The two terrestrial broadcasters have become suspicious about Kirch's negotiating strategy. They believe the pay-TV giant is trying to drive a wedge between them, which would scupper their bid and leave it free to sell the rights to a company such as Sky.
Under UK legislation, the World Cup is among several sports which, under the 1996 Broadcasting Act, must be available to all UK viewers to watch for free. Others include the Olympics and the Grand National.ITV and the BBC have so far offered £50m for the rights to televise the 2002 World Cup being held in Japan and South Korea. The broadcasters are adamant they will not pay the £150m Kirch is demanding in an attempt to recoup some of the £670m it paid for the 2002 and 2006 rights to the tournament.
The negotiations have currently stalled and Sky has so far said that it has no plans to bid for the rights.