KUALA LUMPUR – Just when you think Malaysian football could not get any worse, dirt has hit the ceiling once again.
Football experts are now questioning SpaceLabs Technologies Sdn Bhd’s capabilities in producing ‘live’ coverage of matches for unifi (TM Malaysia) after the production company failed to deliver a smooth ‘live’ coverage of M-League’s recent launch.
A source who attended the launch at Zenith Hotel on Monday said that the event faced numerous disruptions throughout its ‘live’ coverage and SpaceLabs was unable to solve the problem.
It was revealed to The Vibes that SpaceLabs was using the Internet connection of the respective hotel, which led to inconsistencies in its production.
“The whole ‘live’ telecast was disrupted by the limited connectivity. A proper production company would have known that the Internet connection provided by the hotel would be insufficient for their purposes, which obviously require broadband connections with a higher bandwidth.
Seperti kebiasaan. Level @MFL_MY ni terlalu rendah dan selalu sangat meminta-minta untuk dimaki.
— SelangorPowerSampaiKiamat (@SpskOfficial) March 1, 2021
Kalau tak bodoh tu bukan MFL la namanya. pic.twitter.com/iMHmBU5UFP
“It’s surprising how they managed to secure such a sizable contract from the Malaysian Football League (MFL) when they can’t even handle a simple launch event. It will be interesting to see how they fare with the football matches.
“If there are any disruptions in the coming season, the blame will certainly fall on MFL for not getting a production partner that is capable of doing the job. This is also not fair to the fans as they will be depending on the ‘live’ coverage of the M-League this season because they cannot attend matches in person,” said the source.
At the same time, football fans tore MFL apart when commenting and tweeting on Facebook and Twitter respectively. It was also believed that this issue has put TM Malaysia on high alert.
Percayakah anda? Selepas 25 minit @MFL_MY dah padan tweet tersebut hasil menerima kritikan yang bertalu talu daripada penyokong
— #SupportLocalFootball ?? (@SLFMalaysia) March 1, 2021
Lawak sungguh, ingat seronok ke tiap masa nak kritik MFL? orang lain pon banyak benda nak buat
Tapi sebab pengurusan yang GAGAL siapa yang tak marah? pic.twitter.com/nDhPxugVby
“Fans are angry and worried at the same time because of this. TM Malaysia is aware and hopes that the football matches will not be affected,” the source told The Vibes.
The Vibes reported earlier that the Malaysian Football League (MFL) and SpaceLabs had signed a whopping RM32 million partnership deal for three years after the football body cut ties with its previous broadcasting partner, IDEAL Systems Sdn Bhd.
Meanwhile, another source from the broadcasting industry mentioned that SpaceLabs have not been paid the upfront payment of RM2 million, which was promised to them before the contracts were signed. The reason was due to an issue with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department regarding Sales Service Tax.
In lieu of the M-League’s commencement tonight, payment has still not been made although SpaceLabs had solved the matter in early February, said the source.
“As far as the industry is aware, SpaceLabs is currently operating with funds from their investors, who are not known,” the source added.
The Vibes’ effort to contact SpaceLabs chief executive officer, Kevin Lim, to comment on this issue remains futile as he has yet to respond to our WhatsApp messages.
As the ongoing pandemic has forced fans to depend on virtual spectatorship, there is cause for concern as to how MFL and SpaceLabs are going to work out the ‘live’ coverage issue they are currently facing.
Was MFL’s decision to award SpaceLabs the contract a mistake? We’ll let the football fans decide. – The Vibes, 5 March, 2021.
