Thai fans can watch all Fifa World Cup matches live

Thai fans can watch all Fifa World Cup matches live

A happy man poses with his tickets at a 2018 Fifa World Cup ticket centre shortly after it opened in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on April 18. (Reuters photo)
A happy man poses with his tickets at a 2018 Fifa World Cup ticket centre shortly after it opened in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on April 18. (Reuters photo)

Thai football fans will be allowed to watch all matches in the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia live on free TV, the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) confirmed on Friday.

The broadcasts will be shown on at least two channels: one operated by TrueVisions and also on Amarin TV.

TrueVisions is part of the Charoen Pokphand Group conglomerate controlled by the Chearavanont family. Amarin TV is controlled by the billionaire Sirivadanabhakdi family, which has major interests in food and beverage businesses and real estate among others.

Nine major local companies have agreed to jointly pay 1.4 billion baht to acquire the rights to show the tournament on Thai stations.

Russia will stage football's biggest showcase from June 14 to July 15. Thirty teams will take part, playing 64 matches in all in 11 cities across the country.

The nine sponsors are King Power Group, CP Group, Kasikornbank, BTS, Gulf Energy Development, PTT Global Chemical, Bangchak Corp and Carabao Dang. 

Bangchak and Carabao have agreed to pay 50 million baht each, PTTGC 100 million, and the other six sponsors 200 million baht each, according to sources familiar with the agreement.

A regulation of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) requires that live major sporting events such as the World Cup and Olympics must be aired on free TV only. Finding sponsors willing to foot the bill for expensive broadcast rights for these events is often an arduous process. 

The SAT plans a news conference on Monday to outline details of the broadcast schedule and sign contracts with the nine sponsors. 

An industry source said that Advanced Info Service, the country's largest mobile operator, also wanted to be a sponsor but there was some resistance to allowing it to join the others. Further details were not known.

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