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<TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>Fkapore <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>3:39 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>26607.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>
SCUMsinWhite know how to collect $$$ loose BILLIONs but ignore this once in four years event & shamelessly claim wanting to qualify for world cup in 2010 instead deny Sinkees on free broadcast.
World Cup
Viewing soccer ‘Olympics’
Is TV coverage just another private commercial deal or a social responsibility to citizens like elsewhere? Singaporeans won’t like the answer. By Seah Chang Nee.
Jan 2, 2010
WHEN June approaches, there could be a small outflow of deprived Singaporeans to Malaysian and other cities to watch televised coverage of World Cup 2010.
The reason is Singapore’s surprising failure to gain the rights to telecast what is equivalent to football’s Olympics from June 11 to July 11.
The rejection by FIFA – over money, lots of it – has delivered a heavy blow to a small army of soccer fans, as well as Singapore’s image as a sporting hub.
The debacle is – first and foremost – about escalating cost of sports for TV fans. First, the English Premier League and now FIFA have raised charges for television rights.
If agreement had been reached, each TV viewer would have to fork out S$30 to S$150 (probably the latter), or between three and five times that of the 2006 tournament.
For larger markets, it may not pose too much problem to get sponsors to absorb it. Malaysia’s Astro, for example, is forking out three times more.
In fact, some 202 nations, including some of the world’s poorest, have signed up to allow their citizens to watch it.
Singaporeans are finding it hard to accept that the whole world – rich and poor, big and small – can watch the World Cup, but not their country, which is one of Asia’s richest.
(Another is North Korea, one of the finalists. Pyongyang has asked South Korea to help redirect coverage of its team’s matches for its home audience.)
It is more than just about sports or television. It is a story of what is good and bad about Singapore.
The dilemma highlights how hard-headed policies, which have contributed to rapid growth for several decades, can work against certain segments of society or individuals.
One factor is the over-riding business philosophy that is in the air everywhere. Even the government – or companies it controls – plays a big role on commercial life.
It has vast shareholdings in many companies that sell crucial goods and services to its citizens, including television and newspapers.
The two telcos, Starhub and Singtel, also largely state-owned, submitted a joint bid to telecast the World Cup but it was rejected by FIFA.
For some critics, this level of state participation may be good for the state economy or the Treasury, but is unsatisfactory for consumers.
“If we had opened up and allowed independent TV companies to operate here, we’d be able to watch the World Cup like any other country,” one sports fan said.
These private enterprises would have ways of raising revenue to make up for the increase.
For now, Singapore is out of the picture and fans may find themselves having to travel to neighbouring countries for fulfilment.
Some of them, including Malaysians working here, are already making plans to book holiday rooms north of the Causeway and in other nearby countries – just in case.
However the idea of Singapore not being able to watch the prestigious World Cup – while its neighbours can – seems so preposterous that some people refuse to believe that it will happen.
They express faith on an eventual government-engineered solution because the price for failure is too high for two reasons.
First, a snap election is widely expected next year and the government will not want to upset the large soccer community. It is, after all, Singapore’s most popular sport.
Second, it is a matter of face for this First World country, particularly in view of its ambition to become a regional sports hub.
“We’ll never live this down!” exclaimed a sports fan.
He recalled a pledge by a minister to turn Singapore into a global player by qualifying for the World Cup finals by 2020. “Now we’re told we won’t be able even to see it; what a back-slide,” he exclaimed.
So far the authorities have maintained a hands-off attitude, saying that it’s a private commercial matter.
The general feeling is any solution hinges largely on one thing – money, how much and who pays?
Some journalists believe that World Cup viewers may have to pay S$150 each for that one month of world class football. Are they willing? The online answer was a resounding: “No!”
(By comparison in 2006 World Cup, Starhub charged its sports subscribers an extra S$10 (or S$26 for non-sports subscribers) for the privilege.
Singaporeans who know the government well believe it will stick to its profit-first-sports-later attitude.
“It is hard for it to make football cheaper for TV viewers given the escalating costs – without digging into the Treasury.
“To do so will be to subsidise public consumerism, something the leaders will not agree to,” one official said.
Unlike some countries, the government is likely to continue to treat the World Cup as a private matter, rather than public entitlement or part of its obligation to its citizens.
Singapore’s impending woes may spell opportunity for nearby hotels (particularly in Johor and Malacca) which have cable TV. Even those as far away as in Kuala Lumpur and Penang!
It coincides with the school vacation when thousands of families usually take a break across the Causeway and other popular Asian cities.
As the date draws near, hard-core fans are growing more restive.
Some suggested that Singapore Pools, the only legal lottery operator, which is already preparing to accept bets on World Cup matches, be made the sponsor.
“It will probably make a small fortune from the betting anyway, so why not get it to help finance the shortfall?” one football fan suggested.
“And if they won’t do it? Let the illegal bookies do it!” he said.
