HANOI (8 Jan 2012) – There seem to be no quick resolution to the dispute over broadcasting rights of the Vietnam Super League when digital TV service provider AVG demanded compensation from TV station VTC, for broadcasting the live match between Vissai Ninh Binh and Dong Thap last week.
According to AVG’s letter sent to VTC, by broadcasting the match, VTC violated the 20-year agreement of exclusive TV rights that AVG signed with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) in late 2010.
But VFF’s partner, the Vietnam Professional Football (VPF) Company, which is in charge of marketing, sales and organization of the top football leagues in Vietnam, the deal between AVG and VFF is void because it violated Vietnam’s sport law.
AVG had demanded that VTC to make a public apology on local media and pay compensation and make clear the personal responsibility of VTC’s Deputy General Vu Quang Huy.
Quang Huy replied that VTC had received a document from VPF, the organizer of the Super League to allow VTC to broadcast that particular match as well as others throughout the 2012 season.
VTC said that they will wait until the TV rights dispute between AVG, VFF and VPF is solved before they decide what action to take.
The TV rights dispute got intense before the Super League and the First Division tournament, two top professional football events in Vietnam, opened in January 2012. Almost all TV stations disagreed with AVG’s proposals.
Three days before the Super League and the First Division Tournament began, when national broadcaster VTV, VTC and Hanoi Television (HTV) could not reach an agreement with AVG, VPF issued an order that temporarily allows TV broadcasters to air football matches. VPF’s dispatch was strongly protested by AVG.
After VPF issued the letter, VTV worked with AVG on the broadcast plan of the first round of the Super League and the First Division Tournament while VTC did not and aired ‘live’ the first match of the Super League on 1 January 2012.
VFF sent a dispatch to VPF and related agency to confirm their ownership of the TV right of Super League and First Division Tournament, citing some articles in the Law on Sports. VFF confirmed that VFF transferred the right to manage and organize the two leagues VPF although they also pointed out that VPF must perform the rights under the instruction and decision of VFF, as FIFA’s regulations.
VPF then sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Information and Communications to ask these ministries to consider the legitimacy of the deal between VFF and AVG.
In this dispatch, VPF said that VFF and AVG broke the law when they signed the deal. VPF pointed out that Article 53 of the Law on Sports and Article 12 of Decree 112 says that VFF and FCs hold the TV right of professional football leagues.
However, VFF did not have the approval of FCs in signing the deal with AVG.
Moreover, when AVG inked the deal on 8 December, 2010, AVG was a company that is only allowed to transmit and broadcast TV programs, not a television station. This firm, therefore, had no right to perform these sporting media activities.
The same day, AVG issued a press release asking the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to check the deal between AVG and VFF.
VPF Board of Director’s vice director Nguyen Duc Kien also said he expected to take the issue to court. But AVG CEO Pham Nhat Vu said that he had not thought of settling the issue in a court.
Football clubs have publicly announced their decision to back VPF because they said the firm works to promote the value of their product – in this case football matches – and the development of Vietnamese football.
Nguyen Minh Son, the chairman of Becamex Binh Duong FC said that he is backing VPF CEO Nguyen Duc Kien in refusing AVG as the owner of TV rights for 20 years.
Earlier this month, Vietnam Television came to a preliminary agreement with VPF to buy TV rights of the 2012 Super League for VND7 billion (USD333,300) – a billion dong more than the deal with AVG.
“The VFF has caused a loss of the rights of clubs,” Son added.
Khatoco Khanh Hoa FC chairman Le Tien Anh called on the VFF to return to clubs their right to decide their product. Earlier, VFF chairman Nguyen Trong Hy argued that the VFF is the only legal owner of the leagues’ matches.
“Actually, I don’t care if VFF or VPF has the legal authority to sell TV rights of league games, but it must be sold at its true value,” added Trong Hy.
“It is definitely unacceptable if the price of TV rights the VFF sells for a whole season is not enough to buy a single player.
“On average, the 28 clubs in the top two leagues spend VND1.5 trillion (USD71.4 million) a year, and the VFF has sold the TV rights of the leagues for VND6 billion a year, or 0.004% of this spending.
“In Europe, the value of TV rights makes up 60-70% of the income of clubs,”added Tien Anh.
SOURCE: Vietnam News
