World Cup TV safe from Kirch meltdown says Blatter

FIFA President Sepp Blatter says FIFA's own company Media Ltd could take over the television broadcasts for the World Cup finals in May if German media company Kirch struggles with its current financial crisis.

Kirch is facing bankruptcy due to the price it paid for Bundesliga television rights but Blatter says FIFA have taken out insurance to help protect the existing television deals to show matches at the finals after the collapse last year of its marking arm ISMM.

"It's done, so the covering by television of the World Cup is insured in all worst scenarios," Blatter said last night.

Kirch owes FIFA at least £600 million for World Cup television rights for the May finals and the 2006 finals in Germany but Blatter insists the world governing body will not lose out if Kirch crashes.

"They are irrevocable bank guarantees on a Swiss bank, Credit Suisse and according to the Swiss law nobody has access to irrevocable bank guarantees. So the money, the 1.3 billion (Swiss Francs) is already in FIFA....there is no danger of the World Cup not being on television."

Kirch holds the World Cup television rights for Europe and took on the world rights last summer after ISMM and its subsidiary ISL Worldwide went bankrupt last April.

The company's chief executive Dieter Hahn says the company have debts of £4 billion with News Corp preparing an asset-stripping buy out which would include the rights to World Cup games.

Kirch is trying to reduce the price it paid for Bundesliga matches after failure to attract large numbers of cable subscribers.

They have a £1 billion deal to 2004 to show Germany's top matches with each club earning at least £11 million a season from the deal although Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen may reduce match fees to ease the strain on Kirch who have 2.4 million subscribers.

They need 4 million subscribers to meet their financial commitments to the league but FIFA say World Cup matches on free-to-air television stations are safe even if the Bavarian company goes bust.