KBC Sends Tough Warning To Media Houses

National broadcaster, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) has vowed legal action against any other media house that will breach its exclusive rights to broadcast the 2022 FIFA World Cup for free.

KBC acting Managing director Samuel Maina stated on Friday, September 30 that the corporation will take to court any media house that will violate the exclusivity of the broadcast rights to show arguably the biggest tournament in world football live.

‘We would like to bring to the attention of the public that KBC is the only station that has exclusive 2022 FIFA World Cup Free to Air (FTA) broadcast rights for both TV and Radio in the Kenya Territory and no other media outlet. Legal action shall be taken on any party that infringes on these rights’’, Maina remarked.

He fired the warning to media houses while revealing that the state broadcaster had acquired the exclusive rights to air a total of 28 matches on TV while the 12 KBC affiliate radio stations will broadcast all the 64 games.

‘’The breakdown of the 28 selected matches to be transmitted live on KBC Television is as follows, 18 matches during the group stages with a focus on the five Africa teams led by Africa Cup of nations champions Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia, 4 matches in the round of 16, 2 quarter-final matches, the 2 semi-finals, 3rd place playoffs and the grand finale’’, Maina said.

To add spice to the coverage, Maina added that a team of its journalists will travel to Qatar to cover the tournament in real-time, ranging from the matches to reactions from fans attending the event. This comes amidst an announcement by the Gulf state that coronavirus vaccinations will not be mandatory.

However, players and match officials may be forced into a secure "bio-bubble" if Covid-19 cases take off again, with the threat of expulsion from the tournament for those who breach the secure environment

‘’Apart from the live matches, KBC’s presence will also be felt on location as we shall send a crew to Qatar to capture many more exhilarating moments. KBC will also package World cup attractive properties both on TV and Radio for our audience’’, Maina added

The group matches are scheduled to be held from Sunday, November 20 to Friday, December 2 while the round of 16 games will be played between Saturday, December 3 to Tuesday, December 6.

The quarter-finals will be played on Friday, December 9 and Saturday, December 10 while the semi-finals will be held on Tuesday, December 13 and Wednesday, December 14. The third place playoff will be held on Saturday, December 17 and the final the following day (Sunday, December 18).

A total of 8 stadiums will host the 64 games. The stadiums are equipped with cooling systems that aim to reduce temperatures within the stadium by up to 20°C (36°F), but it is not yet known if this will actually work in the open-air stadiums.

The stadia include Al Janoub, Al Bayt, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Thumama, Ahmad Bin Ali, Lusail, Stadium 974 and Education City Stadium.

KBC is seeking to revive itself as a top media house in Kenya once known for its excellence in journalism.

In July 2021, it underwent a top-to-bottom rebranding and poached exciting talents who have previously been news anchors at rival TV stations, two of them from K24 being Shiksha Arora and Caren Kibbett contributing to one of the biggest drivers of traffic on their TV stations and social media channels.

The station was recently on the hot seat during the swearing-in of President William Ruto on September 13, 2022, after it was revealed that it would be the only local TV station that had rights to cover the event alongside a private company, a move which ignited debate in the media industry.

The official ball for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. /AL JAZEERA