Despite the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) declaring that the rights holder for the World Cup must broadcast all 64 matches on free TV, RS is presently ignoring the ruling at the risk of legal action.

The tournament is one of seven events that come under the NBTC's must-have regulation, meaning they must be shown on free-to-air TV, but RS is currently seeking a court ruling to have it overturned.  

As things stand, mirroring the European Championships two years ago, subscribers to other satellite channels will have to stump up for a new box costing B1,590 if they want to watch all the games. Even if you do already own an RS satellite box, the company are still asking subscribers to pay an extra B299 for the World Cup package (available via call center 1781). 

Thankfully, there is another option for those who don't want to part with some hard cash, as 22 matches, including the semi-finals and final, will be screened live on the free terrestial Channel 7. That includes 13 first round matches, two matches from the round of 16, four matches from quarter-finals, and the final three games.

Of course, the one major benefit of having the Sunbox option will be the chance to watch the reruns of games during the month-long tournament, which runs from June 12 until July 13. This might be no bad thing considering the time difference will see the majority of games kick off at either 11pm, 2am or 3am local time, which means some late nights in the pub await.

RS plans to sell its set-top box from April 1 via satellite retailers and 7-Eleven stores.