Somoy TV, BTV and T Sports to broadcast Fifa World Cup in Bangladesh
A key role in resolving the issue was played by State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yasser Khan Chowdhury and Tabith Awal, President of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).
The uncertainty over whether viewers in Bangladesh would be able to watch the Fifa World Cup on television has finally been resolved. All matches of the tournament will now be available on Somoy TV, BTV and T Sports.
A consortium of these three television channels has acquired the World Cup broadcasting rights from Fifa.
The Singapore-based company Springbok Private Limited had originally purchased the broadcasting rights for Bangladesh from Fifa. However, after failing to sell them locally, the company withdrew from the agreement.
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As a result, with less than two weeks remaining before the start of the tournament, Bangladesh effectively had no broadcaster in place.
State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yasser Khan Chowdhury and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) President Tabith Awal played a key role in resolving the issue
It is understood that they jointly contacted various sports channels, national media organisations, telecom operators and several OTT platforms. At the same time, they identified new sources of revenue within the digital and telecommunications sectors that had not been utilised during any previous World Cup.
World Cup matches will be broadcast exclusively on Somoy TV, BTV and T Sports in Bangladesh. In addition, viewers will be able to watch the matches digitally through Toffee, the OTT platform of Banglalink, and Bioscope, the streaming service of Grameenphone.
It has also been learned that the state-owned broadcaster BTV will not incur any financial costs for the coverage. The satellite television channels and the telecom operators will jointly bear the entire broadcasting expense.
