Asiya Bakht
May 10, 2010

SingTel, StarHub win broadcast rights to FIFA Cup 2010

SINGAPORE - In separate announcements made on Friday, Singapore's pay-TV operators SingTel and StarHub announced they have secured the broadcast rights of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa.

SingTel, StarHub win broadcast rights to FIFA Cup 2010
The deal follows months of negotiations by the pay-TV operators, which has kept sports fans and advertisers alike on tenderhooks.

The rights of this premier event would be the first high profile content that pay-TV operators will air simultaneously following a government regulation that allows pay-TV operators to carry content purchased by another player. This regulation is predicted to change the dynamics of the Singapore broadcast industry.

Both StarHub and mio TV will also offer content on mobile and internet.  

Edward Ying, chief of content and media services at SingTel, said that the telco was "very pleased to bring the World Cup to Singapore." 

"Despite the challenging negotiations, the focus at the heart of it all was the football fan in Singapore," said Ying.

Tan Tong Hai, COO of StarHub, said that the telco "negotiated hard for the World Cup rights for over a year, with the best interests of the nation at heart."  

"We are thrilled to be able to bring viewers in Singapore to the heart of the sporting action in South Africa.”  
 
For both SingTel and StarHub the 2010 FIFA World Cup package will comprise of two dedicated channels. StarHub will be available on FIFA World Cup Channel 1 (Channel 261) and FIFA World Cup Channel 2 (Channel 262) and SingTel on Channel 1 (Channel 88) and FIFA World Cup Channel 2 (Channel 89).

On their main World Cup channel, both the pay-TV operators will air the ‘live’ telecast of 56 matches, primetime repeats of the matches, delayed telecast of eight simulcast matches, as well as pre- and post-match features and daily match highlights.

Both SingTel and StarHub are in discussions with MediaCorp to offer the ‘live’ broadcast of FIFA World Cup matches via MediaCorp’s free-to-air channels. 

The FIFA World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with a cumulative global audience of over 715 million recorded for the final match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany.
 

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