Kiwi football fans will be without live coverage of some of the All Whites’ crucial qualifying matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The Oceania Football Confederation has advised that coverage of the three All Whites away matches on Sky TV will be limited to highlights packages.
The September 7, October 12 and March 26 away matches will not have live broadcasts produced due to the cost of production in the Solomon Islands, Tahiti and New Caledonia.
However, every All Whites home match will be broadcast live on Sky Television.
“Although networks in New Caledonia and Tahiti bought the rights, there was a lack of interest from television stations around the region,” said OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas. “We offer our sincere apologies to the fans in New Caledonia and Tahiti.”
“We have to operate financially and be prudent with our funds and OFC TV was facing a USD 140,000 loss in the live production. This does not make good business sense and it would have been irresponsible of us to proceed any further,” he says.
“We apologise for the situation but there are high costs involved and great difficulties logistically in the production of such matches with games played across four countries within a few days of each other.”
Source: NZ Football
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