LGE Reveals Govt Won't Have To Pay A Single Sen For Airing 2018 World Cup Matches On RTM
The bill is being covered through sponsors who are buying airtime for advertisements.
By Sadho Ram — 03 Jun 2018, 04:34 PM
Earlier today, 3 June, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng revealed that the Government won't have to pay a single sen to cover the RM30 million cost of broadcasting the 2018 FIFA World Cup live on RTM
According to Malaysiakini, the Finance Minister said that the Pakatan Harapan Government has managed to obtain enough private sponsorship to cover the entire bill.
"The cost to run the live telecast is zero now.
"The cost is fully sponsored already, and Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo will be announcing the matter soon. We will not be paying a single sen for it," Lim Guan Eng was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini on Sunday.
According to LGE, the private sponsors that the government has obtained are purchasing airtime to show their adverts on RTM
The private sponsors will be paying slightly over standard advertising rates even though RTM is a state broadcaster, as they consider it a donation to the country.
Previously, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo had said 41 World Cup matches would be aired on RTM, of which 27 would be shown live.
According to Gobind Singh, the cost of airing the 41 matches would be RM30 million.
The Finance Minister also revealed that while Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was not so keen on the idea of showing the 2018 FIFA World Cup on RTM, he eventually gave it the green light
Malaysiakini reported Lim Guan Eng as saying that due to being a little "stingy" in terms of finances Tun Dr Mahathir was hesitant to accept the idea.
"After it was explained to him that the tournament only comes once in four years and that allowing it to be aired on RTM would allow the public to watch the sport for free without having to subscribe to any sports channels, Mahathir gave it the green light."
In a separate report by NST Online, LGE also said that Malaysians will save as much as RM100 (which they would have to fork out for pay TV service providers).