FAM courts broadcasters
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) is hosting media broadcasting rights workshop today at Chiwembe Village in Blantyre.
The workshop follows a recommendation by the competitions committee meeting a couple of weeks ago which, among other issues, noted an improvement in football live broadcast.
The workshop also comes after a defunct privately-owned Beta Television failed to deliver after signing an exclusive rights deal with Super League of Malawi (Sulom) in 2016 to beam all matches.
But Beta TV, which eventually went off air in 2018, did not pay the K266 million exclusive rights deal to the clubs.
According to an article carried in our sister paper Weekend Nation, clubs were supposed to equally share 80 percent of the K266 million (K212 million) while K53 million was for Sulom.
Former FAM general secretary Suzgo Nyirenda was quoted in the article as having blamed Sulom for rushing to sign the deal without consulting the mother football governing body.
According to a press statement from the association live broadcasts have made the game popular than before.
FAM has invited all media houses that have been active in football live broadcasts for the past two years.
The targeted participants are heads of sales and marketing/ commercial departments, sales executives responsible for decision-making in selling sports and sports editors/ producers.
As we look at how best to develop the football broadcasting industry, we would want to share our local experiences whilst aspiring to achieve global standards.
“This is the best platform where the key players who make the game available to commercial partners and the masses will come together and share ideas on how best to move the football broadcasting industry forward,” reads the letter in part.
FAM says the objective of the workshop is to sharpen and inspire participants ahead of the season opening in March.
“It will also be the best platform to personally know and interact with each other as people serving and promoting the football broadcasting industry in Malawi,” states the press release.
Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) head of sports Frank Kandu hailed FAM for organising the workshop, sayimg issues of broadcasting rights have been contentious.
“Football elsewhere has become big business such as in England. Just last year it is was revealed that clubs in the EPL can make profits even without gate revenue as broadcasting rights have become lucrative,” he said.
Mibawa Television commentator Peter Fote also commended the association, saying it is crucial to generate Frevenue for clubs.
