Quiet season

The Mega Kuningan-based Tori Kaizoku! bar, for instance, did not acquire the World Cup nobar license from the Indonesia Entertainment Group (IEG) -- the official Indonesian broadcaster of this year's World Cup matches that also happens to be a member of the Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek) Group -- due to one reason: the fee itself.

Rana, the bar’s co-owner, declined to specify the price and his budget, though he divulged that the bar “simply” could not afford it. 

“The price of the licensing fee was just not a good fit,” he told The Jakarta Post. “We had inquired about this with the license holder -- in this case, Champions IEG -- and it just didn’t click.”

Rana could have opted to acquire the licensing fee for a particular match only -- the final round of the World Cup came to his mind -- but he felt a sort of “indication” that it might cost more.

“No matter where you are, a bundling package must be cheaper than buying just one,” he presumed.

A manager at a bar in the Pantai Indah Kapuk area, John (not his real name), recounted his experience when he tried to acquire the nobar license, which eventually fell through.

Even though John felt that the licensing policy was “fair enough” and he had no qualms with the license holder, he also felt that the policy was relatively “less friendly” to small bars such as John’s.

“There could have been more places that hosted [licensed] nobar; but then again, perhaps a few terms and requirements of the license were too tough for places such as ours,” he continued.

The cost of the licensing fee was a matter of concern for John as well. “It might be too pricey,” he added.

A bar owner based in the Gading Serpong area, Adam (not his real name), experienced a different difficulty in acquiring the nobar license -- which fell through as well. The biggest issue, in his experience, was communication.

“When we found out in a press conference that [World Cup] nobar must be licensed, it meant this was a serious matter. So, we decided to contact [the license holder] and the response was very lacking,” said Adam.

Adam had tried contacting the license holder via phone call only to end up “being tossed around”, he remarked. He had also tried sending an email, but “still no response”. As a result, even as of today, Adam still “had absolutely no idea” of what exactly the policy for hosting licensed nobar was.

Soccer fever: Even though FLYNN Dine & Bar Jakarta is not a sports bar, it nonetheless hosts viewing parties of this year's World Cup. (Instagram/FLYNN Dine & Bar Jakarta) (Instagram/FLYNN Dine & Bar Jakarta)

The case for intellectual-property rights

Belafonti, the GM of Business Development & Content of IEG, which handles the nobar license for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Indonesia, says that buying the nobar licensing policy was about respecting the World Cup’s intellectual-property rights.

“It’s not about being ready or not,” he asserted. “As a society, no matter where we are, we must start appreciating intellectual property rights.”

For smaller bars that might find the licensing fee too pricey, Belafonti asserted that any cost and the bar categorization rule that the license would entail had been “composed in such a way based on, say, the projected profit that each venue could obtain”.

Belafonti also pointed out the possibly insufficient communication between the license holder and some of the prospective licensees was likely due to “the habit of society at large” that, unfortunately, still endured.

He explained, “[Prospective licensees] generally chase us once the World Cup is [already] around the corner. Even now, when the World Cup has commenced, so many venues are still contacting us. The spike could go to 100 percent. For instance, we would usually service 20-50 venues per day, but now it could be 200 or more. This was the cause of the bottleneck on our part.”

Ultimately, there was only so much that Belafonti and IEG could do to minimize any potential fiasco.

“We have begun educating clients and started the sale process a while ago -- since the beginning of the year,” said Belafonti. “But it’s people’s habit to ‘shop’ at the last minute.” 

Frustrated fans

Farhan, a 26-year-old fan of the England soccer team, “regrets” how his go-to bar in Jakarta would host nobar for a few World Cup matches and not the whole tournament.

“Perhaps it was because the business of bars had changed. Or perhaps because nobar was no longer [considered] fun. Or maybe because the pandemic still frightened some people,” Farhan opined.

Adil, another 26-year-old soccer fan, could not even find any bar or cafe in his domicile of South Tangerang, Banten, that would host nobar that featured his favorite team: Japan -- especially the match between Japan and Costa Rica last Sunday.

“I [instead] ended up at a certain restaurant outlet. It felt not as exciting, so I canceled my nobar plans and returned home,” he said.

“This World Cup should’ve provided the momentum for everyone to come together again -- just like [offline] music events,” he asserted.

Getting around things

Tori Kaizoku! insisted on doing the right thing. The bar would not host nobar, but it allowed the patrons to watch the matches legally on their respective gadgets instead. Turns out, the patrons nonetheless flocked to their favorite spot.

Rana later discovered that, without breaking any rules, Tori Kaizoku! could still have a go at the World Cup euphoria after all.

“What’s great about [the matches] being legally available on a streaming platform [Vidio], actually, is that everyone could watch it on their respective devices,” he observed. “So, in this case, to have the bar host nobar is no longer as urgent as what it used to be.”

John, however, was more discreet at his bar. He decided to use the karaoke room as the lounge that the bar patrons could use to have a small-scale nobar.

“It’s more intimate, in a way that it’s not a rowdy kind of nobar,” John illustrated. “But we prepared a karaoke room with a big screen.”

Adam, on the other hand, refused to host any discreet nobar. Simply put, he believed it would not be worth the potential trouble.

“We’d be wrong if we broke the rules -- both legally and morally. So why force it?” he opined.

Nonetheless, Adam harbored no bitter feelings toward the license holder whatsoever. Or, as he put it nonchalantly, “The way I see it, it’s just business. That’s all.”

Soccer fever: Even though FLYNN Dine & Bar Jakarta is not a sports bar, it nonetheless hosts viewing parties of this year's World Cup. (Instagram/FLYNN Dine & Bar Jakarta) (Instagram/FLYNN Dine & Bar Jakarta)

Following the rules

STARK Taproom at the Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD)'s Elysee Lot had no issue securing the license, says its marketing manager, Ang.

“We were an 'early bird' and we came well-prepared. As a soccer fan, the World Cup is going to be the biggest event of the year. That's why the preparation must be solid,” Ang said. 

"First, the patrons must feel comfortable with the place. Second, the connection -- how we engage, handle and soothe the patrons. Third, the network -- we must make sure that the internet network is seamless because, as we all know, streaming usually suffers from up-and-down bandwidth."

FLYNN Dine & Bar Jakarta secured the license in September of this year, though just like STARK Taproom, it faced no difficulty obtaining one.

Yulius Novin, the bar's cofounder, divulged that while the World Cup might do well for the bar's business, the bar would not open until after-hours.

"People might nonetheless prefer to enjoy the matches at their home, so there's little possibility that they would deliberately show up [at the bar] to watch the match at two o'clock in the morning," he told the Post.

Willy Gunawan, the beverage manager of Lobo Italian Bistro, a fine dining restaurant in The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta, explained that the establishment was more than willing to play by the rules.

"[Of course] the license should be official. As [part of] a hotel, we shouldn't mess around. Everything should be according to the rules," Willy told the Post.

On the day of the World Cup's opening ceremony, Lobo Italian Bistro invited someone special to liven up the quadrennial festivity: An Indonesia-based professional soccer player, Raphael Maitimo.

"To make the ambiance more attractive, the management had an idea of inviting a professional soccer player who plays in the Indonesian soccer league. Inviting a European player might be complicated because of the limited time window," Willy jested with a laugh.