VTV has once again denied owning the 2018 World Cup’s TV rights, despite the announcement made by Infront Sport & Media AG at 11 PM yesterday to agree to sell the rights.

Vietnam Television (VTV)’s representative this morning confirmed to VIR: “We have no information about the issue.”

vnexpress.vn stated that in the afternoon of June 7, Vietnam Television (VTV) proposed the last price for the 2018 World Cup’s TV rights to Infront Sport & Media AG, the firm distributing the broadcasting rights to the world’s largest football league.

Vietnam is the only country member of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) that has yet to settle broadcasting rights for the 2018 World Cup.

As of the night of the same day, the firm agreed to VTV’s offer, and the two sides will officially sign the purchase contract today (June 8), according to vov.vn.

Currently, the price offered by VTV remains unknown. While vnexpress.vn stated that the price is lower than or equal to the $7 million paid for the 2014 World Cup, vov.vn stated that it may only be lower than the $14 million previously offered by Infront Sport & Media AG.

In an interview with VTV on June 5, Nguyen Ha Nam, chief of the VTV Secretariat and Editorial Board, said that VTV was working with other domestic televisions, telecom companies, and media companies to jointly purchase the broadcasting rights.

“The offer of VTV on May 29 included contributions from several domestic partners,” Nam added.

An unofficial source stated that maybe a big corporation chipped in with $5 million to help VTV buy the TV rights. In addition, the firm also paid an extra of $1 million for advertisements before or after the matches.

VIR