New broadcasting deal blocks ability to watch skating in Kazakhstan
Post originally shared on Instagram by kazakhice 🔗
Text of post:
“I am writing to bring to your attention an issue regarding the availability of ISU sports broadcasts in Kazakhstan.
ISU's official YouTube livestreams are currently geo- blocked in Kazakhstan because the broadcasting rights for Kazakhstan, along with Russia and Belarus, have been granted to Okko.
However, there is a significant problem: Okko does not make its sports content available in Kazakhstan. According to Okko's own information, sports broadcasts are available only within Russia and Belarus.
This creates a situation in which viewers in Kazakhstan effectively have no legal way to watch ISU competitions:
- ISU's official YouTube broadcasts are unavailable because Kazakhstan is treated as an Okko territory.
- Okko does not provide access to its sports content in Kazakhstan.
In other words, Kazakhstan is included in Okko's broadcasting territory from ISU's perspective, while Okko itself does not actually provide the relevant service to viewers located in Kazakhstan.
This situation is particularly unfortunate at a time when interest in ISU sports in Kazakhstan is understandably very high. Kazakhstan is currently home to the reigning Olympic champion in figure skating, while our speed skaters have also delivered outstanding performances on the Olympic stage. These achievements have brought renewed attention to skating sports across the country, which makes it especially disappointing that fans in Kazakhstan are unable to legally watch major international ISU competitions.
The success of Kazakh athletes on the Olympic stage has the potential to inspire an entirely new generation of figure skating and speed skating fans in our country. Ensuring that those fans can actually follow international competitions through official channels would seem especially important at this moment.
I would therefore kindly ask ISU to review the broadcasting arrangements for Kazakhstan and clarify how viewers in Kazakhstan are expected to access ISU competitions.
If Okko is unable to provide ISU sports broadcasts in Kazakhstan, I would greatly appreciate it if ISU could consider removing the geo-restriction on its official YouTube streams for Kazakhstan, so that viewers here can once again watch the competitions legally.
Figure skating and speed skating have dedicated and growing audiences in Kazakhstan, and it is extremely disappointing to be prevented from watching ISU events despite being willing to use an official service and, if
necessary, pay for access.
I hope this territorial rights issue can be reviewed and resolved.
Thank you for your attention. I would appreciate any clarification you can provide.”