Hong Kong broadcasters resolve World Cup row
April 28, 2010
Three Hong Kong broadcasters have ended a dispute that would have shut out free coverage of the World Cup in the city of 7 million people but the partial solution only airs matches to households with digital decoders.
Hong Kong’s World Cup rights holder, the pay-TV broadcaster Cable TV, was at loggerheads with local terrestrial stations TVB and ATV over a sub-licensing deal. Cable TV offered footage for the opening match, the semi-finals and the final, but required the two stations to also carry its commentary and advertising.
Those demands were initially rejected, but under public pressure to reach a compromise with the World Cup just weeks away, the three stations said in a joint statement that TVB and ATV have agreed to Cable TV’s terms.