The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Broadcaster, Uganda Broadcasting Corporation-UBC is negotiating with the Confederation of African Football-CAF to broadcast African Cup of Nations-Afcon on credit. UBC broadcast Afcon 2019 for three days and stopped. In a statement, UBC said it had temporarily stopped the broadcast and that the matter would be resolved soon.
URN has since established that UBC broadcast Afcon under the assumption that Government would release the money for the broadcast rights. UBC, which has been struggling with for the Afcon broadcasting rights recently wrote to Parliament seeking Shillings 1 billion for the rights since Uganda Cranes is featuring in the tournament.
In the letter, the UBC Managing Director Winston Agaba, explained that UBC had engaged the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB), which gave them a final offer of Euros 350,000, earning a 53 percent discount from their initial offer.
AUB is a professional body composed of the national radio and television organizations of the African States involved in the exchange of indigenous programming. Now, URN has learnt that UBC is negotiating with CAF and AUB to permit them to show the games and pay when government releases the money.
Agaba told URN that they were negotiating to show the games and pay when Government releases the money in the first quarter of next financial year. “They wanted us to pay upfront, which we can’t because Government can only release money in the first quarter of next financial year” Agaba said.
FUFA had signed an agreement with AUB guaranteeing payment of the funds to enable UBC broadcast the first games. He said they are in touch with FUFA and are hopeful that the games will be broadcast. Agaba says there hope is that they will broadcast, the Uganda Crane’s game on Wednesday.
He says Afcon keeps coming up with different parameters in regards to broadcasting Afcon. URN has also learnt that CAF wants assurance that the UBC feed is off all Pay TV platforms. Uganda Cranes stopped the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 in a thrilling game.
It faces Zimbabwe 8:00pm on Wednesday followed by Egypt on Sunday.
*****
URN
