NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Reaching out to a wider audience so that the FIFA fever isn’t missed by all, India’s public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has got into an agreement with official FIFA World Cup broadcaster Sony Six.
The deal is mandatory under the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory sharing with Prasar Bharti) Act 2007 for telecasting a few games of the mammoth event.
These games include the opening ceremony (which was telecasted yesterday), the maiden match (played out between Brazil and Croatia), two semi finals and the final match.
However, DD will be showcasing different advertisements during the simulcast of select matches.
Officials from Sony Six confirmed saying that since FIFA World Cup is a mandatory listed event under the mentioned Act, therefore it had to share its feed with the pubcaster.
Surprising, the marketing department of DD quoted higher ad rates than those quoted by Sony Six for a 10 second slot. Therefore following the modalities that come under the Act, DD will retain 25 per cent of the ad revenues while 75 per cent will be handed over to Sony Six.
Meanwhile, keeping at bay all apprehensions, the World Cup opening ceremony finally got off to a colorful start with American singer Jennifer Lopez along with rapper Pitbull and Brazillian singer Claudia Leitteto belting out the official World Cup song "We are One" together on stage.
Kids who were draped as football referees created formations around a giant LED flower in the center of the stadium that displayed Brazillian colours and many languages. The famous Brazilian dance, Samba, was showcased as men and women in fancy colours put their best foot forward. The opening match between the host country Brazil and Croatia ended with a 3-1 victory with Brazil winning it. The lone goal for Croatia was only because Brazilian defender Marcelo scored Brazils own goal in the 11th minute.
