Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, criticized TV broadcasters. He says that the broadcasters’ offers for the TV rights for the women’s World Cup were too low.
There were offers that were 100% less than offers for the men’s World Cup. Those were quickly rejected. Infantino says that the situation is not acceptable.
The next women’s World Cup tournament starts in July 2023 and will be held in Australia and New Zealand. Due to the time zones in that region, many games will be played late at night in important TV markets like Europe and the Americas. That means some people won’t watch.
Infantino says that the viewing figures for the women’s World Cup are very similar to the men’s World Cup in some countries. That means the value should be similar.
The president of FIFA further criticized broadcasters because they pushed FIFA to treat women’s soccer more equally to men’s soccer, but they do not want to pay for it.
For the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar, 32 teams will share 440 USD million in prize money. For the women’s World Cup in 2023, 32 teams will share a prize of $60 million.
FIFA has changed its business model for the women’s World Cup. In the past, the women’s World Cup was added on to deals for the men’s tournament. Now, the women’s tournament earns its own income.
VOCABULARY
- President – leader; the top person in a large company or organization; boss
- Criticize – to judge; to find mistakes or problems with something
- Broadcaster – a TV or radio station; a company that puts programs/shows on TV or radio
- Offer – an amount of money that someone is ready to pay for something; bid
- Rights – the ownership of something; the control or authorization over something;
- Reject – say “no” to; refuse to believe, accept, or consider; turn down; decline
- Tournament – a contest or competition with only one winner after many games/rounds
- Hold – to organize; to arrange; to have an event; host
- Due to – because of; owing to
- Time zone – Any of the 24 areas of the Earth that is used to decide the local time; a region of the Earth that shares the same time on the clock (e.g.,New York and Tokyo are in different time zones)
- Region – a large area of the Earth; an area of land with similar qualities/characteristics
- Market – the field/area of trade or business; the buying/selling of a specific product or service; a category of potential buyers
- the Americas – both North and South America
- Figures – numbers or an amount; data
- Value – how much something is worth in money; “price”; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something
- Further – in addition; furthermore; more; to a greater degree or extent
- Treat – to act or behave toward something/someone in some special way; handle; manage
- Deal – agreement; business contract; arrangement
- Earn – to get money for service or work; get; receive; collect
- Income – earnings; revenue; money that comes in
Original story from AP News below:
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