VietNamNet Bridge - The 2014 World Cup is very near but Vietnamese broadcasters have yet to secure a deal to broadcast the event, which has been priced at US$10 million by the rights holder.

According to Vietnamese broadcasters, this price is too high and three times more than the rights for the World Cup in 2010. The question is, will fans be able to watch live matches from Brazil in June?

Viettel Group and Viet Nam Television (VTV) are considered the most likely to ultimately buy the package, but Viettel has already said it can't see making any profits in the deal. Nguyen Thanh Luong, deputy general director of VTV, confirmed that VTV was not planning to secure the TV rights either.

However, many experts in the field of copyright say that, sooner or later, VTV will most likely get the World Cup TV rights.

The secretary general of the Vietnam Pay Television Association, Mr. Le Dinh Cuong, said that if VTV could not afford the World Cup broadcasting rights, the government would step in to help negotiate a better price.

Cuong added it was unlikely that Vietnamese viewers would be unable to watch the tournament because it was one of the biggest events in the world, one that only takes place every four years.

An anonymous expert, who served as deputy director at a broadcasting station, says that MP&Silva, the rights holder, well understands the Vietnamese market, so they have anticipated possible plans to at least break even. Specifically, in the event that no broadcaster is willing to pay $10 million to buy the exclusive World Cup television rights, MP&Silva may break the deal into smaller packages to sell to multiple broadcasters.

According to some sources, MP&Silva paid about $7 million to secure the World Cup television rights for the Vietnam market. Even if this firm ends up offering the TV rights at cost, it may not be able to find a buyer

Secretary General of the Vietnam Pay Television Association Le Dinh Cuong says that the World Cup will take place in a month, so no paid-TV service provider will pay several million USD for it.

"The English Premier League television rights were sold for three years, so that broadcasters could have a lot of time to recover their capital. The World Cup, by contrast, takes place in only a month. Pay-TV service providers don’t expect it to attract a number of new subscribers large enough to cover the copyright fee in a month," says Cuong.

Earlier, it was rumored that Defence Television is about to launch a sports channel and that it would seek new subscribers by purchasing the World Cup television rights, but this broadcaster has denied the rumor.

Mr. Cao Van Liet, CEO of K+, asserts that securing the World Cup TV rights is not the plan of this broadcaster.

Mr. Vu Quang Huy, Deputy Director of digital television VTC says that VTC would be willing to buy the World Cup copyright at a “reasonable price”, but that VTC will not compete to buy it at all costs.

Other broadcasters are keeping an eye on the move of the national broadcaster, VTV, to take the next step. VTV deputy general director Nguyen Thanh Luong says VTV is negotiating with MP & Silva, but that they have not reached a deal.

Mr. Le Dinh Cuong affirms: "MP & Silva has bought the World Cup TV rights for Vietnam and can only sell it in Vietnam, not anywhere else. They will have no choice but to slash the price when the World Cup comes."

Prices for the World Cup television rights in Vietnam have increased rapidly in recent tournaments. In 2006, FPT was able to purchase the rights for $2 million, and then sold them to VTV, HTV and VTC.

Four year later, Japanese company Dentsu sold the package to VTV for $4 million. However, VTV could not afford to pay with cash but by broadcasting time to Dentsu.

The copyright fees for the EURO also skyrocketed in Vietnam. In 2008, VTV paid $2 million for it. Four years later, it cost VTV $4 million. The price for EURO 2016 is being offered at $8 million by CAA Eleven, an American firm.

Nam Nguyen