Because of FCC-mandated children’s programming from 9-11 a.m., Saturday’s Ghana-Czech Republic and Italy-United States matches were aired by Albuquerque’s KOAT-TV on a tape-delay basis.
Today’s matches (Croatia-Japan, Brazil-Australia and France-South Korea) will be shown tape-delay for the same reason, KOAT sports director Bob Brown said.
KOAT on Saturday issued the following statement: “The soccer games are being tape-delayed because we are required by the FCC to air a set number of children’s programs in a consistent time period. That time period is 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, 9 to 10 a.m. on Sunday. Because of that, we will bring you the games tape-delayed to meet the FCC requirements.”
Today’s matches will be aired live on KLUZ-TV, a Spanish-language station, as were Saturday’s.
NewMexiKen watched the U.S.-Italy match on a one-hour delayed basis, knowing that the results were a computer screen away.
One understands, of course, that this same KOAT would have pre-empted the kids programming in a heart-beat for a live report on a two-acre fire someplace.
(NewMexiKen cannot find that this delay is a practice for west coast stations, where World Cup matches begin yet an hour earlier.)