* Many sports fans keep and collect recordings of their favorite teams' games, because subsequent video releases of those same games often chop it into highlights, remove the original commentary, and add "dramatic" music.
** Up until the advent of the NFL Network, classic NFL games were relegated to being shown either as iconic highlight clips or edited NFL Films productions. Even now, the network's classic games repeats haven't gone much past the last ten years.
** During the earlier years of ESPN Classic, MLB, NBA, NHL and other leagues would allow some game broadcasts to be rerun on the network, even if they weren't originally carried on ESPN (the NFL never allowed this). It's pretty much been stopped now as the leagues have created their own networks and are hoarding the game broadcasts for use on said networks.
** One interesting case: the 1982 college football game between the University of California and Stanford University - the one that ended on the infamous "Stanford Band play." While the game has since been rebroadcast, it's near impossible to find a copy that still contains the full TV announcers' call, as most rebroadcasts replace the audio of the game's final minute with Cal radio announcer Joe Starkey's much more famous call.
** The big four leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL) have saved most of their championship games since the late 1970's.
* UsefulNotes/FormulaOne racing was really bad for this; the DVD review was the only place for highlights, and they were often "enhanced" with fake commentary and music. There was nothing on the official website, and any old races that appeared on Website/YouTube were immediately pulled. In 2009 there was a minor turnaround, with videos on the web, and the BBC showing classic races on TV and online. This is decidedly ''not'' helped by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone's disdain for modern media, even saying he'd rather cater to the 70 year old with loads of money than the younger generation. With Ecclestone's ouster and the takeover by Liberty Media, hopes run high that this may turn around.
* Creator/SevenNetwork's coverage of the Sydney 2000 Olympics (perhaps one of the most-viewed programs in Australian TV history, and it was hosted there) is feeling like this. Although clips show up randomly, it's impossible to see it in full. As recorded VHS tapes can hold up to 10 hours of content in PAL format, it might be likely.
* UEFA, Europe's association football governing body, are notorious for deleting unofficial Website/YouTube footage of matches of their competitions like the Champions League and the Euros, leaving many classic European football moments extremely hard to find.
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