SPORTS> Off the Pitch
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SPORTS> Off the Pitch
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High cost of broadcast rights to make N.Africans miss the Cup
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-07 14:18 Many soccer-crazed North Africans fear they could miss out on televised World Cup action because of the high fees levied on broadcasts of the event. With the tournament set to begin on Friday, officials and public TV executives in North Africa have been scrambling to strike deals with a Saudi Arabia broadcaster which has the rights to air the games in the Arab world. Algeria President Abdelaziz Bouteflika sent his communications minister to Cairo on Monday for talks with Arab Radio and Television, or ART, which holds broadcast rights in the Middle East and North Africa. In Morocco, a special decoder made available by ART which frees up the World Cup signal costs euro130 (US$167) _ in a country where the minimum wage is the equivalent of about euro180 (US$231). Morocco's Communications Minister, Nabil Benabdellah, told parliament last week the two national public TV stations don't have enough money to pay the required euro10 million (US$13 million) in broadcast fees to ART. Unless an accord is reached, Morocco viewers will see only a 20-minute summary of individual World Cup games. |
