The Ghana Television Consortium of broadcasters has accused free-to-air broadcaster TV3 of illegally marketing commercial rights surrounding the 2014 Fifa World Cup national team football tournament, according to the Ghanaweb.com website.
The consortium has alleged that TV3 has been seeking commercial deals in relation to coverage of the World Cup even though the broadcaster does not have rights for the tournament.
The consortium acquired media rights for three Fifa tournaments in 2014 from football’s world governing body Fifa and the African Broadcasting Union group of broadcasters. The deal includes the Fifa World Cup as well as the Fifa U-17 Women’s World Cup and Fifa U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Fadi Fattal, chief executive of the Optimum Media Prime agency, the exclusive marketing partner of the consortium, said it had contacted TV3, Fifa and the African Broadcasting Union over the matter.
“We have proof of several correspondences between TV3 and some firms in Ghana looking to do business with the World Cup when they don’t belong to the consortium,” Fattal said. “We have written to TV3 to tell them what they are doing is unprofessional and illegal and that there would be severe punishment if they don’t stop.”
The consortium comprises Ghanaian local broadcasters GTV, GTV Sports Plus, Metro TV, ETV and First Digital TV.