Sports News of Monday, 4 January 2010

Source: goal.com

Govt Rescues TV Stations For Tournament Rights

The government of Ghana has released €1.5 million to the right holders of Angola 2010 - AFNEX - to enable local television stations to beam the tournament live to Ghanaians.

The three major TV stations of Ghana – Ghana Television, Metro TV and TV3 – could not cough out the whooping amount and had to fall on the government to rescue them.

The networks hope to reimburse the government through the income they would generate from commercials and sponsors during the 27th edition of the tournament.

A cross section of the public expressed their joy about the news in separate interviews with Goal.com. They called on the stations to deliver.

“That’s good news. I saw it coming. I just hope they would not fail us by showing recorded matches as live ones as we know some of them to have done in the past. I wonder why GTV is part of them because they perform below average,” Francis Doku, a sports theatre operator in Accra told Goal.com.

“We thank the government for this New Year package. I can’t wait to watch the best of African football in Angola. Unfortunately, I’ll have to beat the heavy traffic after work to catch the games.

“I also think the power supply company [Electricity Corporation of Ghana] must not disappoint us with the frequent power outages. We must enjoy the Nations Cup uninterrupted and start the year on a good note,” Joseph Appiah-Dolphyne, a web editor stated.

For Ghana to make it to the knockout stages they must navigate their way through a group that includes Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo.

K.N.S Mensah, Goal.com