Broadcasting the World Cup

by Nabila Rahhal June 30, 2014

written by Nabila Rahhal June 30, 2014

World Cup at Beirut Fan Park, Italy vs. England |Greg Demarque|

Watching sports is often a group activity and viewing the World Cup in Lebanon is certainly no exception. Every night since the onset of the games, crowds gather around TV screens, at home or in commercial venues, and loud cheers mixed in with the occasional firework are a common celebratory occurrence. World Cup fever strikes the country at full force every time, and commercial venues once again find themselves in the familiar position of first trying to lure viewers away from the more cost-effective home gatherings, now that the games are being aired for free, and to attract them into their venue as opposed to competitors. Success of pop-up venues Keeping in mind that the broadcasting rights’ contract for commercial venues is different than the home viewing deals and comes with a much heftier price tag — starting at $3,000 and going up to $20,000 according to Mohamad Al Khatib

Nabila Rahhal

Nabila is Executive's hospitality, tourism and retail editor. She also covers other topics she's interested in such as education and mental health. Prior to joining Executive, she worked as a teacher for eight years in Beirut. Nabila holds a Masters in Educational Psychology from the American University of Beirut. Send mail

1 comment

Victimized June 30, 2014 - 2:48 PM

I’d like to share a very flummoxing situation I experienced this weekend at Petit Cafe on Cresus Street in Antelias. Nowhere do they advertise a cover charge, but they slyly drop it in to the tab: 10,000LL per person! And they justify it by claiming the fireworks and special exotic dancers trotting around in their outdoor seating section during half time won’t pay themselves. Moreover, their “special” menu contains everything BUT the appetizers you’d want to munch over the World Cup, so say you order a plate of nachos, management will pretend they’re doing you a favor serving them to you and then accost you with a 16,000LL price tag for some rancid sour cream and plasticized cheese. Since it’s not on their special menu, they’ll ring it up at the price of their shrimps platter. Coke? 6,000LL a pop!! We walked out troubled and furious at having been gypped!

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Broadcasting the World Cup

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