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This is great news 
Without the World Cup, big wigs of SG companies (including me) heaved a great sigh of relief. All the previous World Cups that had been held in a different time zone has caused a big spike in employees' taking leave to attend their grandparents' funerals, taking MCs , Annual Leave and sleeping on the job. This caused a big drop in productivity and this has adversely affected our economy.
Kudos to Singtel for not caving in to FIFA's daylight robbery. Singapore would be better without the World Cup with increased productivity and less deaths among the elderly. And anyways, only poor uneducated retards would want to sit for 2 hours watching 20 uneducated riff raffs men chasing a stupid ball.
World Cup TV bid rejected, again
Latest offer by SingTel and StarHub still too low; talks at stalemate
By Irene Tham
LOCAL telcos SingTel and StarHub still cannot meet the asking price for rights to broadcast the 2010 World Cup.
The Straits Times understands that the latest joint bid by the telcos was rejected recently by Fifa.
A person familiar with discussions, but who did not want to be named, said: 'The bids have not been accepted.
'Several offers - including one in the past two months - have been made to Fifa. But no deal has been sealed.'
He added that the bid was rejected even though Fifa had cut its asking price.
When contacted yesterday, both telcos said negotiations with Football Media Services (FMS), Fifa's regional sales agent, are still continuing.
The statements, issued separately, contradicted recent media reports that a deal had been wrapped up.
Fifa has so far rejected several bids tabled jointly by the two telcos.
Their initial effort, made some time last year, was rejected as being too low. A revised bid made last December was also thrown out.
It is understood that Fifa had initially priced the World Cup broadcast rights at $40 million - more than double the $15 million StarHub paid for the 2006 World Cup.
It recently cut the price, but the exact amount is still unknown.
Several people contacted yesterday also said the talks were at a stalemate.
One, who also refused to be named, citing the confidentiality of discussions, said FMS had the luxury of holding out because it has met its sales quota for the region.
Any sales it makes over and above this will bring negligible rewards, he explained.
'It is not in FMS' interest to break their backs for the Singapore deal to go through,' he said.
'They can walk away from the deal at any time.'
Industry observers say the reverse is true for SingTel and StarHub.
Each day that passes without a deal results in shrinking opportunities to score advertising deals, they said.
'Advertising campaigns that capitalise on the World Cup are highly time-sensitive,' said Mr Victor Ng, chief creative officer at advertising agency Euro RSCG Singapore.
For instance, it typically takes ad agencies about three months to plan, shoot and edit TV commercials.
'For an event like the World Cup, advertisers will start to jostle for top-of- the-mind awareness as early as one month before the first match,' Mr Ng explained.
'With just 77 days to the start of this year's World Cup, time is ticking by,' he added.
Attempts to reach Fifa's media office at its headquarters in Switzerland yesterday were unsuccessful.
Singapore is one of the few countries yet to secure the rights to the world's largest sporting event, which kicks off in South Africa on June 11 and lasts for a month.
As of December last year, at least 202 countries had clinched broadcast rights.
Without the World Cup, big wigs of SG companies (including me) heaved a great sigh of relief. All the previous World Cups that had been held in a different time zone has caused a big spike in employees' taking leave to attend their grandparents' funerals, taking MCs , Annual Leave and sleeping on the job. This caused a big drop in productivity and this has adversely affected our economy.
Kudos to Singtel for not caving in to FIFA's daylight robbery. Singapore would be better without the World Cup with increased productivity and less deaths among the elderly. And anyways, only poor uneducated retards would want to sit for 2 hours watching 20 uneducated riff raffs men chasing a stupid ball.
World Cup TV bid rejected, again
Latest offer by SingTel and StarHub still too low; talks at stalemate
By Irene Tham
LOCAL telcos SingTel and StarHub still cannot meet the asking price for rights to broadcast the 2010 World Cup.
The Straits Times understands that the latest joint bid by the telcos was rejected recently by Fifa.
A person familiar with discussions, but who did not want to be named, said: 'The bids have not been accepted.
'Several offers - including one in the past two months - have been made to Fifa. But no deal has been sealed.'
He added that the bid was rejected even though Fifa had cut its asking price.
When contacted yesterday, both telcos said negotiations with Football Media Services (FMS), Fifa's regional sales agent, are still continuing.
The statements, issued separately, contradicted recent media reports that a deal had been wrapped up.
Fifa has so far rejected several bids tabled jointly by the two telcos.
Their initial effort, made some time last year, was rejected as being too low. A revised bid made last December was also thrown out.
It is understood that Fifa had initially priced the World Cup broadcast rights at $40 million - more than double the $15 million StarHub paid for the 2006 World Cup.
It recently cut the price, but the exact amount is still unknown.
Several people contacted yesterday also said the talks were at a stalemate.
One, who also refused to be named, citing the confidentiality of discussions, said FMS had the luxury of holding out because it has met its sales quota for the region.
Any sales it makes over and above this will bring negligible rewards, he explained.
'It is not in FMS' interest to break their backs for the Singapore deal to go through,' he said.
'They can walk away from the deal at any time.'
Industry observers say the reverse is true for SingTel and StarHub.
Each day that passes without a deal results in shrinking opportunities to score advertising deals, they said.
'Advertising campaigns that capitalise on the World Cup are highly time-sensitive,' said Mr Victor Ng, chief creative officer at advertising agency Euro RSCG Singapore.
For instance, it typically takes ad agencies about three months to plan, shoot and edit TV commercials.
'For an event like the World Cup, advertisers will start to jostle for top-of- the-mind awareness as early as one month before the first match,' Mr Ng explained.
'With just 77 days to the start of this year's World Cup, time is ticking by,' he added.
Attempts to reach Fifa's media office at its headquarters in Switzerland yesterday were unsuccessful.
Singapore is one of the few countries yet to secure the rights to the world's largest sporting event, which kicks off in South Africa on June 11 and lasts for a month.
As of December last year, at least 202 countries had clinched broadcast rights.
