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Tadakatsu Honda
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The New Paper </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="15">
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Will you pay $70 to watch World Cup? <!-- TITLE : end--> </td></tr> <tr><td colspan="3" height="15">
TYPICAL Singaporeans.
First, you lament: Oh, why can't we, a first world nation, get the World Cup? Oh, how can we be so kampung, and be just one of a handful of countries without it, like North Korea? Oh, why can't the overpaying telcos sort it out? And then, when we finally get the news that it's going to be shown here, you say: Yes, but why does it cost so much?
Eh people, can celebrate first or not? We got the World Cup. We are going to get to watch it on our 100-inch plasma, LCD and LED television sets, and not on some tiny, pixelated, lagging computer screen, with China commentators going wild. We are going to get it on high-definition TV, with a dedicated camera on the coach, one on the kit man and another just on the prettygirl- showing-her-midriff-and-dancing-thesamba in Row 23.
Yes, we have finally received an invitation to the party and we won't have to fly to South Africa to get our quadrennial buffet of world-class entertainment. And yes, we will have to pay a lot more than the $15.75 (sports group subscribers) or $26.25 (non-subscribers) we paid in 2006. To screen the 2006 World Cup, StarHub only paid a reported $15 million for the rights. It cost SingTel and StarHub at least double that in their joint bid for 2010, we are told.
So, let's do some simple math. Two times $26.25 equals? Yes clever people without calculators, 50-something bucks. So how come they are asking for $70 (early birds) or $94 (late idiots) this time around? Well, I suspect it's because it took so long to negotiate the deal, the telcos can't possibly make the money back by sellings ads. So guess who gets to foot the bulk of the bill? Yup, you got that right. You and me.
You won't pay, you say? Well, it's really up to the individual. Let me state for the record that I would have paid whatever it took because the World Cup is an essential for me. Let me rephrase that: It is not even just essential, it's much more important than that. I understand, however, that not everyone shares the same sentiment. So, please make your own decisions based on your financial thresholds and levels of football dementia.
If you choose not to pay, I am sure every coffee shop in Singapore serious about its business will be screening matches. Which means the World Cup could cost you as little as a cup of coffee. Or tea. So, can we just enjoy the moment please? Thanks.
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