Netizens yesterday accused Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) of political expediency with his call for the government to intervene in the way the World Cup is broadcast so that Taiwanese fans can watch the games on television for free.
“The government should look into this matter, because most people can only view this year’s World Cup matches on their cellphones and computers, but not on TV,” Ting said while attending a KMT event in Keelung yesterday.
ELTA TV, which has purchased the broadcast rights to the World Cup, has been airing the group-stage games, while state-owned Chinese Television System (CTS) is to start its broadcast for the knockout rounds.
Photo: Lin Hsin-han, Taipei Times
“In the past, people could view the games on the big screen when they were broadcast on TV [for free], but this time, most Taiwanese fans can only watch the games on their cellphones or computers. It is like torture to fans,” said Ting, who was a former chairman of the governing body in charge of Taiwanese basketball.
“The signal reception was often jammed and the picture quality was sometimes poor, although ELTA TV had made amends to fix the problem,” Ting said.
“However, it is terrible that many people cannot watch the games on big-screen TV,” he added.
The government could take action because Chunghwa Telecom — whose major shareholder is the government — “is the main financial backer of ELTA TV, while CTS is part of the nation’s public television network,” he said.
However, many netizens accused Ting of political expediency by opting to blame the government.
“This is typical of politicians, to demand that the state provide things for free,” a netizen said. “It is why money is being squandered, causing budget deficits.”
“Ting knows nothing about broadcasting rights, which is a business decision that should not involve the government,” another netizen called “jamison” wrote.
“Users should pay for services and broadcast rights cost money. Does Ting understand this simple concept?” a netizen identified as “Brian” said.
“Why should the state pay for it, when television networks are not willing to buy the rights,” a netizen identified as “Jer2725” wrote. “Actually, it is more convenient to watch the games on cellphones.”
Others said that those who want the games on television can pay for them by subscribing to Chunghwa Telecom’s multimedia-on-demand service.
Some questioned Ting’s motives, since it is an election year, saying he is trying to score political points by criticizing the government.
“ELTA TV paid NT$200 million [US$6.63 million] for the rights. To Ting and the KMT, this money is peanuts. I hope the KMT will pay this amount for free television viewing as a service to all citizens,” netizen silencedance wrote.
Ting seems to have forgotten that the KMT was in power during the last World Cup four years ago, the netizen said.
“Did the KMT government buy the TV broadcast rights to ensure that the public could watch all World Cup matches for free? No, it did not,” the netizen added.
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