign events is beneficial for society? Have you benefitted from it personally? Or do you think this step of globalization makes us forget what’s happening around us and further depriving us from getting in touch with local events overshadowed by this foreign interference?