‘No station will be barred from beaming Brazil matches’
Optima Sports Management International (OSMI), the exclusive 2014 FIFA World Cup terrestrial broadcast rights owners for the Nigerian territory, has allayed fears that some Nigerian radio and television stations will be barred from broadcasting the 2014 FIFA World Cup matches.
OSMI recently signed a transmission agreement with Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), the umbrella body of radio and television stations across the country. But speaking at the second edition of the OSMI World Cup Broadcasters Workshop in Lagos yesterday, Mr. Kunle Falodun, Managing Director, OSMI, said due to the global buzz that the event has generated and in fulfillment of the key objective of his company which is to provide premium sports content to all Nigerians, every interested station would be allowed to beam the matches.
He said: “Few weeks ago, we signed an agreement with BON for the transmission of all the 64 matches of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Through BON’s network of radio and television stations, we plan to reach the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. Even for stations that are not members of BON, we will not deny them the signals. Our overriding objective is to provide opportunity for as many Nigerians as possible to be part of the World Cup experience. We want to reach as many homes as possible in Nigeria with the matches.”
However, Falodun, who expressed the readiness of OSMI to deliver an unforgettable World Cup experience to Nigerians, noted that any station interested in beaming the signals must be ready to abide by the rules as laid down by FIFA.