VietNamNet Bridge – The national Vietnam Television (VTV) on June 5 announced on its official website it would stop purchasing the broadcasting copyright of the Barclays English Premier League. Accordingly, matches of the world’s most watched football league from 2007 to 2010 may not be broadcast on channel 3 of VTV.

It would not be the first time that the Barclays Premier League has not been broadcast on VTV. In the 2001-2002 season, VTV couldn’t broadcast the first seven rounds of matches of the Barclays Premier League since it couldn’t reach an agreement with the partner. That event created a tumult amongst football fans in Vietnam.

According to VTV, it can’t accept the price offered by ESPN StarSports, the holder of the broadcasting copyright of the event, after 7-8 months of negotiations. Even when VTV said it would pay more than what it paid for the past season, its bid for the 2007 season was rejected.

The price offered by the partner based in Singapore is said to be $1.5 million.

VTV also stated that it would not buy the copyright of the event from a third party.

However, Nguyen Thanh Luong, Director of VTV’s Advertising and Television Services Centre (VTVAd), the representative of VTV in negotiating the broadcasting copyright contract with ESPN StarSports, said that VTV was still trying to negotiate with the partner.

Vietnamese television stations fighting each other

Mr Luong said that there were around 10 companies and television stations in Vietnam that wanted to buy the broadcasting copyright of the football league and Vietnamese partners had created opportunities for the benefit of the foreign partner.

“We have learnt a lesson from purchasing the broadcasting rights of the World Cup 2006 as the media has reported. We have to give warning that if brokerage companies buy the broadcasting rights to re-sell at a higher price, VTV will not accept,” he added.

Though refusing to disclose the price that VTV was ready to pay for the Barclays Premier League broadcasting rights, Mr Luong said that VTV had its own bidding consideration council and it had carefully calculated the figure based on market research.

If VTV can’t finally buy the broadcasting rights of this event, VTV audiences can only watch the Barclays Premier League on the cable TV system without commentary in Vietnamese language since this system has bought the broadcasting rights for the whole ESPN channel.

It has been said that if VTV doesn’t buy the broadcasting copyright of the Barclays Premier League, the digital television station VTC may. An official of VTV disclosed that VTC had participated in the tender for the broadcasting copyrights of the event with other Vietnamese companies but it also couldn’t pay as high as $1.5 million.

(Source: Tuoi Tre, Tien Phong)