SEA Games broadcasters won’t have to pay rights fee

Thursday 18 Aug 2011
Following the poor turnout at the 2009 SEA Games in Laos when major countries such as Indonesia did not send a coverage team, the South-East Asian Games Federation, has agreed not to charge a broadcast rights fee for this year’s edition.

Controversy over the rights fee in Laos dogged the event, and it was regarded as a “poor” result given that the television reach, as a result, did not meet the federation’s expectations.

However, broadcasters in Indonesia, who are providing exclusive coverage to their audiences, will make a rights contribution, to assist the Organising Committee in managing the overall cost of the Games.

The Games will be staged in Jakarta and Palembang from 11 to 22 November and will feature 43 sports, 12 of which will be telecast live.

“The cost of staging a SEA Games, given the big number of events, is rising with each event,” ABU Director of Sport John Barton said.

“However the federation has committed to it being ‘rights free’, and certainly that will assist our members in the 11 competing nations in being able to fund their production, which is substantial,” he said.