Regulator Steps Out of TV Fight
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) decided, Wednesday, to leave local television stations to sort out their dispute over the broadcasting rights for major sporting events between themselves.
Ahead of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, KBS and MBC jointly filed for arbitration with the KCC, the country's converged regulator for broadcasting and telecommunications, questioning whether SBS's exclusive rights to broadcast the next set of Olympic Games and World Cup tournaments was a violation of the country's broadcasting law.
In the complaint, KBS and MBC claimed that SBS secured exclusive rights over the sporting events, violating the Broadcasting Law that mandates television stations to provide universal access.
After a lengthy meeting, the commissioners of the KCC concluded that SBS had legitimate rights to provide exclusive coverage, as it reaches 90 percent of all Korean households, the minimum requirement to represent universal coverage.
However, the KCC added that it would be best for the public interest if all three national networks provided coverage for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in June, indicating that SBS will be pressed to resell its broadcasting rights to its rivals here.
``The World Cup in South Africa is only three months away, and we asked the broadcasters to accelerate their talks to reach an agreement for joint coverage,'' a KCC spokesman said.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded SBS the broadcasting rights for the Olympic Games through 2016 following a bidding process in 2006.
This caught KBS and MBC off guard, as the three major terrestrial broadcasters had previously agreed to an alliance and a bid of $63 million. SBS, which decided to break off at the last minute, landed the four Games deal after bidding $72.5 million, much to the dismay of its rivals.
SBS also owns the exclusive broadcasting rights to FIFA World Cup football tournaments through 2014.