Digicel kick starts 2010 World Cup Coverage to the Caribbean

19.JUNE.09

by Rohan Thomas

Soccer fans in the Caribbean have been given the assurance that when the 2010 FIFA World Cup is held in South Africa from June 11 to July 11 they will be able to view the event from the comfort of their homes.{{more}}

Making regional television coverage possible is telecommunications provider Digicel.

The Irish company, which has 31 markets worldwide, made the official announcement on Friday, June 12, at a Press Conference held at the Sandy Lane Country Club, in Barbados.

Digicel has been able to secure this through an exclusive regional deal with IMC/Sportsmax, which will make it cheaper for local terrestrial broadcast television stations to purchase exclusive rights.

Digicel’s Group Marketing Director, Kieran Foley said at the Press Conference: “IMC has the responsibility to go to each local market and work with the terrestrial broadcasters to make sure it’s shown free-to-air. That’s their broadcasting business. Our aim was to support this initiative and make sure the people get it, to make sure that broadcasters can show it.”

“Financially it is very difficult for each local broadcaster to afford the costs for the rights with FIFA, so our position is that we put in a large amount of money to allow IMC to take the regional rights from FIFA and give it at cheaper rates to the countries,” Foley added.

“We have been sponsors of regional broadcasts of West Indies cricket since 2004 and obviously we have been in discussion with FIFA on how we can improve our Football and when the opportunity arose, the IMC partnership that we have took its toll,” Foley, an Irish native continued.

“We have listened to them and we know what they want and for us that is extremely important. For us it is an opportunity to practise what we preach,” Foley stated.