Live Olympics telecasts ‘might lose money’
TV POOL admitted yesterday that live telecasts of the Summer Olympics might lose money because of the sluggish economy and high cost of broadcasting rights for the sporting extravaganza.
Speaking on behalf of the marketing arm of TV Pool, Surin Krittayaphongpun, acting president of Bangkok Entertainment Company (BEC), said TV Pool was ready to broadcast live competitions from the Games, which will run from August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, feedback from advertisers and sponsors appears to be lower than expected.
“So far, we anticipate only 20 per cent of total occupancy [of sponsorship availability], while total investment including audio-visual broadcasting rights cost more than Bt450 million,” he said.
TV Pool consists of BEC’s Channel 3, the Army’s TV5, Bangkok Broadcasting and Television’s Channel 7, MCOT’s Modernine TV, and the Public Relations Department’s NBT.
Palakorn Somsuwan, managing director of Bangkok Broadcasting and Television, said the five stations in TV Pool would jointly broadcast live competitions in which Thai teams participated.
At this year’s Olympics, TV Pool will broadcast more than 200 hours of live matches, longer than for the London Olympics in 2012. TV Pool also blamed these longer broadcasting hours for a rise in operating cost.
Meanwhile, TV Pool has spent Bt5 million to establish an international broadcasting convention so other digital TV broadcasters can access footage and cover Olympics stories at the headquarters of the Army’s TV5 station. Therefore, Surin called for financial support from the National Broadcasting and Telecommuni-cations Commission.
Recently, TV Pool sought Bt150 million from the NBTC’s research and development fund to sponsor this event.
