MALAYSIANS, especially budget-conscious students and restaurant owners, are truly infected with World Cup fever thanks to the free live telecasts of selected matches, as the biggest football’ event enters its knockout round tomorrow.

National broadcaster Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) is airing 41 of the total 64 matches played in Russia, 27 of them live and the rest delayed telecasts. 

RTM’s free telecasts have been warmly welcomed by Malaysians who are either not subscribed or cannot afford satellite pay TV Astro, the official Malaysian broadcaster of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Nasi Kandar Relak Bistro, a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, has been screening the matches for its the customers since the tournament began.

Thabagaran, the owner of the restaurant, said the free matches were a big help as he was not subscribed to Astro’s sports package.

“There is a different Astro sports package for the home and for the restaurant (commercial). The package available for my outlet costs close to RM700 a month and I did not take it,” said Thabagaran.

Thabagaran said although RTM was not airing all 64 matches, he was grateful for the government initiative.

“Even if not all matches are aired, we should be thankful that the government does this for free.”

G. Rubendren, a medical student in Johor, said students who wish to catch the matches usually have only one option – to go to a restaurant with big TV screens.

“We students can’t afford to watch World Cup on Astro. The government’s effort is benefitting the students as we now have the privilege of watching some of the games on RTM channels and even on MyKlik (RTM website) for free,” Rubendren said.

For some young working adults, however, the free selected telecasts were not particularly exciting as they can afford pay TV and enjoy the full tournament, in the comfort of home.

Muhd Iqwan, 31, a sales executive in Selangor, said RTM’s selective broadcasting of games might benefit people in rural areas with limited options, but would not make much impact on urbanites who would prefer e to be fully updated on the scores and progress of the tournament. 

“Urbanites would want to watch all matches live, not selective and delayed matches. 

“People would want to be up-to-date with scores and progress. So, some wouldn’t mind subscribing to Astro or they would opt watching it online,” said Iqwan, who watches the World Cup on Astro Go. 

The government said that the total cost of airing these 41 World Cup matches on RTM was RM30 million.

Communication and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the government had secured RM15 million in sponsorship deals. 

The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia started on June 14 and the final match is on July 15. – June 29, 2018.