The last two World Cup matches will be available for free on all internet protocol TV (IPTV) platforms, says True Corp, which earlier went to court to protect what it said was its exclusive broadcast rights.
True will not charge rival platforms for live broadcasts of the bronze-medal match between Morocco and Croatia at 10pm on Saturday and the France-Argentina final at 10pm Sunday, said co-president Teeradet Dumrongbhalasitr.
He reiterated that True had the sole right to offer live World Cup broadcasting via IPTV, saying it had made the decision to please Thai people.
“This is to let Thai people nationwide see the matches without any restriction through IPTV. … IPTV service providers can submit their requests to the True group and it will include measures to prevent copyright violations,” Mr Teeradet said.
Transmission and modification of live World Cup matches through other platforms such as applications and websites is still prohibited, he said.
The IPTV operators that received the favour from True could return the favour in the future, he added.
The World Cup broadcasts have been dogged by controversy and conflict between state agencies ever since the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) reached a last-minute deal to acquire the rights from Fifa. True contributed 300 million baht toward the total cost of 1.4 billion baht, and the SAT gave the company exclusive rights to 32 of the tournament’s 64 matches.
The agreement with the SAT also stated that True had the sole right to broadcast matches over IPTV. This left some one million households that subscribe to other IPTV providers, such as AIS Play, staring at blank screens. A court subsequently granted an injunction at True’s request to bar rival platforms.
But the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), which gave the SAT 600 million baht to help pay for the rights, says the arrangement violated its “must-carry” rule for major sports events. It is demanding that the SAT return the money or face court action.
The NBTC maintains that in return for its money, it required the SAT to guarantee the World Cup broadcasts would be available on any platform.
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