Korean TV Viewers May Miss Out On World Cup Qualifers

A failure between Korean TV broadcasting companies and World Sport Group to reach an agreement may cause Korean football fans to "miss more of the final round of qualifying matches" for the 2014 World Cup, according to Jung Min-ho of the KOREA TIMES. The sports bureau directors of the nation’s three major broadcasting companies, KBS, MBC and SBS, held a press conference Thursday to express "concerns over the fact they are unlikely to air the upcoming qualifier against Lebanon." KBS Sports Bureau Dir Park Young-moon said, “We have been negotiating with WSG in four meetings but haven’t reached a consensus over licensing fees." While the companies initially offered $14.85M, WSG, which is the marketing partner of the Asian Football Confederation, requested $52M (KOREA TIMES, 6/8).