No more free ride for local fans of the Premiership

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 08/10/2007 12:59 PM

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Soccer fans who want to watch English Premier League matches this season will have to sign up to a pay-TV service, after local stations lost the right to broadcast the games.

Beginning Aug. 11, the day the new season kicks off with four matches at 6:40 p.m., pay-TV service Astro will begin its EPL coverage.

However, there is uncertainty over whether this coverage will be exclusive, or if other pay-TV services in the country will also be able to air matches.

""We have a business deal with EPL's rights holder and we have no authority to resell the rights to local TV stations. Everything business-wise must be in line with the contract,"" vice president for corporate affairs at PT Direct Vision's Astro Indonesia, Halim Mahfudz, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Astro on Tuesday was granted the right to broadcast Premiership matches in Indonesia.

Through ESPN, Star Sports, Goal TV1 and Goal TV2 channels, it will broadcast all 370 matches involving 20 soccer clubs.

""We will run most of the matches live but we will have to delay some due to parallel fixtures. We will also repeat some interesting matches for those who miss them.

""Our basic idea by bringing EPL into the country is to give Indonesian people access to watch the league. That's why we are also thinking about how to give Indonesians more chances to watch EPL matches through various programs, such as nonton bareng,"" he said, referring to special events organized by the rights holder where groups of soccer fans can watch matches on a giant screen.

""We haven't yet decided the format or the target audience for these programs.""

There is still some uncertainty about whether subscribers to other pay-TV services like Indovision and Kabelvision will be able to watch Premiership matches.

When contacted by the Post, customer service employees at Kabelvision and Indovision said they were still in negotiations over the issue. They promised more information for subscribers in the next couple of days.

Local TV stations will still be able to air matches from other European leagues.

Trans7, for example, will begin airing Italian league matches starting later this month. Trans7, previously TV7, had held the rights to broadcast the EPL since 2003.

""We didn't take it (the EPL rights) as the price was simply too costly for us,"" Trans7 communications manager Anita Wulandari told the Post.

""We wouldn't be able to cover the cost of buying the rights even if we sold all the advertising spots, combined with other income from sponsors.""

SCTV spokesman Uki Hastama said the price of the English Premier League had soared in the last few years.

""It is far higher than the Italian league, which we still deem costly if we compare it with the right to broadcast the Bundesliga, for example,"" Uki said.

SCTV bought the rights to broadcast last year's World Cup.

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