ELTA TV yesterday announced that it has obtained the exclusive rights to broadcast all of the 2014 FIFA World Cup matches across the nation this summer, while Chunghwa Telecom is to air the games online.
An ELTA TV executive said the network inked a deal to secure all the media rights to air the tournament taking place in Brazil in Taiwan with world soccer’s governing body, FIFA, and that it will collaborate with Chunghwa Telecom to make matches available on mobile devices and computers.
ELTA TV and Chunghwa Telecom officials said that all 64 World Cup games would be available to viewers, from the June 13 kick-off to the final on July 14.
The network will air the ties on its channel, which is available on Chunghwa Telecom’s Multimedia-on-Demand (MOD) cable subscription and Video-on-Demand services.
To watch the fixtures online, fans can access the telecom’s HiNet service at www.hinet.net, or use its “Hami” app to see the games on smartphones or tablets, Chunghwa Telecom said.
“It will be a month-long soccer carnival in Brazil. We are happy to announce that the Taiwanese public will not miss out on this big, international sports event,” Chunghwa Telecom president Shih Mu-piao (石木標) said at a press conference yesterday.
Although the pricing of the deal was not disclosed, the telecom expects the games to raise revenue from its MOD service to NT$2.6 billion this year from NT$2.2 billion last year (US$85.7 million from US$72.6 million).
ELTA TV executive director Chen Yi-chun (陳怡君) said that since the network has been airing games from top European and Asian leagues for years, it has soccer experts and commentators lined up for the World Cup broadcasts, including Max Shih and Bill Hsieh.
Ratings figures show that 10.06 million people in Taiwan watched the World Cup games beamed from South Africa in 2010 and officials expect that number to rise dramatically this year due to increased interest in the sport in Taiwan and the proliferation of Internet-capable cellphones and tablets.
ELTA TV said that due to the 11-hour time difference between Taiwan and Brazil, many games will be shown in the mornings in East Asia. However, Taiwanese can opt to watch the ties at a more convenient time through Chunghwa Telecom’s affiliated Internet services.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
RSS