Johannesburg has beaten bids by Cape Town and Durban to host the
International Broadcast Centre (IBC) for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. More
than R400m will be spent on facilities at Nasrec to enable broadcasters
to reach about 30-billion viewers across the globe, writes Edward West in Business Day.
Communications Deputy Minister Roy Padayachee said yesterday the IBC would have the most up-to-date digital broadcast telecommunications systems available to provide for an estimated 3000 broadcast journalists during the event.
While the IBC had always been a temporary communication structure for other Fifa World Cup events, the Nasrec precinct was under-utilised. The IBC would become a key legacy project for business and sporting-related businesses in a safe hi-tech node which would eventually include residential, shopping and entertainment developments.
Johannesburg m ayor Amos Masondo said yesterday that Germany hosted 13400 accredited TV commentators, camera crew members and technical staff at its I BC at the 2006 Fifa World Cup.
This event attracted 26,29-billion viewers and research by media agency Sponsorship Intelligence showed a 15% rise in TV audiences from 2002 to 2006. “All indications are this trend will continue in the year 2010,†Masondo said.
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