Singapore Television
In Singapore, FIFA's broadcast rights fees for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals tournament have been described as "exorbitant", with the organisation having changed prices according to what it perceived the country's TV operators were willing to pay. Singapore television operators SingTel mio TV and StarHub TV joined together to bid for the broadcast rights in late 2009, they were reportedly charged an initial S$40 million (about US$30 million). When the Singapore TV operators refused to pay the initial sum quoted by FIFA, and as time passed, Singapore was faced with the prospect of being one of the few countries not to get match broadcasts from the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
With only about a month left before the tournament, FIFA finally relented and reportedly reduced the fee to S$21 million (US$15 million), which was then accepted by the Singapore TV operators. This reduced fee was still significantly higher than the fee that FIFA charged Starhub for the exclusive rights to broadcast the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals tournament in Germany, which was reported to be S$15 million (US$11 million).
This increased fee for the 2010 World Cup tournament broadcast rights resulted in the Singapore TV operators passing on the cost to their subscribers, who were then charged a special fee of S$94 (US$68) in addition to existing contracts, to watch the tournament's games. This high additional fee was the most expensive in the region, and angered Singapore football fans. Singapore was more expensive when compared to countries in the region that will either be broadcasting the matches free of charge, as in the case of Indonesia and Thailand; or at significantly lower viewing fees, at US$21 in Malaysia and US$38 in Hong Kong. This fee is also almost four times the S$25 (US$18) special fee that Starhub charged its subscribers for viewing the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals matches in Germany. As a result, many fans decided to protest against the increased fees with a mass boycott of the 2010 FIFA World Cup broadcast service by both operators.
Read more about this topic: List Of FIFA World Cup Finals Broadcasters
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