VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Professional Football (VPF) Company, which runs the three professional football tournaments in Vietnam, has confirmed to struggle for shortening the 20-year broadcasting deal with AVG group to three years.

VTV, VTC accept sharing telecast rights with AVG
Disappointed with AVG, VPF to continue telecast war




The company’s representative said that VPF would insist on the three below points of view: most of the games of the V-League, the First Division Tournament and the National Cup to be aired live; the broadcasting royalty to be higher than the figure committed by AVG (VND6 billion or $300,000 a year, increased by 10 percent annually); and the deal to be only three year in term.

“We will struggle to the last for these points of view. We have told AVG that the royalty must not be less than VND10 billion ($500,000) a year, said a VPF official, who wanted to be anonymous.

Earlier, AVG agreed to share the telecast right of professional football tournaments with two broadcasters – VTV and VTC, at the ratio of 40 percent for VTV and 30 percent for VTC and AVG each.

In each round, VTV will air four matches while AVG and VTC will produce three matches each and they will share the games to each others.

The three sides will pay VND10 billion of royalty, instead of VND6 billion.

“VND10 billion/year is the royalty for professional football tournaments only or also for commercial rights of FCs? We are waiting for AVG’s announcement. After that we will collect opinions from FCs and make decision,” VPF official said.

The VPF official added that AVG had accepted two of the proposals of VPF, sharing the TV rights with other broadcasters and raising royalty from VND6 to VND10 billion/year. “The key issue is the term of the deal. Twenty years is a terribly long duration, which harms Vietnam’s football. The deal would be three years. We will defend this point of view to the last, by our ways,” the VPF official said.

Today on March 8, VPF management board will meet with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Chair Nguyen Trong Hy as guest. After this meeting, the company will officially make comments on AVG’s recent moves and its next steps in the “war” of TV rights.

S. Tung