With the 2005/2006 Premier League football season to kick off tomorrow, thousands of fans and supporters of the game will probably not have the opportunity to view any matches on television or hear the results on radio.
According to an internal memo seen by The Malta Independent, the three main stations, PBS, Super 1 and NET TV, have united to boycott all football matches organised by the Malta Football Association, due to the current dispute over television rights.
This stalemate came about after the Malta Football Association (MFA) and the three major television stations failed to reach an agreement for a new contract, after the old one expired at the end of the last season. In fact, the press cubicles usually occupied by the three major broadcasters were conspicuously empty during last Friday’s Super Cup match between Hibernians and Birkirkara.
The memo, signed by PBS sports coordinator designate Sandro Micallef, was addressed to all PBS sports journalists, and dealt with the transmission of the Super Cup Final last Friday.
In the memo, Mr Micallef said that it was “Important” (sic) that this game was not to be reported in any form on radio or television. Nor was any reference to be made to the final result, he added.
The memo confirmed that this decision was agreed to by the heads of all three TV stations, due to the pending issue of television rights.
Earlier in the year, the MFA had issued a complex tender document outlining the conditions for the transmission of football matches, be it highlights or the complete event.
Speaking to The Malta Independent, Mr Micallef said that he had found out that the contract with the MFA had expired as soon as he was appointed sports coordinator designate.
“I can confirm that we received an email from the MFA’s public relations officer, Alex Vella, stating that since the contract with the association expired, no journalist from the three respective stations would be allowed to report any football matches and would not be granted access to MFA stadiums until further notice.”
Mr Micallef said that to his knowledge, no station had made a bid for the TV rights under the new tender conditions, so the situation remains hanging in the balance.
Contacted yesterday, MFA president Joe Mifsud said that discussions on the issue were still ongoing, but refused to elaborate further.
Other sources said that they were sceptical on the possibility of an arrangement being reached by tomorrow, due to the tenacity with which both sides are clinging to their positions.
Up till the end of the 2004/2005 season, TV stations used to pay the sum of Lm6,000 every year for transmission of all matches, highlights and other related events from the MFA stadiums. PBS used to pay a slightly higher sum, due to the fact that it broadcasts national team matches.
In the meantime, the private production company Where’s Everybody is rumoured to have secured the TV rights for the transmission of 20 “top matches”, as reported in The Malta Independent on Sunday (13 August).
Sources who spoke to this paper confirmed that WE had submitted an offer to film all football match highlights, and then distribute the tapes to all three stations for eventual transmission. However, the main sticking point appeared to be the fact that the MFA demanded more money.