Restaurateurs can breathe a sigh of relief and prepare their venues for watching the World Cup without additional costs, which our sports enthusiasts have increasingly and more frequently practiced in recent years.
After a daily newspaper reported that every restaurateur who allows their guests to watch TV broadcasts of the upcoming World Cup matches in their establishment or more frequently on the terrace would have to pay between 1,000 and 14,000 euros, HRT was inundated with numerous inquiries regarding the interpretation of that rule. Regarding this, Danko Družijanić, spokesperson for HRT, told Lider: – HRT has not purchased the rights for public display of World Cup matches. Therefore, any publicly organized display of World Cup matches would indeed require a license from FIFA, even if organized by HRT. What can be considered as normal use of existing TV devices in hospitality establishments, that is, how that device is used for everyday purposes, according to our interpretation does not fall under that regulation.
Thus, restaurateurs, unless they plan to resort to a video wall and gather a hundred viewers, which could already be considered a public gathering, do not need to worry. However, if someone privately or through institutions wishes to provide their citizens with a celebration in a public space (park, square…), they would need to contact HRT, which in that case mediates with FIFA. It is not new that FIFA protects its rights in this way and that in such cases, depending on the size of the gathering, the broadcasting license would cost between 1,000 and 14,000 euros. (Darija Truta Tabulov)
