FOOTBALL fans who have enjoyed free, live coverage of English Premier League matches on Myawady TV (MWD) in past years are out of luck so far this season as the broadcasts have been available only on the 5 Sport pay channel.

The 5 Sport channel, broadcast by the Family Entertainment Group, has been able to show not only EPL matches but also Italian Series A and Spanish La Liga matches this season. But the channel is only available in the Yangon and Mandalay areas, leaving huge numbers of football fans across Myanmar with no way to see the matches.

However, a spokesperson from Yangon Entertainment Co., Ltd, which has facilitated the free transmission of EPL matches in Myanmar for the past seven seasons, said there was no competition between MWD and the pay channel.

“The reason we have been unable to show the matches is not because they have been taken over by 5 Sport but because the price for buying the programs has risen significantly this year compared with past years,” said the spokesperson, U Khaing Zaw.

MWD broadcast the Charity Shield match between Manchester United and Chelsea on August 7 under the sponsorship of Yangon Entertainment but has not shown any matches from the EPL 2007-2008 season, which started on August 11.

U Khaing Zaw said the jury was still out on whether MWD would be able to broadcast matches later in the season.

“Our chairman is now overseas negotiating for EPL transmissions. If everything goes well we should be able to start live broadcasts as usual within three or four weeks,” he told The Myanmar Times on August 15.

“But if negotiations don’t go well it’s likely that we won’t be able to show any matches this season,” he added.

Yangon Entertainment – a subsidiary of Grandwynn Group of Companies, which mainly focuses on international trade – first broadcast live football matches in Myanmar via MWD during the 1998 World Cup.

Since then it has transmitted Euro 2000, World Cup 2002, Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006 matches live. It began showing EPL matches during the 2000-2001 season, regularly broadcasting two matches a week up to this season.

U Khaing Zaw said EPL broadcasts have occurred according to a “mutually beneficial cooperative agreement” between MWD and Yangon Entertainment.
“Since introducing the programs to Myanmar we have worked with companies such as Lolane Cosmetics, Gold Roast Coffee and Mother’s Choice, which have sponsored the MWD broadcasts,” he said.

“We have profited from the advertising fees they have paid, which have provided revenue to pay a fixed transmission fee to MWD. Everyone involved – Yangon Entertainment, MWD, the sponsors – has profited from a positive image in the eyes of football fans. All we want is to be able to keep that image,” U Khaing Zaw said.