NowTV lands Qatar World Cup rights

Pay-TV service provider Now TV has been granted the exclusive broadcasting rights for the Qatar World Cup in November.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is slated for November 21 to December 18 in the Gulf country, which is five hours behind Hong Kong time. It will be the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East.

Now TV said it will live broadcast all 64 matches in 4K resolution over the 28-day event, including the opening match between Senegal and the Netherlands at Al Thumama Stadium.

That would be at 6pm Hong Kong time on November 21.

It will be followed by group matches, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, the third-place match and the final on December 18.

Free-TV channel ViuTV, which is also under HKT, will air 19 selected games, including the opening match as well as the two semi-finals and the final.

"As a number of matches will be held in the early evening, a wider audience in Hong Kong will be able to watch them during prime time," the TV stations said.

The match schedule by FIFA shows the final will be played at 11pm Hong Kong time on December 18.

Subscribers can watch the tournament on the Now player app Now E.

Presenting its interim results yesterday, parent company HKT believes the tournament will help drive both subscription and advertising revenues for the company in the second half of the year.

Bars are optimistic about a business boost.

Chin Chun-wing, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar and Club Association, said business can go up by 50 percent during the World Cup.

But he hopes the social distancing measures will be relaxed ahead of November so they can have longer business hours.

Currently, bars are allowed to stay open only until 2am. Chim added: "We must close at 2am now no matter if there is a game showing. If the government allows us to stay open until at least 4am, that would greatly help our business."

Chin also believes the five hour-time difference would not affect bars' business as "fans are willing to tune in to see the games no matter how early or late it is."

The bar industry launched a mobile app - Bar Map - during the 2018 World Cup for people to locate bars that provided live broadcasts.

The app will be updated this year.

Sports, performing arts, culture and publication sector lawmaker Kenneth Fok Kai-kong said the World Cup broadcast "can help promote sports development and I look forward to see the lively atmosphere in the city during the football tournament."