Fifa officials are reportedly flying to China in a bid to get the country’s broadcaster to buy television rights for this year’s World Cup, and are proposing to cut the asking price by more than 50 percent.
It initially demanded US$300 million, dropping to between US$120 million and US$150 million, still more than the US$80 million CCTV said it would pay.
According to the country’s media, delegates including Mattias Grafstrom, secretary general of the global board of the federation, and Jean-Christophe Petit, director of media rights, are heading to Beijing this week to discuss the issue with the broadcasting organization.
Both sides were said to be hopeful of reaching an agreement and an announcement could be made in the second half of May, with Fifa poised to make a “major deal” for the tournament, which takes place in the US, Canada and Mexico, and starts next month.
Although it was suggested CCTV was willing to give more than its stated amount, the focus of the talks between the parties was on hosting the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, with the latter being held in six countries across Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
A chart circulating on the social network Weibo showed how much 10 countries and regions are reportedly paying for this summer’s tournament, ranging from US$14 million in Thailand to US$200 million in Japan.
