Broadcasting Rights of FIFA World Cup
Introduction
Going closer to our topic, it seems worthwhile noting that FIFA is rightfully considered to be the most powerful and influential football organization that reveals as a steering body for football, indoor soccer, and beach football. Consequently, all football competitions including world cups (they are generally assumed to be most wanted ones for spectators) are performed under the duly patronage of this worldwide organization.
A great demand for sports events has undoubtedly formed favorable conditions for both organizations (fn. – in our case it is FIFA). According to WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), “The royalties that broadcasters earn from selling their exclusive footage to other media outlets enable them to invest in the costly organizational and technical infrastructure involved in broadcasting sports events to millions of fans all over the world.”
Main Body
How FIFA acts
FIFA’s main target is not to look for potential buyers of rights for transmitting their games. In such a manner, they select marketing companies that will be seeking for mass-media representatives in the role of intermediaries. In general, 2018 FIFA World Cup has its four legal broadcasters, which correspond the four regions: Caribbean, Europe, Oceania, and Middle East and North Africa. Thusly, these four broadcasters cover the rights for at least one hundred states throughout the globe.
Popularity and Demand
The latest investigations conducted by FIFA has shown that “an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany and the 2010 event in South Africa was broadcast to 204 countries on 245 different channels.” Probably, such a worldwide popularity of the game absolutely increases the demand of television in purchasing broadcasting rights for galactic prices.
Olympics
Still, if we just turn back to Olympic Games occurring in the current century, I cannot but recollect that NBC, for instance, has paid IOC next to three and a half billion dollars to broadcast both 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics as well as both 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. By the way, have you ever thought why players have their names on the kits? Such a condition was made for mass media exactly. Hence, media coverage was increased, as playing conditions were altered.
Opportunities for Clubs and National Teams
Taking football clubs in consideration, it must be noted that there exists a so-called proportion of television rights to total revenue. Thus, according to Gortazar, “In the case of the major national European football leagues, it (fn. – the aforementioned proportion) has increased from an average 22% in 1996 to 45% in 2010” (2).
As we all know, football teams can earn money due to their positions in both countries’ and continent’s ratings, while national ones – as a result of their performance at the world level (for instance, either in FIFA World Cups or in UEFA European Championship). As their predominant majority has certain broadcasting rights sold to the exact mass media representatives, they can also gain profits from their transmitted games. Football clubs – from underdogs to grandees – actually have the stadiums where they play. As the flow of innovations is considered to be persistent, people (especially, business people) have to as if keep an eye on fashion trends. Concerning football, it can be a refurbishment of stadium’s infrastructure. For example, the money earned from broadcasting rights may be utilized to reconstruct pitches or to set new seats so that to reach higher attendance for home team. As for national teams, the revenue can be transferred to local football federation either in order to allocate costs between football leagues or to invest them in youth academies to develop the popularity of football amid people of all age categories.
FIFA World Cup
With one more return to the World Cup broadcasting rights, it appears to be important noting that the sport’s governing body has decided to extend the business for ongoing competitions till 2026. Well, the most breathtaking deal concerns both Canadian and American partners. For example, the Guardian states, “Fox adds the rights to the US English-language coverage of the 2026 World Cup to its existing agreement for the 2018 and ‘22 events. The 2023 Women’s World Cup is part of the contract as well.”
Candidly, the 2022 event that will be held in Qatar is possible to cause a great quantity of inconveniences for many spectators worldwide. As the state always possesses an infernal hot weather, it was agreed to conduct the World Cup in winter (for the first time). Probably, a range of observes will be shorter than usually; thus, broadcasters will not benefit to the extent they have had earlier.
At the same time, one should obligatory draw attention to the fact that bribes often happen to be concerning the sale of broadcasting rights (especially, this concerns the World-Cup-referring sales). Many former FIFA official have confessed that they received payoffs to influence illegal activity; hence, some of them were arrested according to existing legislation. This has always been a disputable issue for FIFA, as it not only characterizes the worst sides of members involved in both important and responsible process, but also discredits a time-proved image of the global organization.
Some consultants of the European Union suppose that football fans have an unquestioning right to spectate both World Cups and other continental championships for free. Of course, these circumstances will not be favorable for either FIFA or UEFA, as this does not guarantee the most powerful football organizations to preserve their exclusive rights for broadcasting such games through the instrumentality of payable subscriptions.
The Role of Media
Over the last few decades, the phenomenon of mass media has been playing a very meaningful role in the life of global society, as it broaches all the spheres of human activity starting from problems touching upon housing and community amenities and finishing with the country’s political life. For sure, sports hardly seems to be an exception for this issue.
The relative status of certain games, as well as relationships within sports, has been significantly affected by the more incursion of media into the world of sports. As football is considered to be the most popular game worldwide, this comes clear that it is more often transmitted via TV comparing to other kinds of sports. Moreover, the press is said to constantly emerge at places, where a considerable economic wealth preserves. This undoubtedly increases the status of the game in farthermost corners of the planet. Research by Tavakolli, Najafi, and Ramezani argues the following, “Mass media are a function of increasing interest in sport and this interest increase of the audience develops attention of mass media like newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, recently Internet and their wide sport coverage” (4).
As FIFA is suggested to be a result of sport development, it is respectively a massive step towards national development. Taking World Cups into consideration, it is paramount mentioning that the press appears to be a soi-disant helping hand for football development, as it has an impact on realizing most of FIFA’s objectives.
Conclusion
The last figure that was not mentioned earlier is a sponsor. It is worthwhile noting that sponsorship also plays a key role in sports development, as this activity has a direct impact on both national teams and multifold clubs. Moreover, we are always capable of seeing ads with their names (fn. – sponsors’) and emblems on the boards that encircle football pitches. Due to the acquisition of FIFA’s broadcasting rights, mass media unconsciously promote the sponsors, so that the last ones gain profits from this process.
In a word, obtaining FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights is very a tremulous and a long-drawn-out tender that is not always fair. Still, if media group (or groups) receives a cherished opportunity to transmit the games of such a level, they will grow rich with almost absolute certainty.
Works Cited
World Intellectual Property Organization. Sport and IP. Broadcasting and Media Rights in Sport. Web. 3 May. 2016.
<http://www.wipo.int/ip-sport/en/broadcasting.html>
FIFA. About FIFA: FIFA World Cup. Facts and Figures. Web. 3 May. 2016. <http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/worldcup/>
Gortazar, L. Broadcasting Rights in Football Leagues and TV Competition. Introduction. (pp. 2, 34). Web. Dec. 2012. <https://www.cemfi.es/ftp/mt/t1202.pdf>
[fn. – a scholarly article]
The Guardian. Football: World Cup. FIFA extends World Cup US television rights deal with Fox through 2026. Web. 12 Feb. 2015. <http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/feb/12/fifa-extends-us-television-rights- deal-for-world-cup-with-fox-through-2026>
Tavakolli, M., Najafi, A., & Ramezani, Z.N. Advances in Applied Science Research. Studying Role of Mass Media in Sport Development. (4: 49, 54). Web. 2013. <http://pelagiaresearchlibrary.com/advances-in-applied-science/vol4-iss4/AASR- 2013-4-4-49-54.pdf>
