WDR director Tom Buhrow defended the line of the public broadcasters in the negotiations for the TV rights to the women’s soccer World Cup and clearly criticized FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “Unfortunately, one cannot really speak of negotiations in the actual sense at the moment,” said Buhrow on ARD. “Mr Infantino is trumpeting in public and trying to put moral pressure on us. Not like that. You can sit down at a table and discuss the matter, not in public.”
At this point, it’s still unclear who will be televising the tournament from July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand. According to FAZ information, the public TV stations have offered five million euros for the broadcasting rights to the finals with 32 teams for the first time. The “Kicker” had also reported on this sum. Apparently, FIFA demands twice as much. Almost two months before the first game, no solution is in sight. Time is running out. Because now only a few weeks remained for the complicated planning of the stations.
Buhrow: “Don’t be blackmailed”
Infantino justifies the demand with a significantly better promotion of women’s football, so among other things the bonuses will increase. “The offers from the broadcasters, especially from the five major European countries, are still very disappointing and simply unacceptable,” Infantino said in early May. Buhrow said on Friday: “We made the highest bid, that’s not enough for Mr. Infantino.” “You can’t let yourself be blackmailed.”
In a conversation passage published on Twitter by WDR, the director also said: “We are proud that we have given football, women’s football, a stage for decades, that we were able to help it grow, we want to continue to do that, but we just have to leave the church in the village.” Infantino “apparently doesn’t see that”. ARD sports coordinator Axel Balkausky recently described the offer as “market-oriented” in an interview with the FAZ. ZDF is positioning itself in a similar way.
The WDR director pointed out that FIFA could, as before, jointly advertise the rights for the men’s and women’s world championships and then take care of the distribution of the income itself. In October, the world association FIFA awarded the free TV media rights for the World Cup for 28 European countries to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), in which state and public broadcasters work together. Channels from Germany were not in the package, nor were channels from France, Great Britain or Spain. In contrast, Switzerland and Austria are supplied via the EBU contract.
The summer tournament is the first women’s soccer World Cup in the southern hemisphere and the Asia-Pacific region. 32 teams compete for the first time. The German team was drawn against Morocco, Colombia and South Korea as opponents in the preliminary round. After the audience success of the European Women’s Football Championship in the summer of 2022, German broadcasters’ interest in broadcasting Bundesliga games also increased. However, it is unfavorable for the European market that the games mostly take place in the early morning or in the morning due to the time difference.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser pressed on Friday for an early solution. “I appeal once again very strongly to ensure a broadcast in the interests of the people who want to take part in this wonderful football festival,” said the SPD politician on Friday after the conference of sports ministers in Frankfurt am Main. “I would like to once again promote this to all those involved who are currently discussing and negotiating about it.”
“Unfortunately, one cannot really speak of negotiations in the actual sense at the moment”: Tom Buhrow
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Image: dpa
