ZDF demands UEFA compensation for match blackout
German public broadcaster ZDF is in talks with UEFA for compensation for repeated broadcast blackouts of the Euro 2008 quarterfinal match between Germany and Turkey last month.
The television signal of the match on June 25 was subject to disruptions of service due to bad weather at the tournament's international broadcast centre in Vienna and German fans couldn't see what was happening on the pitch for over six minutes.
“We are negotiating with UEFA about compensation,” ZDF Editor-in-Chief Nikolaus Brender said on Thursday, claiming that the channel’s “image had been damaged considerably” since German fans believed ZDF was to blame for the broadcast problem.
The match was held in the Swiss city of Basel, but UEFA required all international broadcasters to use a signal from the broadcast centre in the Austrian capital. Eventually ZDF was able to get a signal directly from Swiss television, since it was not affected by the power outage in Vienna.
“Now we’ll see how much we’ll be compensated,” Brender said.
UEFA took responsibility for the cock-up the day after the match and apologized for not having a contingency plan after the storm knocked out the broadcast centre. Turkey’s fans avoided the horror of not knowing how their team was doing since the channel showing the match used a different broadcast technology than ZDF.
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The television signal of the match on June 25 was subject to disruptions of service due to bad weather at the tournament's international broadcast centre in Vienna and German fans couldn't see what was happening on the pitch for over six minutes.
“We are negotiating with UEFA about compensation,” ZDF Editor-in-Chief Nikolaus Brender said on Thursday, claiming that the channel’s “image had been damaged considerably” since German fans believed ZDF was to blame for the broadcast problem.
The match was held in the Swiss city of Basel, but UEFA required all international broadcasters to use a signal from the broadcast centre in the Austrian capital. Eventually ZDF was able to get a signal directly from Swiss television, since it was not affected by the power outage in Vienna.
“Now we’ll see how much we’ll be compensated,” Brender said.
UEFA took responsibility for the cock-up the day after the match and apologized for not having a contingency plan after the storm knocked out the broadcast centre. Turkey’s fans avoided the horror of not knowing how their team was doing since the channel showing the match used a different broadcast technology than ZDF.
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