FIFA World Cup

Many people are still angry at the high price of $90 to watch the FIFA World Cup on cable television. They compared it to the price 4 years ago, which was just a fraction of this price.

It is sad to see that the cost of this item has increased many fold, due to the wrong kind of competition, i.e. competing for the rights to broadcast the matches, rather than to bring down the price for consumers.

The lesson has now been learnt, and changes have been made for the future, i.e. to require content owners to broadcast on several platforms. 

Back to the World Cup. If the price of $90 is divided by the number of matches, the cost per match is relatively low and can be shared by several members of the family. Even friends can be invited. Compare this with the cost of watching one match at stadium, which must be more than $100.

It will be a good idea for several neighbours to share the price of $90 and to arrange to watch the games together. It will foster the spirit of neighbourliness.

Tan Kin Lian