Some analysts said the drop was due to fears that Astro would face “World Cup” competition from RTM. Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo today suggested that the national television broadcaster may provide a live telecast of this year’s World Cup, which begins June 14. However, Astro head of sports CK Lee pointed out that there are two types of broadcast rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia - Pay TV and Free-To-Air rights. “Astro is the Official Broadcaster in Malaysia with Pay TV rights to broadcast all 64 matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia to all Malaysians while selected matches will also be available for free on Astro Arena to all Malaysians via NJOI Now and Astro GO apps. “The Free-To-Air World Cup rights for TV stations like RTM do not sit with Astro,” he added.

Source: New Strait Times May 28, 2018 12:11 UTC