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 Harouai Habib Chawki, director of Algeria's state-run television, said the government is awaiting a response from ART to several financial offers it has made toward allowing for rebroadcasts of the World Cup.
On the streets of Algiers, where soccer is nearly a religion, many Algerians criticized French satellite network TPS for boosting encryption measures to halt piracy of its signal through satellite dishes, which are common in many Algerian homes. "It's really frustrating: I was hoping to spend a calm month in front of the television watching the exploits of Zidane, Ronaldhino and Shevchenko" said Adel Acherir, an unemployed 28-year-old who lives in the poor Bab el Oued section of the Algerian capital. Other Algerians expressed hope that German broadcaster ZDF would make the matches available via satellite _ or that hackers will be able to decode the encryption systems in time for the tournament. Tunisia has arranged to broadcast the national team's three first-round matches against Saudi Arabia, Spain and Ukraine plus the semifinals and final. But officials have decried the high cost of airing the event. "It's urgent to enact laws to protect national teams in North Africa, which are being held hostage by moneymaking calculations," said Mustapha Khammari, director-general of national broadcaster ERTT.
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