All World Cup matches must air on free TV
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NBTC firm on 'must-have' rule
The broadcasting committee of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission yesterday ruled that the 64 matches of next year’s Fifa World Cup soccer final must be televised over free-TV channels to comply with its “must-have” rule.
Music and entertainment giant RS, which holds the Thai broadcasting rights for the World Cup matches, had asked the NBTC to relax the rule to allow the company to air only selected matches on free-TV channels while the remaining matches would be aired on its pay-TV platform.
The must-have rule currently obliges it to air all matches on free-to-air television. Fully implemented late last year, the rule applies to seven events: the Southeast Asian Games, Asean Para Games, Asian Games, Asian Para Games, Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and Fifa World Cup Finals, all of which the public must be able to access.
Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the broadcasting panel, said that in RS’s latest proposal, the company held that RS International Broadcasting and Sports Management, holder of the broadcasting rights to the World Cup final, did not obtain NBTC licences, so it was not subject to this rule.
Additionally, in a previous proposal to the NBTC, RS requested that the regulation be relaxed on grounds that the company held the rights to broadcast the soccer tournament before the must-carry rule was put in place. It proposed making only 22 of the tournament’s 64 matches available for free-to-air TV channels.
The company was concerned that the must-have rule would hurt its business and could lead to a breach of its rights contract with Fifa, the International Federation of Association Football.
The 20th Fifa Word Cup is scheduled to take place in Brazil from June 12 to July 13, 2014.
RS plans to make money from the media rights not only from advertising and sponsorship but also from the pay-TV service available on its Sunbox satellite-TV set-top box. The pay-TV service will be launched in the middle of this year.
Natee said that if RS believed the NBTC’s decision was unfair, it could lodge a petition to the Administration Court.
RS International Broadcasting and Sport Management has already filed a lawsuit against the NBTC and 12 related people on this issue, aiming at revision of the must-have rule.
RS management could not be reached for comment.
