Every match from the 2010 tournament in South Africa has been beamed live and free-to-air into homes in 11 OFC countries – Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Niue Islands and Kiribati.
There have also been plenty of free-to-air games to enjoy in Tonga (22 matches) and New Zealand (23 matches), while paying audiences have been able to watch every single match on DIGITV (Tonga) and Sky TV (New Zealand).
For fans in many of these Pacific nations, South Africa 2010 is their first taste of live World Cup action.
Most did not have free-to-air access to live matches during the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea Republic and Japan while many also missed out on the live drama from Germany four years later.
Fans in Australia (which was part of OFC but switched to the Asian confederation in 2006), New Zealand, Tahiti and New Caledonia have enjoyed comprehensive coverage of previous tournaments.
But the free-to-air access in most of the smaller OFC nations was restricted to hour-long highlights packages and few full matches were shown live.
That has not been the case this time around.
Thanks to cooperation between SBS Australia, Fiji’s MAI TV and OFC, viewers from across Oceania have been able to take in all 64 matches for free live, including Spain’s 1-0 win over the Netherlands in Sunday’s nail-biting final.
SBS Australia won the rights from FIFA to be an official broadcaster for the 2010 World Cup and signed an Oceania sub-licence agreement with MAI TV in July last year to ensure free-to-air coverage of the event to millions of fans across the Pacific region.
OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas is delighted to see this come to fruition and believes it is a significant step for the development of football in Oceania.
“It is fantastic that so many more people in the region are getting to watch football’s biggest event. This can only be good for the game because young players can now see their heroes in action and have something to aspire to,” he says.
“We are committed to seeing an increase in football exposure across the Pacific so we can promote the sport and deliver OFC’s social responsibility messages to a wider audience.”
Thousands of football-mad Solomon Islanders were among those who missed out in the past and they are delighted they can now witness the skills of the world’s best players first-hand.
Take, for example, the locals of Gizo, the capital of the Western Province area. Gizo is home to just over 6,000 people and is the second largest town in the country. It was badly affected by the 2007 tsunami, which devastated and traumatised many of those living in the laid back provincial town.
Since that tragic event, many have moved inland to new villages because they no longer feel safe living on the coastline. There is no electricity or running water, yet television aerials rise above many of the thatched sago palm roofs.
The household of 14-year-old Brian Kamaosi has only one light bulb and is powered by a small generator. But a television set takes pride of place and up to 15 family members crammed into the living room to watch the action from South Africa on match nights.
“This is the first time we have been able to watch the World Cup on TV and we are very happy,” Brian says. “In the past, we would only hear about the World Cup but now we can see it for ourselves.”
Some of the people in Gizo can barely make a living so a store-bought antenna is out of the question. Instead, makeshift aerials made of aluminium or cables are a common sight.
To save money, each home’s generator is often only turned on at night to watch the World Cup games.
Allan Tioko, 68, lives in Malakerava, right next to where the waves from the tsunami entered the island town. He is in the process of building a new home but wasn’t about to let that stop him from missing a thing.
“It is not yet complete but I decided we should quickly set the TV up so we can watch the World Cup,” he says, pointing to the only piece of furniture in the barren house – an old coffee table upon which his television set is placed.
MAI TV managing director Richard Broadbridge is pleased his company has the responsibility of sub-licensing the World Cup rights across Oceania.
“For such a young broadcaster, MAI TV is extremely happy to be awarded this task,” he says. “With the acquisition of FIFA content, football will be lifted to a new level in the Pacific region.”
SBS counterpart Shaun Brown is just as enthusiastic.
“We are delighted to be working with MAI TV,” he says. “SBS is well respected in the Australian market for its experience and expertise in broadcasting some of the biggest sporting events from around the globe, and the FIFA World Cup is considered the pinnacle.”
See below for the full list of OFC countries with access to FIFA World Cup coverage and the stations providing it.
American Samoa – 64 matches FTA live (Moana TV and KVZK)
Cook Islands – 64 matches FTA live (CITV)
Fiji – 64 matches FTA live (MAI TV), 64 matches Pay TV live (PBS)
Kiribati – 64 matches FTA live (KTL)
New Caledonia – 64 matches FTA live (RFO)
New Zealand – 23 matches FTA live, plus daily highlights of all 64 matches (TVNZ), 64 matches Pay TV live (Sky TV)
Niue Islands – 64 matches FTA live (BCN)
Papua New Guinea – 64 matches FTA live (EMTV)
Samoa – 64 matches FTA live (SQBL)
Solomon Islands – 64 matches FTA live (Telekom TV)
Tahiti – 64 matches FTA live (TNTV)
Tonga – 22 matches FTA live (Tonga Broadcasting), 64 matches Pay TV live (DIGITV)
Vanuatu – 64 matches FTA live (VBTC)
Photo and additional reporting courtesy of the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF).
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