Optima Sports Management International (OSMI), the 2014 FIFA World Cup terrestrial TV broadcast rights owners for the Nigerian territory, has promised to deliver exceptional value to the viewing and listening audience, with the introduction of match commentaries in Pidgin English.
According to Mr Rotimi Pedro, CEO, OSMI, this innovation is driven by the need to give the Nigerian audience a unique experience that resonates with them.
He said: “OSMI’s driving philosophy is to make premium sports programmes available to Nigerians on free-to-air television. We don’t believe that Nigerians need to pay; either for cable subscription or at viewing centres, before they watch their darling teams and players play at the World Cup. That’s why we have to put our resources behind our dream. Nigerians will watch the 2014 World Cup matches free on terrestrial stations.
“Besides broadcasting the matches on terrestrial television, OSMI will also deliver match commentaries in Pidgin English, a language commonly spoken by a good number Nigerians. This is the first in the history of sports broadcasting in the country and we are proud to be at the forefront of giving the Nigerian audience a valuable, special and unforgettable viewing experience.
“We are simply enhancing viewers’ participation and followership, and Pidgin English has become more or less an indigenous language which most Nigerians speak. However, in doing this, we would strive to maintain the high international standards that OSMI is known for”, he added.
Pedro further disclosed that the company was already discussing with various stakeholders includingradio and TV stations, and independent producers of sports programes on the electronic media, to make this a reality.
World football governing body, Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) recently awarded Optima Sports the exclusive broadcast rights, which include TV, Radio and Mobile transmissions of World Cup matches and other FIFA properties in 2014.
OSMI has been in partnership with FIFA since 2002 bringing the World Cup matches of 2002, 2006 and 2010 to Nigerians on terrestrial television.
