SINGAPORE: With SingTel and StarHub in a deadlock with Fifa over
television rights to the 2010 World Cup, a new player has emerged
with the ability to give Singaporeans full access to the biggest
football extravaganza of the year.
British company Perform Group, a sports and entertainment
specialist for digital media, has been closely monitoring the drama
that has kept the telephone companies in an impasse with football’s
world governing body over a reported $40 million fee.
No progress has been made yet despite the Football Association
of Singapore’s approaches to Fifa.
Perform is now interested in making available all the World Cup
matches from South Africa to Singapore viewers after Fifa’s sales
representatives, Football Media Services, approached the
company.
Mr Jason Swanson, Perform’s advertising and sponsorship sales
manager in Singapore, told MediaCorp, they have the capability and
technology in place, and can put it online — even at the eleventh
hour.
The matches, he said, will be shown live on the Internet — which
Fifa would not otherwise make available to a country that does not
pay the rights for it.
Various packages, said Mr Swanson, would be made available to
Singapore viewers.
"It could be a pay—per—view option or a package for all the
games," he said. "What we will do is to set up a site where people
could go in and make their choices, whether they want to watch only
the England games or all the matches. There are lots of ways we can
do it."
He added that Perform streams about 15,000 matches online every
year and is currently delivering the Australian Open.
Last October, the company made history by broadcasting an
England match for the first time exclusively on the Internet for 5
($11) for those who booked early, and 12 for late subscribers.
The pre—World Cup qualifier with Ukraine was watched by 500,000
British viewers, which the company claimed was the largest audience
for a pay—per—view sports event online.
Mr Swanson said the World Cup could be made cheaper for
Singapore, relative to the England—Ukraine match, as Perform
intends to rope in sponsors and advertisers.
He said the potential pool of 2 million viewers here can also
expect high quality images of June’s World Cup that can be
projected on television and big screens without Internet
interruptions.
"When we delivered the England game, there were no issues and
there should be none in Singapore because we have the servers and
the broadband here is also very good," he said.
Mr Swanson said providing the World Cup service is something
Perform is keen to do.
"When I talk to people on the streets, they are pretty upset
they may not get to see the World Cup. They want to watch here and
not go across the Causeway," he said.
"If none of the big players step up for the TV rights, we’ll see
what Fifa wants because it would be worth doing it in
Singapore.
"They know our capabilities and are familiar with how we deliver
sports events online." — TODAY
Source:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20100128/tap-887-singapore-gets-world-cup-option-231650b.html