Row over Korea broadcast rights 27/01/2010 |
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A dispute has broken out between Korea’s national television networks over the rights to broadcast major sporting events.
KBS and MBC jointly filed for arbitration at the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) yesterday (Jan 26), claiming that rival SBS’s hold over the exclusive rights to broadcast the next four Olympic Games (winter and summer) and two World Cups is a violation of Korea's broadcasting law.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded SBS the broadcasting rights for the Olympic Games until 2016 following a bidding process in 2006.
However, the Korea Times reports that this caught KBS and MBC off guard, as the three major terrestrial broadcasters had previously agreed to an alliance and a bid of $63m. SBS, which decided to break off at the last minute, landed the deal after bidding $72.5m, angering its rivals.
SBS also owns the exclusive rights to the World Cup until 2014, and
KBS and MBC have since been negotiating with SBS over purchasing the rights for the events, but the talks have been unsuccessful.
In the complaint filed to the KCC, KBS and MBC claim that SBS securing exclusive rights over the events is a violation of the Korean broadcasting law that states televisions stations should provide universal access.
“SBS providing exclusive coverage of the Olympics and World Cup will seriously infringe on the rights of the viewing public in terms of universal access” read the complaint.
“SBS has been unjustly rejecting the demands to sell the broadcasting rights or deliberately delaying the talks, which are clear actions that violate the current broadcasting law.”
It usually takes about 30 days for the KCC to reach a conclusion in such disputes, but the organisation will be under pressure to rule more quickly in this case with the Vancouver Winter Olympics just over two weeks away.
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