VTV holds the broadcasting rights for the 2018 AFF Cup.
VTV purchased the broadcasting rights for Southeast Asia's biggest football tournament independently, without any sponsorship from other businesses.
Talk withVnExpressOn the evening of August 31st, Mr. Nguyen Ha Nam, Head of the Editorial Secretariat of Vietnam Television (VTV), confirmed that VTV has acquired the broadcasting rights for the 2018 AFF Cup in Vietnam from Lagardere Sports, the unit holding the rights to this tournament.
"VTV purchased the broadcasting rights for this tournament itself; no business is sponsoring it," Mr. Nam informed.They stated that they could not yet disclose details of the terms, prices, etc.
Thus, Vietnamese viewers will be able to watch all matches of the AFF Cup 2018 on VTV channels, including the two qualifying matches on September 1st and 8th, and 26 matches in the group stage, semi-finals, and final from November 8th to December 5th.
In this year's top football tournament in Southeast Asia, the Vietnamese national team is in Group A along with Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. The teams will play their group stage matches in a home and away format at the AFF Cup 2018. The Vietnamese team will play their first match against Laos on November 8th away from home.
Recently, the broadcasting rights for major international sporting events in Vietnam have become a hot topic, attracting much attention from viewers due to the rapidly increasing prices. Meanwhile, broadcasters have to carefully consider their options because of the need for financial self-sufficiency.
Previously, VTV had rejected the offer to purchase the broadcasting rights for the 2018 Asian Games due to the exorbitant price demanded by KJSM. KJSM also refused VTV's proposal to purchase a separate package, only broadcasting the men's football matches. The South Korean company wanted to sell the entire package, with an initial price reportedly around $10 million – ten times higher than the broadcasting rights for the 2014 Asian Games.
However, the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) successfully acquired the broadcasting rights for the Asian Games about a week after the start of the competition. According to some sources, the final amount that KJSM agreed upon with VOV was $1.2 million.
