Conniving Singaporeans who are still holding on to hopes that perhaps there is some way for the World Cup 2018 to be beamed from Malaysia into Singapore for free: You are in for some disappointment.

Official RTM online site is blocking World Cup broadcast

It was reported that free-to-air Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) may receive directions from Fifa to encrypt its satellite signal for the duration of the World Cup.

This will allow only viewers in Malaysia to access the World Cup matches, while restricting StarHub subscribers in Singapore, for example.

One way around this scrambling of signal was to try to watch the matches online on RTM's official streaming site, as suggested by some forward-thinking Singaporeans.

However, even though free-to-air RTM channels can be watched at anytime on regular days by anyone globally via online streaming, the online channel for airing World Cup 2018 matches has definitely been blocked:

The message on the screen says when accessing the Egypt vs Uruguay match from Singapore: Content is not available in your country.

This official RTM online streaming site has been touted by some Singaporeans as a way to get around the signal scrambling.

It is not known if using a Malaysian Virtual Private Network (VPN) might work, but it is worth a shot if you are already paying for one.

Why are Singaporeans resorting to tapping Malaysia's signal?

Malaysia’s national broadcaster RTM is airing a majority of the 2018 Fifa World Cup matches live for free on free-to-air channel.

This was after the Malaysian government secured corporate sponsorship worth some S$10.1 million to pay for the acquiring of broadcast rights.

A total of 41 out of 64 matches will be shown.

Singapore is charging more than S$100 for the World Package.

Singaporeans trying to tap signal

Singaporeans are mightily jealous that our neighbours up north have taken such an egalitarian step to ensure football for all and sundry.

In previous World Cups, Singaporeans had tried to use cheap antennae to receive Malaysia's broadcast signals with varying results.

As signals have gone from analog to digital, it has become increasingly futile to try to crack it.