RS upbeat despite 'must show' rule for World Cup
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Despite the difficulty in doing business under the "must have" rule, RS is confident that broadcasting the Fifa World Cup soccer tournament live from Brazil next year will bring in more than Bt700 million in revenue.
The leading music and entertainment firm still insists that only 22 of the total of 64 live matches will be show on free TV channels selected by it even though the broadcasting committee of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has advised it that free TV “must have” all live matches.
Under this rule, seven sports events – the Southeast Asian Games, Asean Para Games, Asian Games, Asian Para Games, Olympic Games, Paralympic Games as well as the Fifa World Cup finals – must be accessible to the public via free TV.
RS has already lodged a petition to the Administrative Court, which will inquire into this matter on June 26.
Pornpan Techarungchaikul, chief operating officer of RS, confirmed in a company statement that “during the broadcast of World Cup 2014, 22 million households in Thailand can watch 22 matches through free TV without any conditions”.
OPENING CEREMONY
Channels 7 and 8 will broadcast the grand opening ceremony and the opening match on June 12 next year.
More than half of the matches will have convenient kick-off times for local fans, starting at 11pm. Another special treat is that RS will broadcast exclusively the atmosphere before the matches begin, starting at about 10pm, from the moment the players leave their hotel, enter the locker room, and prepare to enter the field up until the last second before the game kicks off.
This will be available on World Cup Channel exclusively.
“We are confident that the broadcast of World Cup 2014 is the most anticipated event, and that Thai fans can enjoy the highest quality image and sound both in standard and high definition,” Pornpan said.
From its success in managing the right to broadcast the most valuable soccer event of the world, the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa, the company has already begun the marketing campaign for World Cup 2014, and the feedback from sponsors has been overwhelming.
“We expect that the event will generate no less than Bt700 million, 80 per cent of which will be from sponsorship and 20 per cent from sub-licensing,” she said.
The 20th Fifa (International Federation of Association Football) World Cup in Brazil will run from June 12-July 13 next year.
