Woe Cup 2010

By Ron Chua

Leon Lu could find himself missing out on the biggest sporting event of the year. He joins many other Singaporean football fans facing the bleak prospect of not being able to catch any World Cup action when it kicks off in South Africa this June.

209 countries have already secured the rights to broadcast the epic event that begins on Jun. 11, but Singapore is not one of them. With less than 70 days left to the opening match, football fans in Singapore will be left high and dry. Even though the football governing body, FIFA, has made the opening game, semi-finals and finals free-to-air, Singaporean fans are still less than cheered.

Lu and his fellow football fans are not the only ones affected. Businesses are also sweating over the impasse.

One of them is St. James Holdings that owns a number of bars in Singapore. Chief executive officer, Dennis Foo said, “(The World Cup) is once every four years and the climax of football. Without the live broadcasts, our business will be 50 per cent down but with it, we will be 50 per cent up.”

Advertising agencies are also feeling the pinch. With less than three months before the kick-off, analysts say advertising deals are getting harder to score. Victor Ng, chief creative officer at advertising agency Euro RSCG Singapore said, “Advertising campaigns that capitalise on the World Cup are highly time-sensitive.”

Regardless, some companies are continuing with their publicity plans. A spokesman for Coca-Cola said, “It’s full steam ahead; we absolutely believe in it and we’re not shying away from promotions just because the airing might be limited.”

Many are unhappy with SingTel’s and StarHub’s failure to negotiate a deal with FIFA’s regional sales agent, Football Media Services. The deadlock began after SingTel had won the exclusive rights to broadcast the English Premier League for the next three seasons.

According to an industry source, FIFA is asking for close to $100 million in broadcasting rights for the upcoming World Cup. This is up from the $10 million and $15 million StarHub paid in 2002 and 2006 respectively to broadcast the same event.

The source said, “Last year, FIFA quoted a price to both telcos, which was already a few times more than what StarHub paid for the 2006 World Cup.”

“After SingTel won the EPL rights, FIFA came back with an even higher amount,” the source added.

Several reports quoted that SingTel won the English Premier League broadcasting rights with a bid of $400 million. However, SingTel Pay-TV vice-president, Tim Carmichael, has come out and clarified that their bid “was less than the quoted amount.”

With the clock ticking, fans like Lu are desperate in their frustration. The second year student at the Nanyang Technological University said, “This is ridiculous. Somalia, Ethopia and us do not have the broadcast rights.”

Similarly, full-time national serviceman Lionel Lin said, “We can afford the EPL for three seasons but we cannot afford one month of World Cup.”

But there are others who feel that the companies should not give in to their demands. The escalating price of watching sports on cable television has many Singaporeans pessimistic that the eventual costs will be passed on to consumers.

The question now is, how much are fans willing to pay to watch the World Cup’s 60 matches in June? From $8.40 a month in 2004, fans now pay $26.75 just for StarHub’s sports package.

Taxi driver, Peter Chua said, “I will not pay unreasonable amounts to watch the World Cup. I might as well go to JB and watch.”

53 year-old Linda See had similar sentiments. She said, “If we give in this time, they will come back with a higher price in 2014.”

Being able to catch the semi-finals and final is good enough for Lee Shirley, a fan of football legend Cristiano Ronaldo. The third year student from the Singapore Management University said, “It will be best if Portugal wins the World Cup.”

Still, sports buff Cris Tan believes that SingTel or StarHub should secure the rights at all costs. The 27-year-old public relations practitioner said, “It comes only once in four years. I cannot wait eight years to watch the next World Cup.

For football-crazy Singapore fans, it is not over till the final whistle blows. “I might just install an antenna and tap into signals from Malaysia or Indonesia,” Tan added.