| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
SINGAPORE: Nothing, it seems, will stop Singapore football fans from catching the South African World Cup live on television next year, with fans saying they are willing to pay more to watch the month-long tournament on television from June 11.
In a report on Tuesday, it was revealed that FIFA and joint-bidders SingTel and StarHub have yet to come to an agreement over broadcast fees, which industry sources say have tripled since the Germany World Cup in 2006.
But over 200 countries have already reached an agreement with the football's world governing body, with Malaysia's only pay-TV, Astro, sealing its deal more than a year ago.
It is likely fans will resort to crossing the Causeway or to other neighbouring countries come June, or even tap into Malaysian and Indonesian free-to-air television to watch all 64 matches in the World Cup, if the telcos fail to secure the rights to beam them live here.
"I really don't mind paying more, S$30 to S$50 extra for the World Cup, which comes only every four years, is not a lot," said Richard Neubronner, who is backing Brazil and England.
"But I hope SingTel and StarHub will let us know early if they will show the matches live. The World Cup falls during the peak school holidays and if they are not showing the matches, I need to book my air tickets and hotel to probably Thailand before they are all fully booked. Might as well go for a holiday at the same time."
Agreeing, teacher Eugene Ng, who is backing Spain, said football-crazy fans will absorb a one-time increase in fees for the World Cup if they have to, adding it must also make business sense to the two telcos.
"I think from a business point of view, it is quite easy to sympathise with SingTel and StarHub," said the 29-year-old.
"I don't think it is really their duty to bring the World Cup to us. They need to make a profit as well, but I hope they will make it fair for us if they are going to charge us. I don't mind paying up to S$30 more or I will find another way through the Internet to watch the games."
Fans across the Causeway are not caught in a similar dilemma as they will not be charged extra to watch the World Cup matches.
Astro's head of sports, C K Lee, said the company paid about three times more for the broadcast rights compared to four years ago, but besides commercial reasons, considers it a national service.
The pay-TV company have about 2.3 million subscribers and the matches will be accessible to those who have already opted for their RM$67 sports package.
"I think all broadcasters had expected to pay more for this World Cup," said Lee. "For us, to keep our subscriber base, we consider it a worthwhile cost to pay for the television rights because it is the biggest sporting event in the world."
With six months to go before the big kick-off in South Africa, World Sports Group chief operating officer Andrew Georgiou is confident that cooler heads will prevail.
"I am 100 per cent confident that FIFA and the telcos will find a way to make it work at a price that the market will pay. In my opinion, there will be little chance for the World Cup not being broadcast in Singapore. It is not in FIFA or the television networks' interest," said Georgiou.
Responding to further queries, both SingTel and StarHub said they will pursue to secure the rights from FIFA.
"The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be aired by free-to-air broadcasters in some markets, so pay TV is not the only option. Nonetheless, we are interested to secure the telecast rights of the World Cup and will continue to negotiate with FIFA in an attempt to reach an agreement, so as to make the event available to the broadest number of our customers," they said.
- TODAY/ir
|
