Radio becomes the only window you have
En un momento en que el fútbol más esperado del año llegaba a su fase decisiva, millones de aficionados latinoamericanos se encontraron ante una paradoja moderna: el evento más visto del planeta resultaba invisible en sus pantallas por ausencia de derechos televisivos. La respuesta no estaba en costosos paquetes de cable, sino en algo tan cotidiano como el teléfono en el bolsillo, recordándonos que la tecnología más accesible suele ser la más democrática.
- Con los octavos de final del Mundial Qatar 2022 en marcha, muchos aficionados descubrieron que sus canales locales no tenían los derechos para transmitir los partidos.
- La ausencia de cobertura televisiva generó una búsqueda urgente de alternativas gratuitas y accesibles para no perderse ningún encuentro.
- Aplicaciones como TuneIn Radio, con más de 100,000 estaciones disponibles, y Radio FM Perú emergieron como soluciones concretas descargables desde Google Play Store.
- El proceso resultó ser sorprendentemente sencillo: descargar la app, buscar la estación deseada dentro de la aplicación o mediante Google, y escuchar el partido en vivo sin costo alguno.
- Paralelamente, un experimento de 2019 reveló que 42 de 110 smartphones podían desbloquearse con simples fotografías impresas, poniendo en entredicho la seguridad del reconocimiento facial.
Con la fase de grupos del Mundial de Qatar 2022 recién concluida y los partidos de eliminación directa en marcha, muchos aficionados en América Latina enfrentaban un obstáculo inesperado: sus emisoras locales no habían adquirido los derechos de FIFA para televisar los encuentros. La solución, sin embargo, estaba al alcance de la mano.
Para quienes contaban con un teléfono Android, las aplicaciones de radio FM representaban una alternativa gratuita y eficaz. Dado que muchos dispositivos no incluyen una app de radio nativa, la recomendación apuntaba directamente a la Google Play Store. TuneIn Radio destacaba como opción global al ofrecer acceso a más de 100,000 estaciones en todo el mundo, mientras que Radio FM Perú se posicionaba como alternativa más localizada para el público peruano.
El procedimiento era accesible para cualquier usuario: descargar la aplicación, buscar dentro de ella las estaciones con cobertura del Mundial, o bien recurrir a Google para identificar qué emisoras regionales transmitían los partidos. Sin suscripciones ni pagos, el audio en vivo del torneo quedaba disponible de inmediato.
El artículo también abordaba una inquietud de seguridad relevante: un experimento realizado en 2019 por la organización neerlandesa Consumentenbon demostró que 42 de 110 smartphones —de marcas como Samsung, Apple, Huawei y Nokia— podían desbloquearse usando únicamente fotografías impresas de sus propietarios. Un recordatorio de que la comodidad del reconocimiento facial tiene un precio en términos de vulnerabilidad.
The group stage of the Qatar World Cup had just wrapped up, and the knockout rounds were beginning. Soon enough, the tournament would narrow down to its final four contenders. But there was a problem facing many viewers across Latin America and beyond: not every television broadcaster had secured the rights from FIFA to show the matches. For anyone stuck without access to cable coverage, there was a straightforward solution sitting in their pocket—the FM radio app on their Android phone.
The challenge was that many phones don't come with a native radio application built in. For those users, the answer lay in the Google Play Store. Two applications stood out as reliable options. TuneIn Radio offered access to more than 100,000 stations worldwide, making it a global solution for anyone chasing live commentary of the tournament. For viewers in Peru specifically, Radio FM Perú provided a more localized alternative with similar functionality.
Once downloaded and opened, the process was simple. Users could search directly within the app for stations broadcasting World Cup coverage, or they could turn to Google itself to identify which local stations in their region were carrying the matches. The beauty of this approach was that it cost nothing. No subscription, no cable package, no workaround—just free, live audio of the games as they happened.
The article also touched on a separate security concern that had been circulating in tech circles. A Dutch consumer organization called Consumentenbon had conducted an experiment back in 2019 to test the vulnerability of facial recognition systems. They attempted to unlock 110 smartphones from various manufacturers—Lenovo, Nokia, Huawei, Alcatel, Samsung, and Apple among them—using nothing but high-quality printed photographs of the device owners' faces. The results were sobering. Forty-two of those phones unlocked successfully. Some Samsung Galaxy models fell to the test, as did certain iPhone models from Apple. The implication was clear: facial recognition, while convenient, carried real security risks that users should understand before enabling the feature on their devices.
Citas Notables
The Dutch consumer organization Consumentenbon tested whether facial recognition could be defeated using printed photographs, successfully unlocking 42 of 110 devices from major manufacturers.— Movilzona technology portal reporting on the 2019 experiment
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would someone choose radio over television for watching a World Cup match? Doesn't something get lost without the visual?
You lose the sight of the ball, sure. But radio commentary during a World Cup is its own art form—the narrators are trained to paint the action in words. And practically speaking, if your broadcaster doesn't have the rights, television isn't an option at all. Radio becomes the only window you have.
So this was a real problem in 2022? Broadcasters in certain countries genuinely couldn't show the matches?
Yes. FIFA licenses broadcasting rights country by country, and not every network can afford them or wins the bidding. It's a fragmented system. Radio, though—radio stations are cheaper to license, so coverage is often wider.
The article also mentions facial recognition being cracked by a printed photo. That seems almost too simple.
It does, but that's the point. The test showed that some of the most expensive phones on the market—iPhones, high-end Samsungs—could be fooled by a 2D image. It's a reminder that convenience and security often trade off against each other.
Did the test work on all phones equally?
No. Forty-two out of 110 succeeded. That's a significant failure rate for a security system, but it also means some phones held up. The variation matters—it tells you which manufacturers took the threat seriously and which didn't.