Don't be forced to pay the price of broadcasting rights for the English Premier League

The Ministry of Information and Communications has asked "TV stations" and related units to join forces to avoid being forced to pay higher prices when purchasing broadcasting rights for the English Premier League.

On November 2, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan signed Official Dispatch No. 3556 to Vietnam Television (VTV), Voice of Vietnam (VOV), Vietnam Pay Television Association, radio and television stations of provinces and centrally-run cities, and pay television business units, regarding the purchase of copyright for sports programs.

The document stated: In recent times, VTV, VOV, radio and television stations, and pay TV business units nationwide have proactively and actively negotiated to buy copyright and broadcast the English Premier League, contributing to meeting the needs of the people and society.

The broadcasting rights of the English Premier League were once sold for an exorbitant price of about 1,000 billion VND. Illustrative photo. Source: Internet.

However, recently, the Ministry of Information and Communications has received many comments from media agencies, news agencies, newspapers and reports from relevant units and organizations showing that the copyright price of the English Premier League broadcast in Vietnam has tended to increase rapidly in the recent period, and there is a high possibility that copyright prices will continue to increase for the Vietnamese market in the coming seasons. The purchase of copyright at continuously increasing prices and the form of exclusive purchase has greatly affected society and the interests of the majority of viewers nationwide.

In the current context, when the Government is calling on central and local agencies to practice thrift and fight waste to focus on internal resources for economic development, it is necessary to enhance responsibility and actively negotiate the price of broadcasting rights for sports programs, especially the English Premier League.

Therefore, the Ministry of Information and Communications recommends that “VTV, VOV, radio and television stations, and pay TV business units nationwide need to unite and raise their spirit for the common interests of the country, the interests of the social community, the sustainable development of the television industry in general, the pay TV sector in particular, and for the interests of TV viewers nationwide, closely coordinate and be proactive in negotiating copyrights for the English Premier League in the spirit of not accepting to buy copyrights at all costs. Minimize the use of intermediaries to increase copyright prices and unfair competition to avoid losing control and being forced to accept unfavorable factors when buying copyrights (price gouging, monopoly)”.

The Ministry of Information and Communications also requested that “Vietnam Pay Television Association, VTV, radio and television stations and relevant units evaluate, summarize, and learn from previous seasons, and proactively form a Negotiation Board to purchase copyright for the English Premier League. Members of the committee include a number of television stations and pay television business units that have a need to purchase copyright for the English Premier League.”

The Ministry of Information and Communications said that the Ministry is urgently studying the management experience of a number of countries in the world, analyzing and evaluating the actual situation of our country to soon come up with the most suitable management plan and policy, in order to publicize the management policy, regulate the purchase and sharing of copyrights of high-value foreign television programs, ensuring the common interests of the community, healthy competition and sustainable development of the Vietnamese pay television market.

According to Infonet