historically these european games are broadcast in 14:9 which is a halfway house between 16:9 and 4:3
Reason for this is most broadcasters in Europe are(or until very recently were) broadcasting primarily in 4:3
14:9 is a halfway house between the 2. Meaning people who watch on a 4:3 system don't get the images truncated too much(To show 16:9 on a 4:3 system they use an ARC which in simple terms just zooms the picture in) Also means that people on a 16:9 system will still get slightly more.
It's frustrating I know, but as 16:9 becomes the norm I'd expect to see this go, especially when HD comes in proper as this is an exclusivley 16:9 format. However it will take time for the providers to do this.
IT's also worth bearing in mind that the providers are the local feed pool not Virgin or Beeb or Sky but the local provider.
In other words it's europes fault
