So, earlier today, I learned that with the FIFA World Cup less than a month away, some countries have yet to acquire broadcasting rights to the tournament. And two of those countries are China and India, as in, literally, the countries with the greatest number of people on earth. As in, based on what I read, both countries alone make up more than 25% of the total global viewers of the World Cup games, which means that China and India should not be messed with; that’s a goldmine for viewership.
So, what’s the reason for this deadlock? Money! FIFA is charging India $100 million just for broadcasting rights, and I have to wonder, isn’t this too much? For a tournament that’s about a month or so, an entire nation would pay $100 million dollars to broadcast it. And then, the cost would not be borne by the government, of course, but by the people. Local TV stations in India that want to broadcast the matches will also contribute to that, and then they will have to make their money back. How will they do this? Adverts!
Because of the number of viewers that a tournament like FIFA pulls, many businesses will capitalize and want to get highly coveted slots during the matches, because those will be moments that they’re sure people will be in front of their TV. And so, they will pay through their noses for it. But then, it’s just business, right? Because who really bears the brunt of these decisions? The customers who patronize these businesses! It won’t matter if, as a customer, you’re a FIFA fan or not; when they inflate their prices to make up for the broadcasting fee they had to pay, you’re basically getting punished for something you have no idea about. And as usual, the regular people pay the price.
Anyway, India is bargaining! Last I read, they offered $20 million for the rights, but FIFA is still insisting on a hundred. And then, while we’re talking about India, there’s also China charged upwards of $250 million for the same rights. I heard that the asking price could have been up to $300 million. I’m not sure of that, though. Omo, this is crazy. Where do these guys come up with these prices?
When you think about all the ways the institution will make money from this tournament, from merch sales, to ticket sales, broadcasting rights, and ad placements. And then, let’s not forget the games and licensing they’d get paid for. So, money is not really their problem, like not at all. And so far, this year’s game is already being projected to be the most expensive because the tickets are already way more expensive than in previous years. Depending on the stakes of the match, the price of the tickets varies from $300+ to upwards of $11 thousand! Like bro!!!!
Anyway, I’m not even a football fan, so I don’t know how closely I’d follow it. Hell, I don’t even know if my country has bought the broadcasting rights and how much they had to pay for it. This is the first time I’m thinking of the scale of the FIFA World Cup, and it’s just mind-boggling. In the end, I hope that everyone gets what they want and both China and India will be able to secure deals that everyone will be happy with.
And for me, I’ll be in my house, following the gist of the tournament on X. E no pass like that, bro.
Watch My Engaging Stories on:
Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
