Putin: More Football on TV

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Saturday ordered state-controlled Rossia One television to broadcast one game from every tour of the national football tournament. Most games in the 2010 tournament are available exclusively on the NTV Plus subscription channel, which paid $27 million for broadcasting rights. Only 30 games per year are now shown on free, national channels, said Vitaly Mutko, the sports minister. Russia, is hoping to host the 2018 Football World Cup, should make the national tournament available for local fans, Putin said, promising additional funding for the state channel to purchase broadcast rights.