(This was published in The Star on Jan 2, 2010)
<HR SIZE=1>Edited 1/3/2010 6:40 am ET by Fkapore</TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgVFM colSpan=2 align=middle>View Full Message</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>World Cup
Viewing soccer ‘Olympics’
Is TV coverage just another private commercial deal or a social responsibility to citizens like elsewhere? Singaporeans won’t like the answer. By Seah Chang Nee.
Jan 2, 2010
WHEN June approaches, there could be a small outflow of deprived Singaporeans to Malaysian and other cities to watch televised coverage of World Cup 2010.
The reason is Singapore’s surprising failure to gain the rights to telecast what is equivalent to football’s Olympics from June 11 to July 11.
The rejection by FIFA – over money, lots of it – has delivered a heavy blow to a small army of soccer fans, as well as Singapore’s image as a sporting hub.
The debacle is – first and foremost – about escalating cost of sports for TV fans. First, the English Premier League and now FIFA have raised charges for television rights.
If agreement had been reached, each TV viewer would have to fork out S$30 to S$150 (probably the latter), or between three and five times that of the 2006 tournament.
For larger markets, it may not pose too much problem to get sponsors to absorb it. Malaysia’s Astro, for example, is forking out three times more.
In fact, some 202 nations, including some of the world’s poorest, have signed up to allow their citizens to watch it.
Singaporeans are finding it hard to accept that the whole world – rich and poor, big and small – can watch the World Cup, but not their country, which is one of Asia’s richest.
(Another is North Korea, one of the finalists. Pyongyang has asked South Korea to help redirect coverage of its team’s matches for its home audience.)
It is more than just about sports or television. It is a story of what is good and bad about Singapore.
The dilemma highlights how hard-headed policies, which have contributed to rapid growth for several decades, can work against certain segments of society or individuals.
One factor is the over-riding business philosophy that is in the air everywhere. Even the government – or companies it controls – plays a big role on commercial life.
It has vast shareholdings in many companies that sell crucial goods and services to its citizens, including television and newspapers.
The two telcos, Starhub and Singtel, also largely state-owned, submitted a joint bid to telecast the World Cup but it was rejected by FIFA.
For some critics, this level of state participation may be good for the state economy or the Treasury, but is unsatisfactory for consumers.
“If we had opened up and allowed independent TV companies to operate here, we’d be able to watch the World Cup like any other country,” one sports fan said.
These private enterprises would have ways of raising revenue to make up for the increase.
For now, Singapore is out of the picture and fans may find themselves having to travel to neighbouring countries for fulfilment.
Some of them, including Malaysians working here, are already making plans to book holiday rooms north of the Causeway and in other nearby countries – just in case.
However the idea of Singapore not being able to watch the prestigious World Cup – while its neighbours can – seems so preposterous that some people refuse to believe that it will happen.
They express faith on an eventual government-engineered solution because the price for failure is too high for two reasons.
First, a snap election is widely expected next year and the government will not want to upset the large soccer community. It is, after all, Singapore’s most popular sport.
Second, it is a matter of face for this First World country, particularly in view of its ambition to become a regional sports hub.
“We’ll never live this down!” exclaimed a sports fan.
He recalled a pledge by a minister to turn Singapore into a global player by qualifying for the World Cup finals by 2020. “Now we’re told we won’t be able even to see it; what a back-slide,” he exclaimed.
So far the authorities have maintained a hands-off attitude, saying that it’s a private commercial matter.
The general feeling is any solution hinges largely on one thing – money, how much and who pays?
Some journalists believe that World Cup viewers may have to pay S$150 each for that one month of world class football. Are they willing? The online answer was a resounding: “No!”
(By comparison in 2006 World Cup, Starhub charged its sports subscribers an extra S$10 (or S$26 for non-sports subscribers) for the privilege.
Singaporeans who know the government well believe it will stick to its profit-first-sports-later attitude.
“It is hard for it to make football cheaper for TV viewers given the escalating costs – without digging into the Treasury.
“To do so will be to subsidise public consumerism, something the leaders will not agree to,” one official said.
Unlike some countries, the government is likely to continue to treat the World Cup as a private matter, rather than public entitlement or part of its obligation to its citizens.
Singapore’s impending woes may spell opportunity for nearby hotels (particularly in Johor and Malacca) which have cable TV. Even those as far away as in Kuala Lumpur and Penang!
It coincides with the school vacation when thousands of families usually take a break across the Causeway and other popular Asian cities.
As the date draws near, hard-core fans are growing more restive.
Some suggested that Singapore Pools, the only legal lottery operator, which is already preparing to accept bets on World Cup matches, be made the sponsor.
“It will probably make a small fortune from the betting anyway, so why not get it to help finance the shortfall?” one football fan suggested.
“And if they won’t do it? Let the illegal bookies do it!” he said.
(This was published in The Star on Jan 2, 2010)
Kudos to the govt for keeping that orgy of garbage off Singapore's TV screens.
