June 11, 2014 8:35 pm JST
Thai junta convinces RS to let most World Cup games be aired for free
YUKAKO ONO, Nikkei staff writer
BANGKOK -- Just hours after a court ruled that media-content provider RS does not have to broadcast all matches of the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament for free, RS accepted a request from the junta to let nearly all the games be aired for free anyway.
A lawyer for RS is surrounded by the media after the court handed down the ruling in favor of the company on June 11.
RS -- which had planned to broadcast only 22 matches for free -- decided to grant the military-controlled Channel 5, a free channel, the right to air 38 of the remaining 42 games. The company, Channel 5 and the junta will hold a press conference tomorrow to announce the decision.
The Supreme Administrative Court on Wednesday ruled in favor of media content provider RS, the sole holder of broadcasting rights to the 2014 World Cup games, saying it does not have to air all 64 matches on free TV. RS had threatened to air black screens for all matches if it lost the case with the broadcasting regulator.
In Tuesday's court hearing, RS said FIFA, soccer's international governing body, had given the company approval to broadcast only 22 matches for free. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission, however, argued that this was against the country's "must-have" rule, which requires seven major sports events, including all games of the World Cup, to be aired for free.
The court supported RS's claim in its ruling Wednesday, just a day before the games are to open, saying the must-have rule does not apply in this case because RS obtained the broadcasting rights in 2005, before the rule took effect in 2013.
However, it now appears that Thais will be able to watch almost all the matches for free. To watch all games, viewers will need to pay to subscribe to True Vision cable TV services or buy satellite TV set-top boxes from RS for access to a channel devoted to the World Cup. The set-top box is priced at 1,590 baht ($49).
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