'RCTI' urges sports bars not to 'steal' World Cup promotion

'RCTI' urges sports bars not to 'steal' World Cup promotion

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

RCTI, Indonesia's official TV station for the upcoming 2002 World
Cup, has warned against "commercialization" by sports bars and
cafes of its live broadcasts, but stopped short of what action to
take for delinquencies.

"We are pleading morally with them to respect our rights as
the official partner for the World Cup," Teguh Juwarno, the
station's spokesman, told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a
gathering last Thursday.

"We secured the right to an expensive package, so I want them
to understand the exclusiveness of the program," he said.

RCTI, according to Teguh, has set aside a budget of Rp 100
billion (US$10 million) to bring the World Cup matches to
Indonesia.

Half of the amount -- US$5 million -- has been spent on the
purchase of the package from German-based Kirch Media, the world
soccer body FIFA's commercial agent currently facing insolvency.

The World Cup, which is jointly hosted by South Korea and
Japan, will kick off on May 31 for a month-long soccer spectacle.

While disclosing that about 70 percent of its advertising
slots had been sold, Teguh said that they were beginning to be
worried about indications that many cafes would commercially
exploit RCTI's live soccer program.

He said there was speculation that many sports bars and cafes
would try to lure customers by promoting the live matches.

"An event organizer will probably turn away from RCTI, when it
finds that it is cheaper to do its promotion through cafes.
That's unfair.

"If they hold it in an open air area with free entry and with
visitors not having to purchase drinks or snacks, that's no
problem. In that case, they (cafes) are not capitalizing on our
exclusive World Cup package," Teguh said.

But he did not elaborate on what action RCTI could take
against perpetrators, should there be any.

"That is an issue we will decide later," he said.