In order to deepen the FIFA World Cup experience in Nigeria, Optima Sports Management International (OSMI), the exclusive 2014 FIFA World Cup terrestrial broadcast rights owners for the Nigerian territory, has appointed Festex Africa as their Public Viewing Centre Partner.
The appointment gives Festex Africa the exclusive rights to market and organize in Nigeria the 2014 World Cup in the Public Viewing Broadcast Category. The company will set up viewing centres in strategic locations across the country.
Speaking on this development, Mr. Rotimi Pedro, OSMI CEO, said the need to provide diverse engagement platforms for Nigerians to experience the World Cup prompted the company to license Festex Africa to organize the viewing centre component of our rights.
He said: “The OSMI business model is to provide an inclusive engagement strategy for the World Cup broadcast. We recognize the diverse psychological make-up of Nigerian football consumers and we are prepared to meet their expectations. We have an agreement with Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) to transmit all the matches on local radio and television stations across the country. So people can actually watch all the matches in their homes.
“But we also understand that there is a huge number of football enthusiasts who prefer to watch matches in a communal setting in bars, hotels, cinemas and other public viewing centres. That’s why we have appointed Festex Africa as our partner in this category.”
Shedding light on the readiness of his company for the project, Mr. Chris Adetayo, Director, Festex Africa, said: “It is a massive project for us as our plans are driven by a keen desire to make it a memorable experience for all football lovers and advertisers. We are looking at two fan parks in Lagos and Port Harcourt, 100 certified viewing centres in bars, 50 certified viewing centres in VIP HORECAs, 10 viewing centres in major campuses in strategic regions spread across the country and various cinemas.”
Adetayo also noted that a projected figure of over five million football lovers are expected to be attracted to all the centres during the course of the tournament, adding that this provides a great opportunity for advertisers and sponsors.
