The Argentinian government has spent 4B pesos ($880M) on TV broadcasts for the last three years through its "Football for Everybody" program, according to Alejandro Casar Gonzalez of LA NACION. The program created in '09 "to nationalize the broadcasts of football matches," has already paid 2.3B pesos ($510M) to the Argentine Football Association for exclusive rights, 1.04B pesos ($230M) on advertising and 678M pesos ($140M) on broadcast, production and marketing costs. Of the three figures, "the one that called attention" was the advertising. Of the six tournaments that have been broadcast by the state, "only one had private advertising." And since a decision was made in the summer of '10 to ban private advertising, the broadcasts now only air publicity from the government or state-owned enterprises. In the three years of the program, the income from private advertising "barely reaches" 220M pesos ($88M) or 5.5 % of the total government expenditure, "ridiculing one of the promises" made by Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez at the time she presented the program in '09. On the subject of funding the program, Fernandez had said: "Later it will be financed by the marketing of the product. That is what will ensure the initial investment and I am sure exceed it. The surplus will go to the AFA and the promotion of Olympic sports." Three years later, Gonzalez writes, "There is no surplus. Only billions in expenses" (LA NACION, 7/9).
