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Jan 16, 2010
WORLD CUP BIDS
Fifa asking for too much
<!-- by line --> By Wang Meng Meng
<!-- end by line --> <!-- end left side bar -->
In September, SingTel went head-to-head with StarHub for the 2010-12 rights to the EPL, and succeeded with a bid of $400 million, a figure that has been quoted in several reports. -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN
FOR months, SingTel and StarHub rejected repeated queries on their joint bid for football's 2010 World Cup broadcast rights, insisting any revelation could jeopardise negotiations with Fifa. On Friday, that wall of silence was shattered. 'We understand the importance of the World Cup to Singaporeans but Fifa has been asking for an unreasonable amount,' said SingTel Singapore CEO Allen Lew. And if the impasse with football's world governing body continues, Mr Lew warned that Singaporeans will have to make do with just four live games on free-to-air television. The irony is the telcos may be in this bind because of last year's bidding war for the English Premier League (EPL) TV rights. According to an industry source, Fifa first quoted a price sometime last year to both SingTel and StarHub, an amount both telcos already considered too high.
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.
Home > Breaking News > Singapore > Story
Jan 16, 2010
WORLD CUP BIDS
Fifa asking for too much
<!-- by line --> By Wang Meng Meng
<!-- end by line --> <!-- end left side bar -->
In September, SingTel went head-to-head with StarHub for the 2010-12 rights to the EPL, and succeeded with a bid of $400 million, a figure that has been quoted in several reports. -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN
FOR months, SingTel and StarHub rejected repeated queries on their joint bid for football's 2010 World Cup broadcast rights, insisting any revelation could jeopardise negotiations with Fifa. On Friday, that wall of silence was shattered. 'We understand the importance of the World Cup to Singaporeans but Fifa has been asking for an unreasonable amount,' said SingTel Singapore CEO Allen Lew. And if the impasse with football's world governing body continues, Mr Lew warned that Singaporeans will have to make do with just four live games on free-to-air television. The irony is the telcos may be in this bind because of last year's bidding war for the English Premier League (EPL) TV rights. According to an industry source, Fifa first quoted a price sometime last year to both SingTel and StarHub, an amount both telcos already considered too high.
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.
