By Park Si-soo
Staff reporter
Rep. Choi Moon-soon of the opposition Democratic Party said Tuesday he will submit a bill to the National Assembly next week banning the monopolistic broadcasting of the World Cup.
The move came amid deepening feud between the nation's two largest broadcasters ㅡ KBS and MBC ㅡ and SBS, who refuses to share the rights to broadcast the upcoming World Cup in South Africa with the other stations.
"This is to protect the viewers' rights of my fellow citizens," said Choi, a former MBC president.
If the bill is endorsed, monopolistic broadcasting of international sporting events such as World Cups and Olympic Games will be virtually banned.
The dispute was set off by SBS's exclusive broadcasting of the Vancouver Winter Olympics and fueled by its attempt to broadcast the upcoming World Cup on the grounds that it has secured exclusive contracts with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Football Federation (FIFA).
SBS paid the IOC $73 million for exclusive broadcasting rights to the summer and winter Olympic Games in the 2010-2016 period and bought the rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments from FIFA for $140 million. KBS and MBC recently filed a suit against SBS for alleged business obstruction.