The Maltese national football league started over the weekend, but there is still no agreement between the Malta Football Association and the three major television stations on the rights to broadcast games or their highlights.
Public Broadcasting Services, Net TV and Super 1 TV have formed a common front in their battle with the association, and until an agreement is reached, they have decided not to, in any way, give publicity to the local premier league.
People who were interested in the games that were played over the weekend and yesterday had to wait until they bought the newspapers to get to know the outcome of the games played at Ta’ Qali, unless of course they phoned up someone who went to the national stadium.
This is because none of the three stations gave an account of what took place, and the radio stations run by the same enterprises also refrained from giving the results. It was a total black-out that did no good to the Maltese game.
Television rights are not a new issue in Malta. Everyone will recall the problems that cropped up in the first half of this year when Melita Cable TV bought the rights to transmit the World Cup matches. It happens in other countries too, and the most recent example is the fact that games from the Italian Cup, which also started last weekend, were not shown because no agreement has as yet been reached – and this when the Coppa Italia carries more interest this season as top teams like Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina are playing in the early rounds because of their involvement in
irregularities.
The MFA has its reasons as to why it is demanding so much from the local TV stations for rights to transmit premier league matches. For their part, the stations are adamant in their stand not to come to terms unless their requests are met. So far, a compromise looks difficult to reach although, in such matters, things may change quickly.
It is hoped that an agreement is reached as soon as possible, maybe in time for next weekend’s games.
This is because, ultimately, the biggest loser in this dispute is Maltese football.
It is a known fact that interest in the local game has dwindled over the past years. This has happened for various reasons. The level of the Maltese game has not improved and results at international level, both with regard to the national team and also of clubs who participate in UEFA competitions, leave so much to be desired.
Secondly, the screening of English, Italian, German and Spanish league games during the weekend, some of which are played at the same time as local games, has also helped to keep people away from the National Stadium. Foreign leagues are closely followed in Malta, with many having their own team to support.
The effect of not having local games shown on local television stations, not even the highlights, will continue to push interest in local football backwards. It does not necessarily follow that more people will be going to Ta’ Qali because they cannot watch the highlights and recorded full games, or know the score through the television and radio media.
Added to this, all local TV stations have one or more weekly programmes in which what is happening in the premier league is discussed at length, giving a lot of exposure to the local game.
Without an agreement, these programmes, which normally start with the autumn schedule, will not be broadcast either, and therefore interest will continue to drop.
The MFA, therefore, has every reason to reach an agreement. Local television and radio stations can fill up their air-time in other ways, but Maltese football needs the local media.